AeroTech Open Thread

[T34zac]

+1 for Warp-9 motors! I had an I1299 min diameter disappear on me back at Red Glare. Unfortunately that was due to a cato, but Open Rocket and RasAero put it at about 245 Gs at the estimated time of failure

 

[Rocket86]

Looking at the special 38 mm forward closer for the end burning motors there is a
approximately 1" dia male threaded portion on the front of the forward closer.
can anyone tell me the purrpose?

That thread was for the electronic forward closure, which was needed if the delay required in a rocket was longer than what the delay element could provide.

 

[tfish]

Looking at the special 38 mm forward closer for the end burning motors there is a
approximately 1" dia male threaded portion on the front of the forward closer.
can anyone tell me the purrpose?

 

[Rocket86]

Electronic Forward Closure I believe it was called. A timer for recovery deployment.

 

[AeroTech]

I need to replace some misplaced (by me) o-rings. What material is used in Aerotech o-rings? They look like neoprene or Buna N. Are these acceptable materials? Thank you.

They are Buna-N. Most are available on the RCS store if you can’t find them elsewhere:

https://www.rocketmotorparts.com/Buna-N_O-rings/cat1577810_1455511.aspx

 

[jimzcatz]

Mcmaster has everything. Most could probably be reused but that's on you.

 

[0011001100]

It would be a challenge to get the hardware to hold together.

Sounds like a challenge. Now I just need a 1706 case

 

[3stoogesrocketry]

It would be a challenge to get the hardware to hold together.

It seems like at the 4 grain point , the cores get so big , the extra length is negated by the cores diameter. I know the K1720 Vmax in the 54/1400 case was a 1140ns J motor , not a K class as advertised.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

I believe the K1103X

I've had no issues with the aluminum disk with K1103 and K2050 motors. Haven't noticed any excessive burning or melting.

 

[AeroTech]

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Now talk about a concidence! I was just trying to recall the "Enerjet" name from my childhood, and there you post about it! I had just done my google due diligence and sure enough had found the picture that I recalled from my youth, with the mach diamonds and all:
1972 Enerjet catalog page from Ninfinger

So... what happened to Enerjet? Did it beome Aerotech? Go bust? Altitude junkie that I was them, I really wanted to fly those rockets (in hilly, tree-covered Western PA no less, dumb kid...). But by 1972 I was only dreaming, my rocketry had been forced to the side by some messy life circumstances.

ETA: Google helped again - Centuri Bought Enerjet.
https://www.company-histories.com/Centuri-Corporation-Company-History.html

 

[AeroTech]

AeroTech/Quest has received Tripoli certification for two new motors, the L1940X-PS high-power reload kit for RMS-75/3840 hardware, and the 18mm x 70mm Q-Jet B6-4W and B6-6W single-use composite propellant model rocket motors. An official announcement of availability, pricing and technical specifications for these products will be released later this year.

 

[Theory]

Ive got (well building) a bird for the L1940!!!!

heck yea

 

[AeroTech]

Now talk about a concidence! I was just trying to recall the "Enerjet" name from my childhood, and there you post about it! I had just done my google due diligence and sure enough had found the picture that I recalled from my youth, with the mach diamonds and all:
1972 Enerjet catalog page from Ninfinger

So... what happened to Enerjet? Did it beome Aerotech? Go bust? Altitude junkie that I was them, I really wanted to fly those rockets (in hilly, tree-covered Western PA no less, dumb kid...). But by 1972 I was only dreaming, my rocketry had been forced to the side by some messy life circumstances.

ETA: Google helped again - Centuri Bought Enerjet.
https://www.company-histories.com/Centuri-Corporation-Company-History.html

The Enerjet line of composite motors was discontinued by Centuri in 1974. The Enerjet name was briefly reintroduced in the early ‘80s as branding for Centuri’s black powder motors, but fell into obscurity and the public domain shortly thereafter. RCS filed for registration of the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in March of 2018 and received the official registration documents in June of 2020.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

I've got 2 rockets (6" Black Brant II and 7.5" Goblin) that love the 75/3680 reloads. Down to an L850 and CTI L3200. Will pick up an L1940 next time I order motors

 

[AeroTech]

F52C Classic Enerjets now in stock and on the shelves!

 

[Neutronium95]

Are there any plans to release more motors under the Enejet label? Is it going to be used just for motors with the classic propellant, or is there some other classification?

 

[AeroTech]

Are there any plans to release more motors under the Enejet label? Is it going to be used just for motors with the classic propellant, or is there some other classification?

All the regular AeroTech single-use motors will use the Enerjet branding, but only the no-smoke motors will be designated "Classic Enerjet". And yes, we do plan on more Classic Enerjet motors.

 

[Neutronium95]

I just received the M1780 reload for my L3 cert flight. The bag with the nozzle and other miscellaneous parts is labeled as parts for an M1500. Looking at the drawings on the Aerotech website, they seem to use identical nozzle throats, so I'm pretty sure that I can use the parts and be fine. I just want to double check.

