Wiggly nozzle on K480

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Buckeye

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I assembled an AT K480 in the 54/2560 case. The aft closure is fully seated, but not enough to compress the aft o-ring and nozzle. The nozzle wiggles around. I don't recall this ever happening on any other reload I assembled. Should I be worried?

Seems like an aft insulator would take up the slack, but this reload does include one.

video clip:

 
Likewise, I have never seen this.

If fired like that I bet a gap would open internally that would cause a gas leak resulting in a serious issue.

recommend contacting Karl at Aerotech
 
I had a similar issue a few weeks ago with an Aerotech K456DM. It was just loose. I asked a bunch of people at the field and no one was really sure. Most people had not seen that exact issue before, so we didn't think to check the liner length. The general consensus was "just crank it down as hard as you can and it should be good". Unfortunately, "go now" fever won over and I flew it. Here are the results:



I was able to recover the electronics (the ebay ejected clear) and the nosecone, but the 72" Fruity Chute burned up, the booster was toast and the heat was so intense it melted the adapter ring on the Aeropack 54mm-75mm adapter and it completely warped the Aerotech case (both ends were flared out).

We ended up having 3 CATOs that day - all on Aerotech 54mm. I have no clue if the other people who experienced a CATO had the same issue, but I do know I am now going to go back and check the liner lengths on all my motors I have on hand.

Does anyone know what the lengths of the liners are supposed to be for each case so I can check them? Without a reference chart, it will be difficult to know if any of them are wrong unless I can figure out a known-good one and go from there.

That was an expensive CATO.
 
That being said, the RCS components could be victim of the same manuf-slip that resulted in 2 reloads having short liners/loose nozzles
 
That being said, the RCS components could be victim of the same manuf-slip that resulted in 2 reloads having short liners/loose nozzles
Knowing Gary and Karl,,,I'm willing to bet that all the liners in stock have been re-measured and they probably already have been in contact with vendors that might have been affected.

Tony
 
I had a similar issue a few weeks ago with an Aerotech K456DM. It was just loose. I asked a bunch of people at the field and no one was really sure. Most people had not seen that exact issue before, so we didn't think to check the liner length. The general consensus was "just crank it down as hard as you can and it should be good". Unfortunately, "go now" fever won over and I flew it. Here are the results:



I was able to recover the electronics (the ebay ejected clear) and the nosecone, but the 72" Fruity Chute burned up, the booster was toast and the heat was so intense it melted the adapter ring on the Aeropack 54mm-75mm adapter and it completely warped the Aerotech case (both ends were flared out).

We ended up having 3 CATOs that day - all on Aerotech 54mm. I have no clue if the other people who experienced a CATO had the same issue, but I do know I am now going to go back and check the liner lengths on all my motors I have on hand.

Does anyone know what the lengths of the liners are supposed to be for each case so I can check them? Without a reference chart, it will be difficult to know if any of them are wrong unless I can figure out a known-good one and go from there.

That was an expensive CATO.

What was the lot number of your motor?
 
I had a similar issue a few weeks ago with an Aerotech K456DM. It was just loose. I asked a bunch of people at the field and no one was really sure. Most people had not seen that exact issue before, so we didn't think to check the liner length. The general consensus was "just crank it down as hard as you can and it should be good". Unfortunately, "go now" fever won over and I flew it. Here are the results:



I was able to recover the electronics (the ebay ejected clear) and the nosecone, but the 72" Fruity Chute burned up, the booster was toast and the heat was so intense it melted the adapter ring on the Aeropack 54mm-75mm adapter and it completely warped the Aerotech case (both ends were flared out).

We ended up having 3 CATOs that day - all on Aerotech 54mm. I have no clue if the other people who experienced a CATO had the same issue, but I do know I am now going to go back and check the liner lengths on all my motors I have on hand.

Does anyone know what the lengths of the liners are supposed to be for each case so I can check them? Without a reference chart, it will be difficult to know if any of them are wrong unless I can figure out a known-good one and go from there.

That was an expensive CATO.

My question is if you felt it was not right why did you fly it? Sometimes you just need to scrub it. You lost a lot with going ahead and flying it.
 
For this particular liner, the K480 mentioned by Buckeye was the only one with that lot number. Here are others that could be affected:

K375
01062102
01062103
01202103
01202105

K700
011420

K1275
01192105

K1103
01252103

If you have any of these reloads with the corresponding lot numbers, do not use the reload and email Karl immediately at [email protected].

We are also contacting our dealers with this information. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
 
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@AeroTech What is the tolerance on the liners? I checked all my liners and I found one that is 1.5mm short. Is that within tolerance?

It is a K1103X lot # 01062104
 
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