Warp 9 snuffed the smoke grain

[JoePfeiffer]

Before starting, let me make clear that I'm not in any way criticizing Aerotech here -- they only offer their Warp 9 propellant reloads in a plugged configuration precisely because what I'm relating below can happen.

Anyway, I flew my 2.2" fiberglass Hichory Dichory Mach on an H999 Saturday, and the smoke grain got snuffed when the motor burned out! See the attached photo of the grain. There's just a little charring on the end where it started to burn, and that's it. The flight was great; the rocket weighs about four pounds, so it pretty much vanished when I launched it. Without a burning smoke grain, nobody saw it again until it was recovered. Nobody saw the drogue deploy (though one person said he heard it), and apparently I didn't have enough of an ejection charge to eject the main chute (the charge did fire, but the nose cone didn't separate). Altimeter was a Stratologger CF, which recorded an altitude of 2609'. Came down undamaged on the 18" drogue -- let's hear it for fiberglass!

The only reason I got it back was the Big Red Bee GPS unit. Took me right to it.

 

[dshmel]

VMAX

 

[rocketace]

I have only flown 3 Warp 9 motors so far (4th hopefully this Saturday), H669 and H999. With how quick mine vanish I have never actually seen the smoke in the sky, but upon cleaning, my smoke grain has burnt 2 out of the 3.

 

[heada]

So the Warp9 worked as expected? Its well known that they burn so quick that the delay grains are unreliable for anything but taking up space in the forward closure.

 

[rharshberger]

Its been several years since NAR and TRA issued the warnings that W9 motors (and VMAX?) were to be flown with electronics for that very reason.

 

[dshmel]

The Warp9 motors I have flown have gone to an altitude where the tracking smoke is not generally visible. With GPS tracking and electronic deployment, tracking smoke is not part of my spotting and recovery strategy. I normally see the drogue charge and backup charge if apogee is less than 4K

 

[AeroTech]

Correct, that is why all Warp-9 motors are plugged.

 

[user 30299]

Correct, that is why all Warp-9 motors are plugged.

The Warp9 motors are awesome! Love using them. Keep making them!

But they're definitely not for everyone, and they can find a weakness in your build pretty quick.

 

[JoePfeiffer]

So the Warp9 worked as expected? Its well known that they burn so quick that the delay grains are unreliable for anything but taking up space in the forward closure.

Worked exactly as expected (right down to vanishing rocket magic trick). I just found it interesting to see that the potential result I'd heard about actually happened.

 

[user 30299]

Worked exactly as expected (right down to vanishing rocket magic trick). I just found it interesting to see that the potential result I'd heard about actually happened.

So are you a Warp9 convert now ?

 

[heada]

I've used an H999, I1299 and the J1999 and like them all. Only rocket I've seen disappear faster is an Estes Mosquito on an A10.