CTI Discussion Thread

[Banzai88]

If they quit making reloads, can you use other brands that will work in the case?

54mm and smaller, NO. They're becoming wind chimes.

 

[Art Upton]

If they quit making reloads, can you use other brands that will work in the case?

That is sorta how CTI got a start while it's main business was commercial / military.

Aerotech had issues with the fire back in early 2000s. Commercial and DOD customers had product in 75 and 98mm cases and had no propellent. CTI made propellent that would work in them to sell to those customers. That is how the cross-compatible reloads in 75/98mm came about.

Then they came out with the pro38 and pro54 product for the hobby. AT product was hard to find. Some AT propellent was made by Ellis Mountain for awhile in those times to work in RMS cases.

As for Tariffs, CTI is a supplier to our DOD and defense contractors. They already have many exceptions. One of the reasons Anthony now lives in the USA in FLA is due to DOD work. They also have USA facilities

Edit: It was some years much later that pro29/pro24 came out. Testing the waters on the 38/54 lines I guess

 

[Art Upton]

54mm and smaller, NO. They're becoming wind chimes.

I see what you did there

Not every one will

 

[Rocketjunkie]

Would be even better if it meant Vmax was coming back!!

Aerotech Super Thunder has almost the same specs as Vmax.

 

[Art Upton]

Aerotech Super Thunder has almost the same specs as Vmax.

Yes, like a Nice H550ST

I've got one to burn in the spring

 

[gregm]

Aerotech Super Thunder has almost the same specs as Vmax.

I hope it will be an acceptable substitute

Sadly will never get to try the N10,000

 

[gregm]

Yes, like a Nice H550ST

I've got one to burn in the spring

View attachment 682799

Ordered a couple to try as well as the Warp9 K1999

 

[Wayco]

The CTI L640 Dual Thrust has been my gold standard for getting my 60 pound Tweety bird cluster off the ground:


The K455 NW comes close, but I haven't tried it yet. Still have one more L640 in my stash.


What I'm looking for now is a bigger 75mm booster in Super Thunder.....

Do you want to know why?
Curious minds need to know.

 

[jmasterj]

What I'm looking for now is a bigger 75mm booster in Super Thunder.....

Do you want to know why?
Curious minds need to know.

Is the K1800 not enough? The L2775 is coming eventually.

 

[Wayco]

Is the K1800 not enough? The L2775 is coming eventually.

Not sure, the rocket is just a couple of Hawk Mountain tubes and an awesome nose cone so far.
Need to finish it and get an all up weight, but “more is better” right?

 

[mikec]

Could we keep this thread on the topic of CTI?

I know the recent reformatting of the CTI website is purely cosmetic, but if they were planning to exit the hobby market as some have suggested, you'd think they wouldn't have spent the money to do the update. At least one can hope. It would be great to get some kind of official statement about their plans and status.

 

[gregm]

Vmax was an incredible option to hobbiests.

 

[jsdemar]

They still make Vmax, but not for the hobby market.

Jeroen, of course, is not associated with CTI anymore.

 

[gregm]

They still make Vmax, but not for the hobby market.

Jeroen, of course, is not associated with CTI anymore.

There is no question Vmax has always been made in quantities the hobby industry cannot begin to fathom. It is not safety prohibitive to produce.

Patiently hoping Imax and Cstar will come back to the hobby

 

[Art Upton]

I still have an F240 V-Max in 24mm

 

[Wayco]

Facts:
I’m sorry about the side track.
CTI is a business.
Businesses make money or they go out of business.

Facts as I know them:
There is more money to be made filling military contracts for propellant than there ever can be with our hobby.

My opinion:
Without someone like Jeroen, CTI will do what businesses need to do.
Nothing we post here will change how CTI does business.

 

[jahall4]

I still have an F240 V-Max in 24mm

I think I still have 3. Incredibly fast motor!

 

[Art Upton]

I think I still have 3. Incredibly fast motor!

I also have the F30 long burn in the same 3 grain case.

Which one to loose the case in?

Ok put the F240 in a larger diameter rocket, get it back, put the F30 in a light long dart...

 

[gregm]

I still have an F240 V-Max in 24mm

The F240, G185, and H410 were some of my favorites. Don't have any left though.

