EVENT vNARCON 2023

[cls]

Oops, guess I'm too late now...

Btw Todd, @Basilhayden , 8 password recovery emails were delivered to my spam box yesterday morning. Somebody unclogged the tubes.

 

[Basilhayden]

Yes, it is just a Speaker Testing sessions happening today.

 

[cwbullet]

Who advertised their new clip whips? They looked high quality.

 

[aerostadt]

Who advertised their new clip whips? They looked high quality.

Maybe, erockets, I'm not sure.

Here they are on the first page.

eRockets The World's Largest Selection of Flying Model Rocket Kits

eRockets has the World's largest selection of Flying Model Rocket Kits, and we are the proud manufacturers of the Semroc line of kits.

www.erockets.biz

 

[Scott_650]

Maybe, erockets, I'm not sure.

Here they are on the first page.

eRockets The World's Largest Selection of Flying Model Rocket Kits

eRockets has the World's largest selection of Flying Model Rocket Kits, and we are the proud manufacturers of the Semroc line of kits.

www.erockets.biz

Joe’s Clip Whip - that’s the one mentioned during the clustering presentation.

 

[cwbullet]

Joe’s Clip Whip - that’s the one mentioned during the clustering presentation.

It must be not available yet. I have one but it needs to be replaced.

 

[aerostadt]

The NARCON EmCee said on Saturday night that old AT white lightning F15's or E15's, I'm not sure which, with a C-slot tend to swell up and are no longer any good. Sure enough I went back and looked at some old SU AT 24 mm E15's in my possession and I can see that the C-slot is swollen shut. I assume that these are no longer any good.

 

[neil_w]

The NARCON EmCee said on Saturday night that old AT white lightning F15's or E15's, I'm not sure which, with a C-slot tend to swell up and are no longer any good. Sure enough I went back and looked at some old SU AT 24 mm E15's in my possession and I can see that the C-slot is swollen shut. I assume that these are no longer any good.

Uh oh, I'd better go check mine... but, um, what is the "C-slot"? And how old are we talking about? Reloads or SU?

 

[BEC]

The C-slot is just the slot in the grain through which you insert the igniter/initiator....and is also the initial area that burns. This issue occurs with White Lightning that has aged, regardless of what its in. SU motors are pretty much scrap if the slot is closed because there's nothing practical you can do about it (that I know of, anyway). In reloads you can get to the propellant and with a little careful knife/file/sandpaper work can open the slot back up and then build a motor you can (probably) light and that will (probably) work. Note that this is based on what I have read here and elsewhere — I have not yet tried this on any motors in my possession. I do have a couple of 24/60 loads that are candidates for trying this with, however.

This aging issue with White Lightning is one of the reasons I was, and still am, skeptical about White Lighting in Q-Jets. While I suppose it is silly for me to expect these to age as well as black powder motors can (if not frozen/thawed), still I'd like to think that they'll be usable a number of years from now as I tend to buy LPR motors I like in bulk which means some of them hang around a long time. And I've flown 50-year-old Estes motors and had them work perfectly. As I say, probably unrealistic expectations.

 

[neil_w]

I think I'm going to need to be more careful about my white lightning motor storage.

 

[SolarYellow]

Is this aging regardless of conditions? Right now, my White Lightning motors and reloads are all sitting in sealed ammo crates with silica gel packs, inside the house, which is air conditioned. Is there a time frame where they will likely/possibly become unusable?

 

[dpower]

The C-slot is just the slot in the grain through which you insert the igniter/initiator....and is also the initial area that burns. This issue occurs with White Lightning that has aged, regardless of what its in. SU motors are pretty much scrap if the slot is closed because there's nothing practical you can do about it (that I know of, anyway). In reloads you can get to the propellant and with a little careful knife/file/sandpaper work can open the slot back up and then build a motor you can (probably) light and that will (probably) work. Note that this is based on what I have read here and elsewhere — I have not yet tried this on any motors in my possession. I do have a couple of 24/60 loads that are candidates for trying this with, however.

This aging issue with White Lightning is one of the reasons I was, and still am, skeptical about White Lighting in Q-Jets. While I suppose it is silly for me to expect these to age as well as black powder motors can (if not frozen/thawed), still I'd like to think that they'll be usable a number of years from now as I tend to buy LPR motors I like in bulk which means some of them hang around a long time. And I've flown 50-year-old Estes motors and had them work perfectly. As I say, probably unrealistic expectations.

The Q-Jet white is "Fast White", a different formulation than WL. Time will tell how they oxidize and or swell. I've tried to fly old WL RMS motors that were swelled shut, by filing a new slot. Problem was, they chuffed far too much off the pad, causing 1 or 2 problems. First, they might come up to pressure only after off the rod/rail. Second, the delay might start right away, and might burn through right when the motor gets the rocket up to speed. If I come across those in my stash now, they get tossed in the fire pit, for some brief entertainment. I really try to cycle through my reloads, and with WL, only buy what I'm likely to use in a flying season.

 

[BEC]

The Q-Jet white is "Fast White", a different formulation than WL. Time will tell how they oxidize and or swell. I've tried to fly old WL RMS motors that were swelled shut, by filing a new slot. Problem was, they chuffed far too much off the pad, causing 1 or 2 problems. First, they might come up to pressure only after off the rod/rail. Second, the delay might start right away, and might burn through right when the motor gets the rocket up to speed. If I come across those in my stash now, they get tossed in the fire pit, for some brief entertainment. I really try to cycle through my reloads, and with WL, only buy what I'm likely to use in a flying season.

Yes, that’s what Gary told me when I expressed this concern about WL Q-Jets to him. As you say, time will tell.

And I’ve seen some of those “interesting” attempts to use an old White Lighting motor after doing some internal scraping and such. Both of those issues manifest themselves, which often make good examples of why we stand a good distance from the pads — and at the club I most often fly with who does lots of HPR, much more than the minimum distances.

I have several SU E motors that are White Lighting that I really should just dispose of. Fortunately, I don’t have too many WL reloads that are aged.

 

[WillMarchant]

Todd has put the chat channel from the manufacturer’s forum up on accelevents.