Estes C11-3 discontinued?
 

Looks like it. I guess I missed that. I am going to stock up on a few before they are completely gone.

I think it may be more than C11-3s. The entire C11 series may have been discontinued. And the entire E9 series too.

The C11-3, E9-6, and E9-8 have all vanished off the Estes site. AC Supply already has the C11-3 and E9-6 listed as "Discontinued." Hobbylinc doesn't have any C11-3, E9-6, or E9-8 in stock.

Yes the C11-3 is not on the Estes website, but all the other C11 motors are on the website and in stock, so it doesn't look like they are discontinued for now.
https://www.estesrockets.com/rockets/engines/c11-and-d
The only E9 on their website is the E9-4, and is in stock. All other E9s do not show up.
https://www.estesrockets.com/rockets/engines/e-engines

They do that while they still have stock to sell, but manufacturing is likely over. This is why they're still selling some of the composite motors they rebranded from Aerotech even though they will be discontinued once the current stock is finally gone.

Yes, the C11 and E9 motor series are being/have been discontinued.

For that reason I have purchased a bunch of C11-3 motor packs.

Get'em while you still can. ;)

Ok, now we have an informed source of the status of these motors.

The E9 was a great motor for their mid-size V-2 (don't recall the kit #). All that was needed was to build the engine mount for a 3.75" engine rather than 2.75". Realistic liftoffs and high flights. I'm really gonna miss that engine!

The E12 is better than the E9 for everything but an upper stage sustainer.
Sad to see the C11-3 go due to it being the closest available motor to the old 18mm C5-3 that Estes refuses to produce any longer.

Bummer, bummer, bummer on the C11-3 being discontinued.
Perfect motor for custom, personalized rockets I made for my grandkids.

wick

Ditto. I'm hoping the new Quest C motors can reasonably take their place.

Crap. I have several small field school demo models I built and sized specifically for the C11-3.

Let's hope the C11-0 does not disappear.
That is the ONLY decent C sized booster motor.

C11s are gone ?
 

The C11s were my favorite motor to use. The KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) Estes has been using is so impure that rocket motors of 25 years ago seem to have double the lift capacity because of the pure KNO3 they used.

Today's A8s are so weak they need to be MESS surveyed after every use. Based on visual observations from old timers, the C6 lack the power of their 1970s counterparts. C11 solved this. New I may switch to AT C14x to fly some of my rockets. :(

I checked Belleville. They are sold out of C11-3 2-packs and bulk packs (24). I checked a number of their motor bulk packs, and all are more $ per motor than the regular packs of motors ... not so desirable unless it is a discontinued motor and you just want what they have.

What is Estes recommending for a replacement?
 

Estes is usually pretty good about opening a window when they close a door. Have they not identified something to use instead of C11s? Maybe even some low, mid, and higher power options?

I hate to think that my V-2 will never fly again....

The current V-2 kit is for both D and E motors. They come with a spacer you slide into the motor tube to allow the use of a D12. But the E-12 motors are fine in place of an E9 (I think better). Other options would be using composite motors like the Aerotech E15, or the E11, E18, or F12 in the 24/40 RMS reloadable hardware.

There are a variety of vendors besides Belleville with C11 stocks at prices that are reasonable. There are even the older 3 packs that can be found that are still below the retail price per motor.

I have a few Mercury Redstones kits that I will be shortening so that the C6-3 will actually get them off the ground. I had planned on using C11s to compensate for the low C6 thrust. This is one example of a kit that worked well 25 years ago with a "real" C6-3 motor. Today's C6s are a marginal thrust device. :confused:

Using Aerotech 18mm D engines solves the problem of the perpetually weakening C6-3.
If Estes would bring back the ported C5-3 this would not be an issue.

If you or anyone on YORF have ordered from other vendors and have had a good experience, I’d like to know. I’m suspicious of some that claim to have stock, but their Ts & Cs say they may not have actually have them in stock, or may use other suppliers to fulfill an order.

I’m not saying there aren’t some, I just tend to deal with the hobby vendors that I know, and that have been around awhile, like AC Supply, Belleville, Hobbylinc, Sirius Rocketry, eRockets, jonrocket.com, etc.

I have tried Superior Hobbies and they have come through every time I use them. They often keep obscure motors like A8-0s :)

Thanks!

I did not find them Googling C11-3, but I found two packs at jonrocket.com. Good price, but I’m cheap, and wanted free shipping, so I spent the $48 required. Lots and lots of parts coming ...

I’ll probably sell them to a friend, who uses the C11-3 a lot more than I do. He ordered a bulk pack of 24 C11-3 motors from Amazon yesterday. They cancelled his order today — out of stock. I was suspicious, since Amazon’s partner was Belleville. They were out of stock at Belleville when I checked yesterday, well before he placed his Amazon order. Somebody’s eCommerce syncing isn’t too hot, although maybe this is typical if something gets discontinued rather than just a temporary out of stock situation.

C11s are gone ?
 

What is odd about the C11-3 is that it is often the most sold out motor among vendors at the launch site. It is too bad they could not market them at Hobby Lobby--their biggest retailer. :confused:

I had read somewhere that Hobby Lobby only stocks motors that are used by model rocket kits they carry. But, Im not really sure if any kits they carry recommend C11-3. Our HL has never carried any. Actually, I don’t think they’ve ever had any C11 motors, booster or with delay. With the demise of the E9-6, our HL now has E12-6 motors, as of yesterday. They have never stocked any E12 motors. I bought the only pack they had, having never tried any. Heck, I’ve never seen any for sale at the local hobby shop.

