Executioner maiden voyage

[mkeene]

Last weekend saw the maiden voyage of my solid black Executioner. Since my painting skills leave much to be desired, I opted for just a simple paint scheme. Flew very nicely on an E9-4. Another gentleman traded me an E9-6 for an E9-4, and it flew nicely on that as well. Straight flight, chute deployment a little past apogee (okay, too much past apogee for my taste on an E9-6. One problem: the motor is now completely stuck inside the motor mount tube (standard Estes BT-50). There were 2 of us trying to wrench it out with pliers, but no go. I was told that now the only way to get it out is to drill. I've already managed to accidentally loosen one of the fins, so I am looking at some repair work anyhoo. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks.

 

[Missileman]

Can you get at it from the other end and knock it out with a doll rod?

 

[Stones]

You could also opt to break out the clay nozzle end which should allow more area to grab with the pliers. You may be able to "squeeze" the ends once the nozzle is out which may help to lossen it up a bit.

 

[Ryan S.]

you could crush the casing by squeezing it really hard and that might help. Or maybe you could stick it in the freezer for a while, in theory that should work but I have never tried it

 

[eugenefl]

Another suggestion - Estes motor casings are made of wound paper. The motor tube/casing can actually be unwound from the inside out. First, clean out the clay nozzle so that the edge of the paper is exposed. Next, get a hobby knife and score the edge of the casing. Finally, grab a pair of needlenose pliers and grab the loose portion of the paper. Tear away at the paper from the inside until there isn't much left of the casing. By then it should be soft enough to yank out.

Good luck with the stuck motor extraction!

 

[Juaru]

Mkeene,

I can't help you get it out, but judging from your signature, I'd say if you do get it out, it would be "one little victory".

John (not Jon) Arthur

www.JonRocket.com

 

[mkeene]

Thanks folks for all of the suggestions. After talking to a few other people, this apparently is not too uncommon of a problem. I'll make sure to bring visegrips in my range box from now on . I'm gonna work on my bird next week; I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Mike

Next up:
Richter Recker

 

[sandman]

Gett needle nosed vise-grips.

Much more usefull in the range box than the regular ones.

sandman