Aerotech Motor Branding?

[AeroTech]

Yeah, at some point in this fascinating story, Estes apparently ended hostilities and commissioned Aerotech to produce a (now-discontinued?) Estes-branded line of APCP single-use motors. There's some great history there, undoubtedly.

View attachment 490027

If you can't beat 'em...

That was about 20 years later, after the Tunick era ended.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I'm new to rocketry and trying to make heads and tails of Aerotech's motor branding. Hope someone can clarify these product lines for me. Their lineup includes Econojet, Economax, Enerjet, Aerotech, Q-jet, and maybe other I don't even know. Their product catalog seems very outdated and only mentions Econojet but doesn't provide much as to the difference in performance. It seems these all share the same propellent type so where are the differences? The catalog also mentions Kosdon(KBA) and KBA "Animal-Safe" but doesn't provide any information on how these differ or what Animal-Safe refers to. Seems Aerotech could do a much better job of outlining their products and updating their materials/website.

What gives? Thanks

The reason you are confused is that Aerotech is terrible at branding. I love the motors, but the branding is extremely inconsistent and confusing, which goes entirely against the basic concept of what a brand is. Brands are supposed to clarify, not confuse. It seems to me that Aerotech’s sub-brands Econojet, Economax, Enerjet, and the E20 2-pack motors without a sub-brand label all have blurry lines between them, so there is little brand distinction, and when you do figure out a distinction, there is often an exception to the rule. So basically, they don’t make sense.

What is similar between all of those sub-brands I listed is that they are all relatively affordable for single-use motors, and they all come in plastic clamshell 2-packs, and they all come in a range of fixe, non-adjustable delays. So that’s an example of a lack of distinction between the brands — what’s the difference between EconoJet and EconoMax?

One other similarity that helps put the “Econo” in the name is that they all ship without a hazmat fee, EXCEPT for the G74, which exceeds the propellant weight limit. So that’s an example of an exception to a rule that helped to define the brand.

In general, I think you can conceptually lump all the Econojet, Economax, Enerjet, and the E20 2-pack motors together as affordable midpower motors that ship without hazmat (except for one). If I were Aerotech, I would rebrand these all as a single brand and probably ditch the G74 or exclude it from the brand.

Branding issues aside, I like these motors and use a lot of them at midpower (non-high power) launches.

The E20 motors make a nice upgrade for Estes rockets designed to fly on 24mm Estes E12 or E9 motors. The F44 will also fit those rockets, but has a LOT more thrust. I sometimes use that one in a 29mm motor mount with an adapter.

EconoJet motors F20, F23, F27, and F42 are all nice for midpower rockets with 29mm motor tubes and body tubes in the 2” to 3” diameter. The F20 is one of my favorite motors.

The EconoMax F67 is a nice motor for heavier midpower rockets that need more thrust. And the G74 is a good motor, especially for larger rockets you want to keep lower than a full-sized G would allow, but I only buy that one if I’m purchasing other hazmat items.

 

[AeroTech]

The reason you are confused is that Aerotech is terrible at branding. I love the motors, but the branding is extremely inconsistent and confusing, which goes entirely against the basic concept of what a brand is. Brands are supposed to clarify, not confuse. It seems to me that Aerotech’s sub-brands Econojet, Economax, Enerjet, and the E20 2-pack motors without a sub-brand label all have blurry lines between them, so there is little brand distinction, and when you do figure out a distinction, there is often an exception to the rule. So basically, they don’t make sense.

What is similar between all of those sub-brands I listed is that they are all relatively affordable for single-use motors, and they all come in plastic clamshell 2-packs, and they all come in a range of fixe, non-adjustable delays. So that’s an example of a lack of distinction between the brands — what’s the difference between EconoJet and EconoMax?

One other similarity that helps put the “Econo” in the name is that they all ship without a hazmat fee, EXCEPT for the G74, which exceeds the propellant weight limit. So that’s an example of an exception to a rule that helped to define the brand.

In general, I think you can conceptually lump all the Econojet, Economax, Enerjet, and the E20 2-pack motors together as affordable midpower motors that ship without hazmat (except for one). If I were Aerotech, I would rebrand these all as a single brand and probably ditch the G74 or exclude it from the brand.

Branding issues aside, I like these motors and use a lot of them at midpower (non-high power) launches.

The E20 motors make a nice upgrade for Estes rockets designed to fly on 24mm Estes E12 or E9 motors. The F44 will also fit those rockets, but has a LOT more thrust. I sometimes use that one in a 29mm motor mount with an adapter.

EconoJet motors F20, F23, F27, and F42 are all nice for midpower rockets with 29mm motor tubes and body tubes in the 2” to 3” diameter. The F20 is one of my favorite motors.

The EconoMax F67 is a nice motor for heavier midpower rockets that need more thrust. And the G74 is a good motor, especially for larger rockets you want to keep lower than a full-sized G would allow, but I only buy that one if I’m purchasing other hazmat items.

There are two AeroTech model rocket motor brands now, Q-Jet and Enerjet, with a significant distinction between the two.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

There are two AeroTech model rocket motor brands now, Q-Jet and Enerjet, with a significant distinction between the two.

That’s an improvement!

The Q-Jets have always been a clearly distinct brand.

Are the 2-pack motors in 24mm (E20, F44) and 29mm (F20, F23, F27, F42, and F67) all branded EnerJet now? How about the G74? That one has always stood out due to being the only one packaged like the rest that required hazmat. Are there any other EnerJets I did not list?

And how are the larger single-use F motors, like the F25 and F26, and the G motors, like G38, G40, G77, G78, G79, and G80 branded?

 

[user 35280]

There are two AeroTech model rocket motor brands now, Q-Jet and Enerjet, with a significant distinction between the two.

Gary, I take it that alone will save AeroTech/Qest quite a bit of money?

 

[AeroTech]

That’s an improvement!

The Q-Jets have always been a clearly distinct brand.

Are the 2-pack motors in 24mm (E20, F44) and 29mm (F20, F23, F27, F42, and F67) all branded EnerJet now? How about the G74? That one has always stood out due to being the only one packaged like the rest that required hazmat. Are there any other EnerJets I did not list?

And how are the larger single-use F motors, like the F25 and F26, and the G motors, like G38, G40, G77, G78, G79, and G80 branded?

On the first question, we are putting an Enerjet sticker on all the smaller phenolic cased motors, and they will eventually all have Enerjet by AeroTech labels and packaging.

On the second question, the larger motors are currently labeled AeroTech, but I’ll have to get back to you on our future plans for those.

 

[AeroTech]

Gary, I take it that alone will save AeroTech/Qest quite a bit of money?

Perhaps eventually, but the transition will cost us money.