More shotgun ejection charges
 

A while back, I tried to console and counsel Bill (Wallyum) regarding some of his rockets that were wrecked by overly active ejection charges. If I coulda found the thread, I woulda just put this post there.

Anyway, yesterday I went to the park to get a quick BP fix. It's been forever since I flew, and I fligured a few glider shots would jazz me up a little. And since they need almost no prep effort, I knew I could get in a few flights before sunset.

My CiCi put in a great flight on an A8-3. I had the rod tilted about 35° away from vertical with the CiCi upright. The motor burn tended to push it down toward horizontal, then in glide it pitched up. After ejection, it put in an awesome circling glide.

Next up was my Tinee on a 1/2A3-2T. Same setup, but the bird looped anyway and found a tree. Fortunately, I was able to climb up and get it down.

After that, I put another 1/2A3 in my Geminee. That's when the fun started. At ejection, I saw way too many pieces flying and nothing gliding. Seems the hot ejection charge blew the forward pod off causing the remainder of that section to come tumbling down. Simultaneously, the motor ejected itself from the aft glider, tearing thru the retaining tape in the process, and causing that section, lacking the balancing weight of the motor, to flutter down, too. I think I can glue the forward pod back on and reinforce it a bit, too. So the Geminee will fly again.

Frustrated by the last two flights, I went back to the Cici hoping for good flight again. She took off great, and again the motor burn caused her to pitch down followed by pitching up under glide. Then POW followed by her fluttering to the ground with the motor landing nearby. This rocket had been modified a bit to guard against this. The motor pod had been vented to relieve some of the ejection pressure, and the motor was inserted with only enough friction to keep it from falling out on the pad. But still, it snapped off along the wood grain of the main spar.

Dave and I looked for the missing pod for 10 or 15 minutes before finally giving up. With the afternoon sun and a few leaves down, it just couldn't be found :( I think I can get it put back together, maybe even a bit stronger. But like Bill, I'm getting pretty agitated by these nuclear ejection charges.

Even with all that, it was still nice to get out and burn a few motors :)

Doug

I've been having some A10-3T ejections going off like a .50BMG. I've got a super long shock cord on my EAC Viper and the NC still rebounded and took a hunk out of one of the fins last time out. It's mostly been A8-3's and A10-3T's for me. I guess part of it is the smaller bodied rockets amplify the effects. I've had some harder ejections with larger motors, but not the shotgun ejections with big fireballs coming out that I get sometimes with the A's. This actually looked like a flamethrower right at ejection, but I took the pic a fraction or two of a second after the rocket and fireball separated from each other.

Looks like a bigger charge than a typical BOTTLE ROCKET has upon the report....NOT good !

That's my sister's little E2X Banshee. It's one of those that has the shock cord threaded through the tube to the outside of the body tube were it is tied off with a little plastic shroud over the knot (if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm sorry. I can't explain it any better). I think this is were the tube almost had that plastic piece ripped through to the inside. Dad fixed that by filling the whole, painting it, and installing a traditional Estes paper mount.

This "shotgun" ejection charge problem was discussed in detail on the former Estes Forum.
I discussed this with management at Estes, and, basicallyt caught H.... over it.
We all know that it is a problem, I would strongly suggest, if your rocket is blown apart, contact the customer service department at Estes 1-800-525-7561 X-216, and speak with Christine, ask for a new rocket and replacement motors.

If Estes gets enough feedback, hopefully, they will ACT !!!

RD,
It sounds like you caught "H" over every decent suggestion you fed to the so-called management at Estes from "REAL" rocket hobbyists.

I sure wish there was a REAL alternative supplier of BP engines I could turn to....what that company has become compared to what Vern created really gets me P.O.ed everytime I think about it.

If I could get my BP engines from a source that had a REAL selection (not the dismal vanilla Quest offerings), I'd never buy another Estes motor again unless ownership of Estes changes hands.

From what I have seen and what you have said, the only way they have chosen to act is to ignore your actual feedback from the forum and to ignore real rocketeer's concerns.
Their management is a joke and is a farce compared to what they used to be.

Quite frankly I think the company is a slap in the face of Vern's/Gleda's good name.

Compared to yesteryear it is really sad to see what has came of Estes (and Centuri for that matter).
Unfortunately we have no REAL alternative for BP SU engines.
Too bad there are so many NUISANCE UN-NEEDED laws and regulations regarding manufacture of BP motors or we would probably see many start-up ventures in this area. I'd gladly pay a 25% premium over Estes SU BP STREET prices to get some better more useful non-Estes engines. More than that, I'd just fly more composite RMS, which I have already started doing.

Both of my SEMROC Astron Spaceplane clones had their rear ends rekitted due to the shotgun ejection charges.

My original is still flying but has been retired since Vern and Gleda signed it.

I've only given you the icing on the cake, if you only knew the heart of it all, you would be amazed.
I did what I could for my fellow rocketeers.
We can only hope that changes will be made in 2008, but, we all need to forward our "constructive criticism" to Estes and hopefully, changes will be made.

Since every is always harping on the negatives, how about listing all the positive things you or others suggested that Estes/Estes management actually implemented?

Der Red Max
Interceptor 1250
Interceptor 1350

Suggested
Longer shock cords
A better assortment of motors
3 pack B6-0's
B14's
More vintage kits
Vintage Centuri kits
Investigation of the "shotgun" ejection charges
Availability of more kit in mass merchandisers
The return of the Forum
Estes attending NSL, NARCON and NARAM
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Estes
Need I say more, and, who is griping? You just have no idea, and, let's let it go at that!!!!!