Reloadable Motor System

[Dave A]

Yep. I believe I have every AT compatible case from 18mm to 98mm so far... Unless AT finally releases the 75/10240 and the 98/25600...

I mentioned to AT about doing a 7 grain 75mm motor. I believe they have plans to do a SU 75/10240 motor.
I flew my own design at Red Glare this past April.
Since I fly all my AT 75 reloads in a snap-ring cases, I did a 7 grain version of the M1850, it simmed as an M-2353. Punched my 85# Patriot to over 5300'. Awesome flight.

 

[Steve Shannon]

The graphs of the break even point for different motors are helpful, but there was an additional consideration with the break even point for me. I bought an Aerotech 29/180 case for my L1 certification flight. The reason I did it is simple.

1) I want to gain experience with reloadable motors.
2) I can only order one H impulse motor for my L1 certification flight. The 29mm DMS type motors require me to pay a Hazmat fee of $35. If I ever fly another disposable 29mm High Power motor, I will again have to pay the $35 Hazmat fee, which brings me up to $70 in Hazmat fees. I figured I could just invest that $70 into a case and gain some experience with reloadable motors instead of throwing it away on Hazmat fees. Sure, I paid more than $70 for the case and closures, but it wasn't that much more, and I think it is worth it for the experience I can gain. Hopefully I can hang onto the case for a while. I could also use 29/120 and 29/100 G impulse motors in the 29/180 case with the Aerotech RAS.

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier. Here’s how I did it starting out (as recommended by my Prefect/TAP) and this is what I suggest to people who come to me wanting to certify.
1. Order at least two motors for each level you wish to certify. That way if something minor disqualifies your attempt you can follow it up with a successful flight.
2. Don’t order them to be sent to you. Paragraph 6.1.(9.) in NFPA 1127 allows a single motor to be sent to a person for purposes of certification, but you can have multiple motors sent to someone who is certified appropriately. So, have them sent to your Prefect or a certification witness who is certified.
3. If possible borrow the case from your certification witness. I regularly loan my cases to people who are certifying. If they ruin them or lose them they are obligated to replace them. They are also obligated to clean them before returning them. After a few flights people form a clearer idea of what kinds of cases they want to invest in. This inexpensive experience helps them make that decision.
4. Your Prefect or club President may also be able to tell you when a club or group order is going to happen. That saves a lot of money on hazmat and shipping. When I order group orders they are usually about $3000 worth at a time and I prorate the shipping based on % of the order, so if a person buys $1000 worth of the $3000 order they pay 1/3 of the shipping. The person who buys $100 worth pays 1/30th. I always pick up a few extras for my box which people can use for certifying also.

 

[pondman]

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier. Here’s how I did it starting out (as recommended by my Prefect/TAP) and this is what I suggest to people who come to me wanting to certify.
1. Order at least two motors for each level you wish to certify. That way if something minor disqualifies your attempt you can follow it up with a successful flight.
2. Don’t order them to be sent to you. In fact there’s nothing in NFPA 1127 that allows a motor to be sent to a person who is not yet certified. I know vendors do it and probably nobody will ever question it. Instead, have them sent to your Prefect or certification witness who is certified.
3. If possible borrow the case from your certification witness. I regularly loan my cases to people who are certifying. If they ruin them or lose them they are obligated to replace them. They are also obligated to clean them before returning them. After a few flights people form a clearer idea of what kinds of cases they want to invest in. This inexpensive experience helps them make that decision.
4. Your Prefect or club President may also be able to tell you when a club or group order is going to happen. That saves a lot of money on hazmat and shipping. When I order group orders they are usually about $3000 worth at a time and I prorate the shipping based on % of the order, so if a person buys $1000 worth of the $3000 order they pay 1/3 of the shipping. The person who buys $100 worth pays 1/30th. I always pick up a few extras for my box which people can use for certifying also.

Excellent info Steve!

 

[yorn]

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier. Here’s how I did it starting out (as recommended by my Prefect/TAP) and this is what I suggest to people who come to me wanting to certify.
1. Order at least two motors for each level you wish to certify. That way if something minor disqualifies your attempt you can follow it up with a successful flight.
2. Don’t order them to be sent to you. In fact there’s nothing in NFPA 1127 that allows a motor to be sent to a person who is not yet certified. I know vendors do it and probably nobody will ever question it. Instead, have them sent to your Prefect or certification witness who is certified.
3. If possible borrow the case from your certification witness. I regularly loan my cases to people who are certifying. If they ruin them or lose them they are obligated to replace them. They are also obligated to clean them before returning them. After a few flights people form a clearer idea of what kinds of cases they want to invest in. This inexpensive experience helps them make that decision.
4. Your Prefect or club President may also be able to tell you when a club or group order is going to happen. That saves a lot of money on hazmat and shipping. When I order group orders they are usually about $3000 worth at a time and I prorate the shipping based on % of the order, so if a person buys $1000 worth of the $3000 order they pay 1/3 of the shipping. The person who buys $100 worth pays 1/30th. I always pick up a few extras for my box which people can use for certifying also.

Wow, thank you for the info! This is an incredibly helpful post.

 

[Steve Shannon]

I just have to issue a correction to what I said earlier. There is a clause in NFPA 1127 that allows a single motor to be sold or transferred to someone not yet certified for purposes of certification. It’s still a better idea to have spares sent to your certification witness, but I was wrong about the requirement.