 

[3stoogesrocketry]

I just received the M1780 reload for my L3 cert flight. The bag with the nozzle and other miscellaneous parts is labeled as parts for an M1500. Looking at the drawings on the Aerotech website, they seem to use identical nozzle throats, so I'm pretty sure that I can use the parts and be fine. I just want to double check.

You should be fine .

 

[AeroTech]

I just received the M1780 reload for my L3 cert flight. The bag with the nozzle and other miscellaneous parts is labeled as parts for an M1500. Looking at the drawings on the Aerotech website, they seem to use identical nozzle throats, so I'm pretty sure that I can use the parts and be fine. I just want to double check.

Where did you purchase the reload?

 

[AeroTech]

 

[Neutronium95]

Where did you purchase the reload?

It was through a BMS pre-order.

 

[Theory]

Heck yea to the new Q-Jets!!!!

Huge fan of the current line, the 18mm fast black motors and white lighting Cs and Ds are awesome

 

[Tractionengines]

Any idea when are the new motors are going to be listed on the Quest/AeroTech web sites, or/and distributors will get stock....no luck finding them yet.
I keep finding the F52 Blue-Thunder not the new enerjet classic. Also looking forward to the B6, D22, & E26 White-Lightning. Really looking forward to flying them ASAP.

Heck yea to the new Q-Jets!!!!

... white lighting Cs and Ds are awesome

I agree I love the speed off the rail with these.

Mike

 

[tbonerocketeer]

Any idea when are the new motors are going to be listed on the Quest/AeroTech web sites, or/and distributors will get stock....no luck finding them yet.
I keep finding the F52 Blue-Thunder not the new enerjet classic. Also looking forward to the B6, D22, & E26 White-Lightning. Really looking forward to flying them ASAP.

I agree I love the speed off the rail with these.

Mike

I have them all in stock. I'll get them on the website as soon as I get back from NSL.

 

[roytyson]

Any ideas on what may have caused my motor case to buldge on the forward end? Loaded with a J350W, same as I always do. I carefully removed all the pieces to ensure I didn't miss something, but I can't see that I loaded anything wrong. Any feedback would be appreciated

 

[Cameron Anderson]

Apples to apples comparison of RCS aerospike versus Aerotech traditional nozzles...

Conclusion - Aerospikes aren't going to provide a huge increase in performance; if anything, they hinder it. They are niche, but they are fun and I am going to continue to use them because they are interesting and different.

I flew my Madcow Blue Iguana twice this weekend on the K1100T - once with the included nozzle and once with the "2" sized aerospike nozzle. Airtemp was 82 deg F for the included nozzle flight and 83 deg F for the aerospike launched 70 minutes later. Delamar Dry Lake is aproximately 4,000' above sea level. The same pad was used for both launches and the pad was set up identically for both with regard to rail orientation and angle. Wind was variable, 350 to 010 at 10-13 for both flights. Recovery occurred in the same direction for both flights with the standard nozzle flight being recovered approximately 2,000' from the pad NW and the aerospike at 3,500' NW.

Airframe weight was 136 oz at liftoff and used a 1706 case with standard aft closure and RAS threaded forward closure. Tracking was with Featherweight GPS and I used the Raven 4 for redundant dual-deploy as well as logging. This was the seventh and eight flight for this airframe.

Rocksim 9 predicted 12,251' and 914mph at 950'AGL.

Standard nozzle apogee was 11,267'. This is 8.1% off predicted apogee. Max velocity was 984mph at 690' AGL.

Aerospike nozzle apogee was 9,632'. This is 21.4% off predicted apogee and over a 13% reduction in potential altitude compared to the standard nozzle. Max velocity was 821 mph at 1,400' AGL.

Standard flight was unremarkable in any way.

Aerospike liftoff appeared normal but at approximately 1,000 feet up, a loud bang was heard and was accompanied by a smoke ring in the sky on ascent. I assumed the nozzle let go, but on recovery, the nozzle was eroded but in tact. The remainder of the flight was nominal.

Due to the way the aerospike is constructed, I had to adjust my motor assembly/flight prep procedure. Initially, I fully assembled the motor at my prep table. Once cleared by the LCO, I proceeded to the pad and there I loaded my rocket onto the 1010 rail and kept it horizontal. At this point, I removed the aft closure on the motor and inserted the aerotech igniter into the core. I then threaded the igniter wire back through the aerospike "throat" slit, inserted the motor into the motor mount, secured the aeropack retainer, and lifted the rocket vertical. Because I was worried about the igniter potentially becoming lodged in the motor throat and dragging the pad ignition lead into the air, I did not wrap my igniter wires around the alligator clips like I normally do.

The fired nozzle photographs well, but the unfired aerospike is so dark and glossy it is hard to get a photo in the same orientation as the fired nozzle with sufficient detail for direct comparison.

 

[Theory]

@roytyson

what did the seal disk look like? Any erosion on the edges?

did it “lift”out of the liner?

 

[AeroTech]

Any ideas on what may have caused my motor case to buldge on the forward end? Loaded with a J350W, same as I always do. I carefully removed all the pieces to ensure I didn't miss something, but I can't see that I loaded anything wrong. Any feedback would be appreciated

Did you contact Karl at [email protected]?