Is there an HPR motor sharing "service"?

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Joined
Jun 30, 2022
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Melbourne, Florida
Hello from Melbourne Florida! I am working on the design for my L3 certification and would like to do it without breaking the bank. Has anyone heard of a motor casing "rental" service? I am looking for any casing that will at least manage an M-class impulse motor. Any ideas are welcome! Thanks all!
 
Usual deal is "you borrow it and break it, you replace it", returning the case clean is a must. Some clubs having casings to borrow, or ask around your club(s) to see if someone can loan you one. For L3 flights there is the AT M1350W single use motor, no hardware to buy, assemble it beforehand, fly it, dispose of the "hardware" done. Difference in price between M1350W and M1297W is about $80 (preorder BMS), and the two motors are nearly identical performance-wise.
 
Sometimes the motor vendors will let you borrow a case for certs... same deal, "you break it, you bought it".

Honestly, you're going to end up buying the hardware anyway... you might as well just bite the bullet and do it for your L3. Going the M1350 single-use route is really throwing money away, unless you either have a high expectation of not getting back the rocket, or you never expect to launch another L3 motor.
 
I would offer to loan my casing, but ask that you pay shipping both ways, as condition of loan. Given the length of the motor, you may already be approaching the price point of the DMS version of that motor.

Ask around your local clubs, someone may have one to loan. I know I'd loan mine if I was not using it.
 
Sometimes the motor vendors will let you borrow a case for certs... same deal, "you break it, you bought it".

Honestly, you're going to end up buying the hardware anyway... you might as well just bite the bullet and do it for your L3. Going the M1350 single-use route is really throwing money away, unless you either have a high expectation of not getting back the rocket, or you never expect to launch another L3 motor.
I agree, you should probably buy the hardware and consider it a cost of doing your L3.

The question I would have is, do you plan to do mix your own motors? That can influence what hardware and cert motor you buy. In my case, I got a Loki snap ring case and reload for my cert flight. Every flight after that has been EX motors, which was the plan all along. Just something to consider.
 
I believe the best way to save money on your L3 is to not do it.
Unless you're just doing it to collect the merit badge, it's not a "one and done"
You'll want to fly it again, or build something else L3 and fly it.
Just buy the motor.

My humble opinion
 
hasn't there been any other case material that would be super cheap and easy to put fore and aft closures into?
 
First, before designing the rocket, make sure you have TAPs or an L3CC lined up. That’s also good because they are able to advise you on where you might get a case. They have been through this before. They might have a case to loan with the usual agreement Rich mentioned above. Or they know if a club has them. Or they might know of someone getting out of the hobby who has cases they want to sell. They almost certainly will know which vendors come to the fields they service.
Alternatively, ask the vendor you buy the motor from to see if they have a loaner case. They sometimes do.

I tell my candidates not to buy a new case unless they really want to. There are frequently people dropping out of the hobby and they sometimes sell their cases and sometime donate them to a nearby club.

However, with all that said, if you really want a case, don’t hesitate; put out an advertisement here and on the buy sell and trade Facebook group.
 
Hello from Melbourne Florida! I am working on the design for my L3 certification and would like to do it without breaking the bank. Has anyone heard of a motor casing "rental" service? I am looking for any casing that will at least manage an M-class impulse motor. Any ideas are welcome! Thanks all!
If you can wait till the end of the year you might be able to find a deal where you buy the case and get the reload free. I think Wildman had that promotion last Black Friday on 75mm and 98mm M motors. The hardware is a little more expensive than the reload you’d otherwise have to buy, but it’s a pretty killer deal for what you get.
 
People borrow/loan hardware all the time. Just ask around to see who has what you need. Some might ask a small fee but thats rare. As others have stated, you break it you buy it and return in clean or better than you received it. Its not taboo to ask to borrow hardware; its actually quite common, especially for L3. :)
 
I remember I got a 54mm case from Wildman on a black friday sale and the reload was free:)

Tim has certain black Saturday and member Wednesday deals that are the same every year. M1297W and M1939W, both with hardware. Best deal you will ever find. The M1297 package deal is especially nice because you just need to add a 75RAS to it and now you have (3) 75mm motors in one, for an amazing price.
 
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