I'm going to defer to the old guys like Chas and Doug as far as motors from before 1977 because I never flew anything more complicated than B6-4s and C6-5s way back then. I like the ideas of an A8-0 booster making a return, and all the talk about the A5 and B14 has me itching to try somthing like them. One thing I wanted to add was that it might be wise to consider producing something rather pedestrian like a B6-4 or C6-5, just for the comparison shopper. Estes quality control is at a low ebb right now as far as those ejection charges, and I would think that giving something to compare it to might just reel in a segment of the market that's tired of Estes lack of response. They've got the $$$ to stock the Wal-Mart shelves, but you've got us and we've got the ear of the rocketeers who look at this as something more than launching an RTF with the kids every now and then.

The mighty B14 is by far and away at the top of my list.
Second would be some sort of high-thrust port-burning D or E 24mm motor.

If Semroc wants to establish itself with motor-making then it should start with the one killer product proposed by Carl.....ejection charges. These are absolutely needed by every high-power flier and currently unavailable in the format Carl proposed. They solve a significant regulatory problem and, if consistently timed, solve a big reliability problem as well.

What current motor would the B14 be most like? I'm intrigued.

Well, they used to have the B8 and then the C5. I don't know of anything currently close to it.

Gus is correct. The ejection charge system will draw in a lot of attention regardless of motor selection. As long as you cover the basic needs whether it is available today or not, keep the cost down, and maintain a high percentage of reliability the word will spread. I remember when RMS was introduced. I went to NARAM that year and every vendor was selling them at a nice discount. The reaction was amazing. Everyone was picking up casings and reloads as if they were Cabbage Patch Tickle Me Beanie Babies! I honestly believe folks will see this as the evolution of BP motors. Get on board or get left behind. My .02.....

It's not like any current motor, that's why we want it! For newbies, the old Estes B14 had a thrust spike of about 7 pounds and burned for just .35seconds

Good stuff on this thread, folks!

Darn, now I am starting to have second thoughts (or maybe it was the second cup of coffee). Anybody here work in marketing?

I would offer that SEMROC ought to offer motors that are like ones on the market to establish a presence. As mentioned, the current producers have had some quality control issue of late and any improvement or new bell or whistle would stand out. In my opinion, bringing out booster motors and the DECAP first might cause a lot of confusion. Perhaps roll it out after the booster motors, A5's, B14's, etc. as a "new generation" of motors. We know that they had worked on them before, but others don't

Again, something like a D5 might be a limited market as it is a different length 18mm motor. By that I mean that they kits and adapters would have to be introduced also. A high thrust D or E that would be the standard 24mm casings would be a lot easier to introduce.

More thoughts?

Chas

One of the bonuses for introducing high thrust motors that hasn't been mentioned before (or I missed it) is safety margin. I can think of cases where someone not knowing any better would have been better off using a high thrust motor instead of a low thrust. The rocket could have been too heavy and or the launch rod too short. I love low thrust long burn motors especially in clusters and upper stages, but I've seen land sharks that could have been prevented with a better motor selection.... another .02, I'm up to .04! :D

I would suggest that we need to keep it focused on ease of adoption - making it easy for customers to choose Semroc motors instead of the other brands.

While having an 18mm BP D motor would be very cool, people would have to build a model specifically to take it because of the longer size of the casing. Same with the possible larger BP E and F motors.

Instead, I would focus on substitutions for existing motors - or unique motors - but definitely in the 18x70mm size. I'd love to see the A8-0 and B14-0 - but it comes down to distribution.

If Semroc is looking to build distribution through retail/hobby stores (which may be required to get enough volume to justify selling motors) then motors to replace existing Estes/Quest make sense, as long as there is a competitive advantage (i.e. price or other feature). This makes is easy for a customer to choose Semroc motors instead of Estes/Quest.

If Semroc is looking to sell through direct mail, then having unique motors (such as the B14) makes more sense - the uniqueness of the motor then becomes the competitive advantage. If through direct mail - there's much less of a reason for a customer to choose a Semroc B6-4 (for example) than an Estes/Quest when the E/Q motors are already available at the local hobby shop and Wal-Mart.

Sorry for the long post - but really excited about seeing the motors come to market!

Thanks