grouch
Well-Known Member
Squid, you are going to pay haz on AT 38mm motors as well so that's not a deciding factor. The choice between CTI and AT is not as big a deal as most make it out to be. It's really a matter of which one you are going to buy first. You will most likely own both. Personally I'm not a fan of the CTI 38mm motors due to the real closure but I love their 29mm stuff. The versatility of the grain spacers is a huge deal when you first start out as it helps reduce starting cost. Get a 3 grain case and you have essentially three cases. That's cool.
In my book AT has better motors and I like the cases better. "Better" to me means AT white is prettier than the CTI whites. Man, talk about a pretty flame! The cases are a work of art, they are just really cool and are fun as heck to load. Look at all those fiddly little pieces to put together.
Loki is a great alternative if you have a good attention to detail an aren't incredibly anal about motor cleanliness. I abhor cleaning the nozzles and can't stress that enough. It only really matters if you have to have a clean nozzle and my OCD mandates that I do. The draw to Scott's motors are two fold. One is PERFORMANCE! Nothing hits like a Loki white. When you absolutely have to crush it, crush it with a Loki white. The other draw is most of their 38mm ships haz free and that may be a huge pull for you. Downsides? Only a couple. Snap ring cases aren't as forgiving as threaded cases. They aren't impossible but you do have to be a little more careful with them. I have seen more than one ruined rocket because the flyer did not ensure the forward snap ring was seated correctly and romaned candled their rockets on the pad. Another issue is product supply can be hit or miss as Scott is a one man show. Sometimes you just really want a red load and all you can get is a white or vice versa.
Most will advise to buy what is on site and that's a solid plan providing you have a motor vendor on site. Of the last few launches I have been to that wasn't the case (hehehe, case) so ordering your motors in advance is a must. Nothing is worse than showing up to a launch expecting to buy a motor and you are sidelined. Good luck with what ever dip you decide, can't really go wrong. And as far as everything I just said, there will be 30 guys rushing to point out the one exception to what ever I said because rockets.
In my book AT has better motors and I like the cases better. "Better" to me means AT white is prettier than the CTI whites. Man, talk about a pretty flame! The cases are a work of art, they are just really cool and are fun as heck to load. Look at all those fiddly little pieces to put together.
Loki is a great alternative if you have a good attention to detail an aren't incredibly anal about motor cleanliness. I abhor cleaning the nozzles and can't stress that enough. It only really matters if you have to have a clean nozzle and my OCD mandates that I do. The draw to Scott's motors are two fold. One is PERFORMANCE! Nothing hits like a Loki white. When you absolutely have to crush it, crush it with a Loki white. The other draw is most of their 38mm ships haz free and that may be a huge pull for you. Downsides? Only a couple. Snap ring cases aren't as forgiving as threaded cases. They aren't impossible but you do have to be a little more careful with them. I have seen more than one ruined rocket because the flyer did not ensure the forward snap ring was seated correctly and romaned candled their rockets on the pad. Another issue is product supply can be hit or miss as Scott is a one man show. Sometimes you just really want a red load and all you can get is a white or vice versa.
Most will advise to buy what is on site and that's a solid plan providing you have a motor vendor on site. Of the last few launches I have been to that wasn't the case (hehehe, case) so ordering your motors in advance is a must. Nothing is worse than showing up to a launch expecting to buy a motor and you are sidelined. Good luck with what ever dip you decide, can't really go wrong. And as far as everything I just said, there will be 30 guys rushing to point out the one exception to what ever I said because rockets.