For quite some time now, our HL has only been putting out one each of any E or F motors. I’m curious if this a widespread practice? They replace that single E or F if I buy one, apparently immediately, near as a I can tell, when my wife and I have visited two days in a row. She crafts, I stock up on motors — thankfully the store is close. :)

My nearest HL carried the CC Express and C11 motors. I don't know if they kept carrying them after the CC was discontinued because I haven't been there in several years.

I've never used C11 motors as I've always felt that I could use a D12 instead (of which I have a good stockpile). What's so special about it? Is it a small field engine for 24 mm rockets?

You get a nice hard kick off the pad without the altitude of a D motor. It lets you fly heavy models in small areas. I routinely fly 2.6" diameter Goblin and Red Max upscales at school demos and drop them back down between the trees in a space smaller than a little league field. If you aren't familiar with the dimensions, most little league fences are about 200 ft. If you want to get a D12 powered model back on that size field, it had better be a big fat Saturn V. ;)

That is the practice of my closest HL store as well (and others in the general area that I have been in from time to time). It took some time to gather up all the F15-8s I stockpiled for use in my Star Orbiter for the Sierra Blanca challenge at NSL last year :D.

C11s are gone ?
 

I used the C11s on a pair of "Gooney Bird" Saturn-IB clones built from once inch x-mas tubing, BT-20/RB74, a cork for the nose cone, and a length of Pringle's potato chip can.

Chris Michaelsson's Model rocketry blogspot has a photo of one under his launch archive section.

They fly text book under C11s and on small fields. A D12 would work but the altitude may prompt me to use large streamers for return. :cool:

That's sums it up pretty well. I generally put 24mm in all my LPR models, typically, in the 3-5 oz range and draggy. As much as I love to throw D12s in there, conditions do not always allow.

I am hopeful that the new Quest C motors will fill this role now, but I am *really bummed* that the C11s are no more.

Horrible decision by Estes. Since the demise of the C5-3, the C11 has been the only worthwhile C they produced.

The C11s sold poorly. :(

Lack of sales is what killed off the motor.

Memo to future owners of Estes: "MAKE WHAT SELLS !". :)

Yeah I agree.... Kits I can get *anywhere* by *anybody*, and I usually scratchbuild most stuff anyway because the typical "3FNC" kits don't interest me at all anymore... particularly the RTF or super-easy ones...

MOTORS, OTOH, well only a few mfgs make those and the more selection we have, the better. IMHO they should have done more kits to make use of the fat C motors... for instance the Mercury Redstone kits should have been redesigned to use that motor... because they are PATHETICALLY underpowered on a regular 18mm C motor...

The E9's had some teething problems, and some would spit nozzles and go "road flare" on you from time to time, BUT, they WERE a nice motor and a good choice to have... as long as you realized that they weren't good for heavy/draggy rockets. I flew the heck out of my "Kriegsmarine long-tank V-2" (Redone Canadian Arrow) model rocket using those motors-- ALWAYS turned in a beautiful flight...

Hate to see those go. The E12's were a welcome addition, faster, harder kick off the pad for heavier/draggier rockets, BUT less "realistic flights" for the V-2 type rockets and stuff like Maniac's or stuff like that.

Later! OL J R :)

luke



Can I assume you've not looked at any of the offerings from Estes in the past 8 years since there are LOTS of stuff that aren't simple 3 fins and a nose cone.


John Boren

OL J R said

"I flew the heck out of my "Kriegsmarine long-tank V-2" (Redone Canadian Arrow) model rocket using those motors-- ALWAYS turned in a beautiful flight...

Hate to see those go. The E12's were a welcome addition, faster, harder kick off the pad for heavier/draggier rockets, BUT less "realistic flights" for the V-2 type rockets and stuff like Maniac's or stuff like that."


Yeah, you bet. The perfect marriage. Just the right sized rocket for that engine, perfect engine for the rocket. Realistic flights from the pad to apogee. The E12 did NOT give the same performance and was NOT a substitute in this case for the E9.

Estes has offered loads of great kits the past 5-6 years, including one I NEVER thought we would get, the 1/45 Centuri Little Joe II.
Now if we could get both the 1/70 and 1/100 Saturn 1B and the K-21 Gemini Titan back it would be amazing !

Road flare! Perfect description. :chuckle:

That thar looks like a QUALITEEEEEEE E9 launch to me.

Almost as entertaining as a PMC POWR-PRANGG with it's nominal "trash bag-n-broom" recovery method.

Bernard,

My Star Orbiter flight on an F15 at NSL was my first time to fly one. I became hooked. Since then I’ve boight many more, and all at HL, one at a time. I’m in the process of designing a “Dueces Wild” type of canted motor rocket using F15s. Should be fun.

Randy Gilbert turned me on to e-matches on eBay for clusters. They fit the nozzles of D/E/F motors nicely. I spent $8.50 for 62, free shipping. I’ve only static-fired one to test, they put out a decent flame for about a second or so.

We have a high power guy in our club that has a 7 engine cluster model that he has flown twice now at are field with Estes 29mm F15 motors. Uses Flash Pan ignition. Super Cool Flights.


John Boren