 

[Art Upton]

The F240, G185, and H410 were some of my favorites. Don't have any left though.

I still have in Pro24:
F30 Long Burn
F240 V-Max
G65 Long Burn 6g
G84 Green 6g x2
G150 Blue 6g x2

I lost a previous F30 3g long burn and case in a Big Daddy. Due to pop at the top and it floated 'it seems' into a pond on the other side of the MIS gate 14 State Woods

It was a nice burn flight on a stubby rocket however

 

[Capt. Eric]

Could we keep this thread on the topic of CTI?

I know the recent reformatting of the CTI website is purely cosmetic, but if they were planning to exit the hobby market as some have suggested, you'd think they wouldn't have spent the money to do the update. At least one can hope. It would be great to get some kind of official statement about their plans and status.

I seem to recall somewhere, sometime early this year, or late last year, that a statement was made by CTI that they were definitely not getting out of the hobby business. They were working to keep up with their military orders, which affected the hobby business, but hoped to sort that out in time. Soon after that a supply of reloads was distributed to dealers (earlier this year).

Sorry that it's a little vague, but I don't have the reference and am just working off memory.

So I have confidence that they will stay with us. As was said, they likely wouldn't revamp the website unless they were still planning to keep the business. But as long as the war there is going on, there will likely still be shortages.

As for a business decision, also keep in mind that a company can stay in two or more areas of work at the same time. Yes, military orders are likely more profitable and would take priority due to contract commitments, but if they can still make money in the hobby business, they will stay in it.

 

[SolarYellow]

With CTI and AT both working to build production capacity and efficiency, I predict some model rocketry salad days after the wars are over, assuming most of us survive.

 

[mikec]

I seem to recall somewhere, sometime early this year, or late last year, that a statement was made by CTI that they were definitely not getting out of the hobby business.

The last post from CTI on this thread, https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/cti-discussion-thread.162183/post-2578930 on May 1, said " No we are not getting out of the hobby, but we are experiencing significant issues with supply and production. Hopefully we'll be back on track by the end of the year." I haven't heard of any vendors getting any shipments for quite some time, however.

 

[Rschub]

 

[Lord Rory Gin]

Vmax was an incredible option to hobbiests.

I still have a couple VMAX motors left: 56F120-14A 1 Grain, 168H410-14A 3 Grain plus a personal stock of about 50 motors total. These should be a blast (pun intended). I'm good for a couple of years but I would like to get some more 54mm motors and some select others.

 

[Lord Rory Gin]

The last post from CTI on this thread, https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/cti-discussion-thread.162183/post-2578930 on May 1, said " No we are not getting out of the hobby, but we are experiencing significant issues with supply and production. Hopefully we'll be back on track by the end of the year." I haven't heard of any vendors getting any shipments for quite some time, however.

Not in volume anyways. I did get a few motors manufactured earlier this summer in a recent order.

 

[terryg]

Ironically the CTI reloads that I like the most are the 24mm ones. They are also in little demand, so I have a ready local supply of them.
Great engines that fit a niche that is often ignored.

 

[SolarYellow]

Ironically the CTI reloads that I like the most are the 24mm ones. They are also in little demand, so I have a ready local supply of them.
Great engines that fit a niche that is often ignored.

I get that, but for what they cost, I just can't get into tiny machbusters vs. slightly larger ones for a significantly smaller amount of cash.

 

[boatgeek]

Ironically the CTI reloads that I like the most are the 24mm ones. They are also in little demand, so I have a ready local supply of them.
Great engines that fit a niche that is often ignored.

Our TARC teams used them for years. The 2-grain ones (especially F51 and F70) are great for getting a relatively heavy rocket off the pad in a hurry and reducing chances of weathercocking. They're also lighter and cheaper than the competing CTI 29mm reloads.

 

[jsdemar]

Our TARC teams used them for years. The 2-grain ones (especially F51 and F70) are great for getting a relatively heavy rocket off the pad in a hurry and reducing chances of weathercocking. They're also lighter and cheaper than the competing CTI 29mm reloads.

There are 49 F51BS 2G 24mm reloads in stock at AMWProx.com. And lots of 24mm CTI cases. Robert said that he's leaving all of the CTI products in stock at a 20% discount (as marked).