Suspected Bad Motor List

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More data.

No catos. All flew GREAT!

(1) E9-4 (A 03 30 17)
(1) E9-4 (A 09 15 14)
(1) E9-4 (A 01 12 16)

(2) E12-6 (no date codes recorded because we almost NEVER see a cato for the E12 motors. They flew GREAT).

Edited the above to add the code for the last E9-4.
 
Can't get this to open: https://motorcato.org/MESSForm.aspx
Does it still work?

And the MESS reporting linked to in other areas here (www.messreport.org I think) don't work either.

Our IT person is trying to get the new MESS system swapped in. He ran into a bit of a hiccup. There are several posts where this question has been asked. I won’t try to answer in all of them; that’s too much like playing whack-a-mole, but I’ll try to make one TRF announcement.
 
We had a launch this weekend and last weekend and launched well over a dozen E9 and E12 motors. All performed flawlessly.

I did not get date codes for the E12 motors, but the E9 were E9-4 (A 09 15 14).
 
Much is made about the unreliability of Estes E motors. Now that anybody can generate a report from the MESS system, look at what it says. Remember, Estes makes a LOT of motors, so anecdotal evidence may not reflect a significant occurrence of failures.
 
We had a launch this weekend and last weekend and launched well over a dozen E9 and E12 motors. All performed flawlessly.

I did not get date codes for the E12 motors, but the E9 were E9-4 (A 09 15 14).
I am so happy to hear this, some positive news about the E12's. I have a three pack I've been afraid to use. I haven't wanted to take a chance on any of my rockets.
 
Just found this thread today and read the entire thing. Great to see that we can search the MESS reports, but when I did this, I only got 9 results on the E12, with mine reported twice.
https://motorcato.herokuapp.com/sea...s&name=E12&motor_type=SU&serial_no=A 05 15 12
I sent an email to Estes, and ordered parts to replace the LOC Viper 3. It was almost worth it to get these pictures of this spectacular failureIMG_9851.JPGIMG_9852.JPG
 
On the 19th I had two CATO from Estes E12-4 from the same package I bought at Hobby Lobby.
The tube says D 19 06 19 on the side, the package says 1692 and has some barcode 084691 (8-15).
Both engines blew out the base and the top just a fraction of a second after launch, carbonizing the inner part of the tube of a Big Daddy. I had the whole body of an Olympus get crumpled during the cato. I am working with Estes to try to get new rockets and giving them the info on the engines. I also reported to the mess folks.
 
After many CATOs with E12 and E16 engines, I stopped using them. Estes has retooled the equipment that manufacturers the large BP engines.
Wait until mid October before buying those engines
 
Please post about how things work out . . .

Dave F.

I got an email back from Estes asking for photos - which I provided, they said a tech would check them out and get back to me.

5 months down the track - nothing :(

I know COVID has screwed everything up, so still hoping I get a response.

Krusty
 
I got an email back from Estes asking for photos - which I provided, they said a tech would check them out and get back to me.

5 months down the track - nothing :(

I know COVID has screwed everything up, so still hoping I get a response.

Krusty

Try contacting John Boren, directly . . .

Dave F.
 
That URL is to the old report form, the new one is easily available from the main page (big button). Or if you want a direct link, use the new one:
https://www.motorcato.org/report

Never to late for a kind gesture..... :goodjob:

Thanks for your work on making the MESS reports a searchable database. I stumbled upon this thread, and your post, then clicked on the link.

Sure is easy to use and very informative.

Give this man a blue ribbon! :cheers:
 
FWIW.. I've stopped updating the Bad Motor List.

The search function of the Malfunctioning Engine Statistical Survey allows for researching motor issues by simply typing in the motor, such as entering "E12" into the "designation" field.

It's a much better way to find current and historic data for rocket motors.
 

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FWIW.. I've stopped updating the Bad Motor List.

The search function of the Malfunctioning Engine Statistical Survey allows for researching motor issues by simply typing in the motor, such as entering "E12" into the "designation" field.

It's a much better way to find current and historic data for rocket motors.
And if you click on Latest you’re taken to a really interesting page that shows two lists: the last 12 motors with failure reports and the top 25 of all time. There have been 184 E12 failures to date. Next in line is the E9 with 177.
Nothing else is in triple digits but remember that we don’t know how many have flown.
 
And if you click on Latest you’re taken to a really interesting page that shows two lists: the last 12 motors with failure reports and the top 25 of all time. There have been 184 E12 failures to date. Next in line is the E9 with 177.
Nothing else is in triple digits but remember that we don’t know how many have flown.
That's great Steve.

I understand Estes has built a new machine, to replace the old machine that built the E motors. Let's hope they have figured out the issue. And with this new search function we should be able to see if that is in fact the case.
 
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