Greetings after 5 months, and question...

[NewEntity1]

Hullo all, its been five months since I last was posting regularly in these forums The previous quarter at Mt. Sierra was extremily hectic, with many projects being required, including work on senior project...so I didn't do much except study and work. The two months before that I was briefly re-occupied with another hobby of mine

Thus it was not until this quarter break that I finally had time to assemble the initiator I purchased clear back in early February...I'll upload pics in a couple days for your viewing pleasure. I also have one or two small rockets left to assemble, but I'm ready to comptemplate my next step up in rocketry...a PML!

My plan was to get a Callisto to familiarize myself with PML's build techniques. I was going to order through Red Arrow, but noticed Red Arrow only offers the Callisto with a 38mm mount. I wanted to build 1 more 29mm before moving up to the real high power stuff, so I'll have to order the kit from either Just Rockets or directly from PML. If I order directly from PML it will cost slightly more, but I can order some magnalite(tm) ignitors along with it.

QUESTION: Red Arrow only carries the First Fire ignitors. 1) Are these as good as Magnalites, or should I spit out the extra cash for the magnas? 2) If I get First Fires, its the juniors *I want for F and G reloads, right? 3) The First Fires are still a lot better than copperheads, or are they? I've seen copperheads used, and thats what I'll be using on July 3rd, since thats all I have right now. However, me no likum .

 

[g_boxwood]

Originally posted by NewEntity1
Red Arrow only carries the First Fire ignitors. 1) Are these as good as Magnalites, or should I spit out the extra cash for the magnas?

IMHO Magnelites >> (much better than) First Fires (please note that I DO NOT even consider Copperheads) BUT it mainly depends on what you're planning to use them with; ML are a must for clusters while FF may be used in single motor configs if you want to save some money. I personally use MLs for ingniting 54mm AT reloads and smaller AT clusters while I use FFs (that come with the reload) in single motor HPR rockets (where ignition delay doesn't play such an important role). In my experience smaller AT White Lightining C-slotted reloads are hard to lit with ML as well: I once burned 3 ML to try to lit an E16W (29-40/120) that has been well prepped to promote ingnition between each attempt...

 

[shockwaveriderz]

You might want to consider quickbursts..

https://www.quickburst.net/igniters.htm

 

[joepolicy]

Originally posted by shockwaveriderz
You might want to consider quickbursts..

I have used the QuickBurst Twiggys for F & G, they light every time. Plus, they ship your order very quickly.

 

[firemanup]

Buy from RAH, use the saved money to get a 38 to 29 adapter, and in six months to a year from now you'll be very happy you have the 38 tube for more options when you're more comfortable.

I have many 29mm birds and a couple 38mm birds i now wish had larger motor mounts and i've heard similar comments from many others in the past....

I've never had any trouble with First Fire's in HP motors, but do not have any HP clustering experience.. for just single motors i wouldn't spend anymore for ignitors, they work fine.

 

[NewEntity1]

Its a pity RAH only takes paypal. I hate making large purchases that way...if anything happens (regardless of whose fault it is), then the money is just plain gone.

I've been rethinking my stratagy too. Instead of the Callisto, I may buy one more Aerotech rocket first (thinking...Strong Arm this time).

Then, instead of a Callisto, I'll get a Phobos, which has the nice added feature of a payload section, where I would mount an ultra-beep for to begin with. For this rocket I would definately take Firemanup's suggestion of ordering the 38mm version, and get a 38mm to 29mm adaptor to go with it. That way I could even fly Is, once I'm certified .

 

[strudleman]

Originally posted by NewEntity1
Its a pity RAH only takes paypal. I hate making large purchases that way...if anything happens (regardless of whose fault it is), then the money is just plain gone.

While I can't argue your reasoning, I just wanted to say that I've used paypal for years for orders of many sizes, and never once had a problem. I try and support stores that use paypal. Besides knowing that the order will be incredibly secure, it's always nice to help out those smaller companies until they can afford an in-house ecommerce solution.

BTW, Hi everybody! This is my first post. And I thought that it would be fitting to post a picture of my first HP rocket.

https://strudleman.com/images/amraam3-2.jpg

It's a PML Amraam 3, with the 29-38-54 quikswitch system in it. Once it's painted I'll post better pics, and then I'll launch it for my lvl 1 cert.

 

[Justin]

Hey Strudleman- let me be the first to welcome you to the forum! You'll love it here. There must be a a million years combined rocket knowlege on this thing...

NewEntity-I agree with firemanup, get a 38 and an adapter. You never know what motors will be available. I just did the same for my first HP rocket.

 

[Batman]

Good call on the Phobos. That was my first PML kit and my L1 certification rocket. It rips. It a sharp looking great flying rocket. The 29mm version is OK as long as you have a 29/360 casing. I wouldn't do another AT rocket if I were you. Try some other stuff. PML and LOC kits are so much easier to customize to your liking.

 

[NewEntity1]

Welcome to the forums, Strudleman

Batman: Yeah, maybe I'll try a LOC Viper 3 instead of the Aerotech kit....been wanting to get started my my clustering skills. Plus its a lot cheaper. Or maybe I would get one of the larger LOC clustering kits, even.

As for the PML kits...no rush deciding, since I won't be trying for cert until November. I'm now torn between the Phobos and the Ex-Calibur...both are payloaders in the G-I impulse range, and both weigh 32 oz. The Ex-Calibur looks pretty cool, too. I'll still probably go with the Phobos though...from what I've been seeing on these boards, it sounds like it was the first PML kit for several posters, and thus probably a good choice for mine, as well.


[edit: for grammer and typos]

 

[sandman]

RAH does credit card orders too.

But you have to call him. The number in on his website.

The twiggy igniter work great but some have been a really tight fit into an F or G motor.

sandman