Has Aerotech lost their minds??
 

Just saw this on that other forum: http://www.rocketryforum.com/showth...Hitch-Thrusters

and http://www.jethitch.com/

J and K motors to put on your pickup??!?

Can anything good come from this?

Insane.

Joke?
 

Well, I went to the "Jet Hitch" website, and just for the heck of it tried to put products into the shopping cart. All of them came up "Product unavailable. Please contact us for details."

It's just too crazy. I'm thinking it's an elaborate joke. Maybe it ties into their odd ad campaign showing folks holding the motors in odd, comical ways.

If it is a joke, I'm not getting it. Posters on the Other Unnamed Forum have been lighting up a thread about it all night with a whole lot of dudgeon about how this could kill the hobby....at least the HP side of it.

I'm still leaning toward the whole idea being too dumb to be anything but a big prank. Guess we'll find out sooner or later.

Apparently it is not a joke.
I have to admit that I don't know who Gary Rosenfield is, nor the relationship 'Survival Laser inc' has with Aerotech or RCS, but the following email reply was apparently sent to a TRF member, it also mentions the issue you found with purchasing:

"Hi Mark,
The Jet Hitch product was originally targeted for the vehicular exhibition industry (monster trucks, jet boats) but we wanted to see what the initial interest would be among the public and also gather some initial feedback from the Rocketry community.
Our General Manager, Charlie Savoie (forum username ATGM), will be on the forum tomorrow to answer questions about not only the Jet Hitch products but also other concerns regarding AeroTech. This includes such issues as the website, catalog and hardware. We are aware of the issues and we are listening to the hobby rocketry community. In the meantime we are monitoring social media and the forum for as much feedback as possible. The jet hitch store can be accessed but purchasing is disabled. No jet hitch motors have been sold.

Please feel free to post this message in its entirety or paraphrase it if you see fit. Charlie will be online at 12 noon MST.

Gary Rosenfield
Survival Laser, Inc."

He is bypassing the significant restrictions (he put in place to increase the barriers to entry for other manufacturers) of NAR and TRA and doing as I have said all along is possible and legal. Selling ATF exempt rocket motors to the general public with ZERO certifications.

Instead of developing a new meme, he is carrying over the Irvine developed MRT/HPR diameters of 54mm, 75mm, and 98mm (Composite Distribution 1978) instead of calling them 2-1/8", 3" and 3.875" or even coming up with new diameters. He still refers to lengths in inches.

Mixed units brought over from HPR. I have attached the image of his hitch mount and the data label from his Firestarter-tm clone Dark Matter. The hitch mount photo shows a RMS 54-1706 motor not the Jet motor anyway. Q: So why not just bypass the misdirection? A: Differentiated "intended use".

After opposing FS (sparkies) at NFPA now he sells it to the general public without any permit whatsoever. Exactly as I said was right all along until he ADDED NFPA regulations to restrict that otherwise legal use in rocketry.

55.141-a-8 Jerry

For those who run into this via TRF, after my U.S. Rockets motors were summarily decertified with no reason or notice (Blazanin, Kelly, Rogers), I was the largest single contributor to the successful BATFE lawsuit and you can still find me on http://flyrockets.com. http://blastzone.org/flyrocketswebststats/Referrers.htm
For those who asked, no I cannot PM you on TRF. I am banned. For speaking truth to "power". Email me if you want to chat.

I find the reaction by the guardians of the rocket community immensely entertaining. It's almost like what happened when Galileo looked through his telescope. Silly man.

http://www.rocketryforum.com/showth...802#post1457802

I for one LIKE the UNrestricted sales of ALL hobby rocket motors for ANYTHING the customer deems wanted as long as it is not for criminal activity.
One should be able to purchase a M or any other motor and do with it as they PLEASE with input from NOBODY else.

I for one would support a return of a lot more NO-HARM=NO-FOUL to society.
And yes, that includes operation of motor vehicles on roads as well.

Well, that's another red flag.

Jet Hitch site has been removed. A fellow named Charlie Savoie who works for Aerotech started another thread on The Other Forum to get input from customers.

As a marketing guy, I'm still trying to figure out the logic in this.

Totally expected statement by Bill.
Many issues he would 'red flag' I would DOUBLE 'green flag'.

I will ALWAYS favor a No Harm=NO FOUL attitude; that to me is what FREEDOM is ALL about.
As long as you do not cause DIRECT and MEASURABLE harm to another it should be perfectly legal.