Pro38 or Aerotech

[iGGiE]

I an currently going for my level 1 certification and have been recomended the Pro38 motors because i am a broke student and they are cheaper, however i was curious to find out how they compare to Aerotech motors before i buy either system?

any advice on this would be greatfully recived,

iGGiE

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Originally posted by iGGiE
I an currently going for my level 1 certification and have been recomended the Pro38 motors because i am a broke student and they are cheaper, however i was curious to find out how they compare to Aerotech motors before i buy either system?

Welcome to the Forum iGGiE,

I have flown several Pro38 motors (I did L1 and L2 on Pro38) and love them........ As far as a true comparison, I think they are both pretty close in price........ Pro38 is easier to use but Aerotech will provide you with more motor choices per case (ie an Aerotech 39/360 case has more motor that a Pro38 4 grain case)

Overall, I would say go with Pro38 for you L1, think about Aerotech later to give you more choices....

 

[Austin]

Iggie...Welcome to The Rocketry Forum!!!

That said , I have both and would make a suggestion. If you can fit a 38-29mm adapter in your model and it's not too heavy, eg:less than 4 lbs...you could fly it on Aerotech 29mm H128W's. the reloads are fast and loud, very cool and most of all, cheap! $12.50 for a reload, they are about a dollar more than a G64 for twice the propellant and about $5-15 cheaper than Aerotech or Pro38 38mm reloads. You can build quite a few HPR rockets that can fly on this load...I have at least six myself. Of course, you would need the 29mm 180/240 hardware, but it's a good investment.

Just a thought.

Carl

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Originally posted by CTulanko
most of all, cheap! $12.50 for a reload

Carl, I did not realize H128's were so cheap........ Have you gotten any lately? From where?

 

[iGGiE]

thanks for the advice guys, i think i will go for the Pro38 for simplicity for my L1.
i like the idea of the 29mm adaptor, i will look into making one.

thanks again

iGGiE

 

[lalligood]

I like the Pro38s because of their simplicity & flexibility. Aerotech makes some great motors but sometimes it can be difficult to get your hands on one with the delay that you want/need. Not an issue with the Pro38s...just dial (or should I say 'drill') in your delay with their ProDAT tool! Once the delay is set, the motor slides into the casing & is ready to be loaded into the rocket.

Conversely, Aerotech has such a great variety of propellant formulas. There's always time after you certify successfully for using both systems though!

And when it comes to certification flights, the more simple you can make your flight, the greater your chances for success (or at the very least you'd have the inverse--the less chance of something going wrong). I personally used a Pro38 H153 for my L1 cert & it couldn't have been any easier

 

[Chilly]

I was going to use Pro38s for L1 but decided on AT 29mm. There are so many nice 29mm kits I want to build first and it fits in my budget.
Magnum has the H128 and H180 reloads for 12.50 - or at least that's the price when they're in stock. And a Dr.Rocket 29/180 motor goes for about 48 bucks, which is only $6 more than a "hobby line" 29/40-120 casing. So you can pick up a 180Ns casing and reload for roughly 60 bucks, and add the 240 casing later for another 25 or so. Not a bad deal. You'll pay nearly 60 for a Pro38 casing & reload anyway. I'll probably go with them when I move up to 38mm.

 

[Austin]

Rocketmaniac...

Chilly answered the question...I just bought a half dozen or so H128's from Ross at Magnum Rockets at the $12.50 price...they are starting to appear at many vendors and the price is about average. My son wanted a G64 and F40...at $9.95 for the F40, I had a hard time buying it, when for a couple bucks more we could have flown an H128...and the G64 was definitely out. We wound up with a F40W and H128W...and got to fly the H this last weekend.

The combo of Dr Rocket 29/180-240 casing set with one set of closures is a good buy at $69.95...saving you even more money.

Carl

 

[shockwaveriderz]

Carl is correct....those H128W are almost a steal at $12.50....when compared to FG prices....

Thats why I'm working on doing my L1 right now.....A Dr.Rocket 29/180 motor and a H128W is even in my financial range...!

 

[Chilly]

Originally posted by CTulanko
Rocketmaniac...

Chilly answered the question...I just bought a half dozen or so H128's from Ross at Magnum Rockets at the $12.50 price...

Carl

So YOU'RE the one! I was gonna certify on an H128 and Ross was SOLD OUT. :kill:

No harm done though...you know the story on Sunday's wind and someone here on my side of Columbus is letting me use his H165 Redline. So life is good.

 

[aksarben10]

For me availablity is what counted the most when I made the hardware choice.

I went with the Pro-38 system not because of price but because Giant Leap always has them on hand. I think the price argument can go either way. I may still get some AT hardware someday, but I am sort of waiting to see where the whole regulation business goes before I invest in another system. Plus job aspects as of late do not allow me to spend much money.

So here I sit content with my Pro-38 casings. I finished the set with the last sale that they had.

Scott

 

[n3tjm]

Pro38's are expensive, especially with the smaller loads. The Case is the cheap part. The 2 grain Pro38 load is about the same price as a 3 grain Aerotech 38mm load. At one of my recent launches, I wanted to fly my EZI, I had two motor choices to buy, a Pro38 2 Grain H154, or a Aerotech I357-10T. Both loads were the same price. I would of gon with the I357, but nobody had a 360 case I could borrow, so I went with the H.

The prices get more reasonable with the large loads.

 

[shockwaveriderz]

I did a comparative fianancial analysis between a Pro 38 2 grain H153 versus several AT H reloads with DR.Rocket 29-180 motor..
Prices are from MagnumRocketry..

Motor pro38 p38-2g $29.50
Dr rocket 29-180 $48.50



Motor cost $29.50 $48.50

Reload cost pro38 H153 AT H128/238
1 $26.50 ($56.00) $12.50 ($61.00)
2 $26.50 ($82.50) $12.50 ($73.50)
3 $26.50 ($109.00)$12.50 ($86.00)
4 $26.50 ($135.50)$12.50 ($98.50)


As you can see from the above chart, only at the initial motor/reload purchase are you saving money. Starting with the 2nd and then subsequent reload purchases, by the time you have purchased that 4th engine, you are actually saving $37... these savings do not include the delay charges requirements of the motors...

If you replaced the single 29-180 motor with the combo 29-180/240 at $69.95 , you would still be saving money by the end of the 3rd engine purchased. This would allow you to then use the H210R motor at $22.50....still less per engine charge than the H153.... SO by the 3rd engine purchase you could have :1 motor/reload or 2 motor/3 reloads to choose from