Aerotech vs Cesaroni ….. go

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I think availability is the #1 thing, followed by price of course. Cesaroni reloads have less parts therefore easier and faster to assemble. Aerotech has more single use I think.
 
CTI is Canadian so availability in Canada is generally better than AeroTech, especially as the motors get bigger.

When you get to the point of flying L motors and bigger, CTI is pretty much your only choice except for the AeroTech SU L1000. Hopefully that will change in the future as I would love to fly some of the big AeroTech motors.

AeroTech SU motors are generally more expensive than CTI, but their reloads are still cheaper (though the hardware is more expensive so you'll need to fly regularly enough to actually end up "saving" on the cheaper cost of the reload kits.

A lot of the CTI motors feature an ignition pellet which makes them light more reliably than AeroTech motors.

This is just personal preference, but in general I prefer the CTI propellant over AeroTech (though I do like me a White Lightning... :))

But why pick one? Fly both!
 
being a Canadian, I feel your pain.

We typically only have 2 or 3* 'HPR' motor vendors for the whole country: Allrockets and Sunward being the main two. They both feature heavily the CTI line; Sunward being exclusively CTI. Allrockets does have some AT stuff, but it is not cheap!

With that, CTI definitely have the upper hand / popularity up here..

I'm finding this out as I plan my flights for the Stardust / LC launch fest in Cochrane Ont.. Pavel (all rockets) is to be a sponsor / coming up..


* I say 3, as there is bound to be another one that I am not aware of. There used to be one in NB, but I believe he has long closed ["Maritime missiles" or something..]. I had a local guy; UDISCO, but they have since closed (or have been saying they will soon close for the past.. years!)

Flying HPR in Canada is difficult & costly (and overly regulated!). I fly almost exclusively out of the US, and have a US address where I keep my motors. So, I can take advantage of WM's black Friday sales..
 
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I like to keep things simple, so I like CTI hardware and reloads, and I like Aerotech single-use. I do not own any Aerotech hardware, and I’m not interested in starting.

Building an Aerotech motor is not “rocket science”, but it’s also not exactly simple either. It’s more involved than I like to do at a launch. While drilling a delay on a single use motor actually is simple, and a CTI reload is just about as easy — you can prep those motors in minutes. That gives you the option of doing all your motor prep at the launch without cutting into your day very much. With Aerotech reloads, if you build the motors at the launch, it can take up some of your time. You can build them at home, but if you don’t get to fly them when you intend, then the case is tied up until you can use that motor.

That’s my take on it, but some people actually do enjoy the process of building motors, and if that’s what they enjoy, that’s great. And Aerotech reloads are the cheapest propellant options for sure. That might be offset some by the fact that Aerotech hardware is more expensive, but if just comparing the propellant, Aerotech reloads save money. (Just don’t lose or blow up that case!)
 
But at least we can fly any G motor at a model event... Including Skids!
mostly correct! but also at a cost!! [$43.75CAD for an Aerotech DMS G80T - mega ouch!!]

my "local" club (Quebec) requires CAR to fly.. anything.. as far as I know.. (plus club dues) so, I stick to any park / non sanctioned event.. and that means I haven't flown in Canada in years!
 
mostly correct! but also at a cost!! [$43.75CAD for an Aerotech DMS G80T - mega ouch!!]

my "local" club (Quebec) requires CAR to fly.. anything.. as far as I know.. (plus club dues) so, I stick to any park / non sanctioned event.. and that means I haven't flown in Canada in years!

I think motors are just getting expensive period. A quick look at the Wildman website shows prices similar to what I pay for motors in Canada (accounting for the currency conversion). The G80T for example is listed at $34.99 which is $45.61 CAD. The CTI Pro-29 F59 is $22.35 or $29.14 CAD. All Rockets sells the F59 for $26.75 CAD.

I'm not familiar with the US motor prices though, so maybe other places sell them for cheaper.
 
Back in the 80's I flew all Aerotech - then the fire and I started to accumulate Cesaroni cases and flew a lot of Cesaroni. Then the Cesaroni fire so back to Aerotech I went. I now fly either depending on what's easiest to get.

I'm a little concerned about the 5 and 6 grain Cesaroni 54mm issues but it hasn't affected me directly yet. (that will do it for sure now)
 
I think motors are just getting expensive period. A quick look at the Wildman website shows prices similar to what I pay for motors in Canada (accounting for the currency conversion). The G80T for example is listed at $34.99 which is $45.61 CAD. The CTI Pro-29 F59 is $22.35 or $29.14 CAD. All Rockets sells the F59 for $26.75 CAD.

I'm not familiar with the US motor prices though, so maybe other places sell them for cheaper.
I should admit / state:
The last time I bought an AP motor in Canada was about 15 years ago. While I did have a local vendor (UDISCO) who was cheaper (a whole sale hobby shop) I did make a bulk purchase form a vendor in TO..
I buy my yearly stock from Wildman during his black Friday sale, and also thru my club, so I save, and save on shipping, and save on HAZMAT. sadly though, they are stuck in the US..

I do apologize to Pavel for the comment..
 
Look at what you have easiest access to. It used to be that AT was considerably more expensive in Canada. I don’t know if that’s still the situation.
Steve, Yes motor price swings usually depend on the prevailing exchange rates. Back in the 90`s the Canadian dollar was running at around 40% below the US Greenback. We are almost in the same position today with the Canadian Dollar running in the 76-77 cent of US range so we pay almost 35-40% premium. CTI motor-reloads have always been priced in US dollars, Pavel at Canadian Rocket store converts to Canadian dollars on a fluctuating basis. Many old motor vendors in Canada have come and gone, our market is too small. Those in the east, IE southern Ontario and Quebec lack viable launch sites so they participate in eastern US based Tripoli or NAR events. New Brunswick and Alberta remain the most active, Manitoba and British Columbia have essentially dropped off the face of the planet as far as High-Power goes. Hope that helps.

Garth Illerbrun
CAR S04 L3
NAR 26894 L2
 
Since we can't get Q-Jets in Canada I've been using 18mm and 24mm Aerotech reloads then switching up to 29mm and 38mm CTI reloads (and shortly will add 54mm). While CTI does make a 24mm series, you need a separate case for each # of grains. They don't make spacers for 24mm so a full set is 4 cases. And AFAIK, CTI isn't going to make 18mm reloads. I made the decision to standardize on cases which means standardizing on one manufacturer. Sunward and AllRockets are the only 2 reload motor dealers in country - it would be nice to have a 3rd dealer in Canada for some more competition and quicker access.
I suppose if I get rich some day I could add Aerotech cases & reloads to the fleet for some variety but I'm not there yet! :questions:
 
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