New AeroTech F23 and G38 Econojets

AeroTech's Econjet BlackMax review is provided courtesy of:

AeroTech's new BlackMax line a big hit!

T' last monthly launch o' t' Superstition Spacemodelin' Society for 1999, held Saturday, December 11th, shiver me timbers, was a truly remarkable event. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Nay so much because thar was a huge turnout, or a large number o' people certified, but rather because o' t' Arizona debut o' a brand new product from AeroTech Consumer Aerospace: t' new BlackMax Econojet motor. 

Space Modelin' Solutions, me bucko, ever present at these events, me hearties, turned up t' t' launch with 72 packages o' t' new 29mm BlackMax motors, in both t' F23 and G38 impulse, shiver me timbers, me bucko, with both 4 and 7 second delays. Ahoy! Blimey! As a result o' brisk sales, ya bilge rat, 13 flights were recorded. Well, blow me down! All o' them were documented as 'good flights,' which means that thar be a successful ejection and a safe recovery. Havin' provided some stats, an eyewitness account o' how these motors performed is in order. 

T' BlackMax Econojet is instantly distinguishable from it's White Lightnin' counterpart. Begad! Avast! T' package features grey, red, matey, me hearties, and white artwork on t' face, arrr, and standard thrust curve data on t' reverse side. T' data indicates a slightly higher peak thrust with a shorter burn time, on average, than t' White Lightnin' Econojet. T' end result is a slightly lower average thrust curve. However, me hearties, flyin' t' new BlackMax is a completely new experience! For starters, ya bilge rat, loadin' this motor is eased by t' fact that t' labels seem a bit less hostile towards removal. This is important t' keep t' motors from adherin' t' t' inside o' t' motor mount tube. 
 

If you're expectin' a difficult ignition, on t' assumption that t' BlackMax is similar t' t' Black Jack formulation, me bucko, your fears are unfounded. Ahoy! These motors light up NOW when t' ignitors are given t' proper amount o' current. Avast, me proud beauty! T' ignitions observed at t' Superstition launch all pressurized lickety-split, ya bilge rat, and got off t' pad in t' same manner. Arrr! T' resultin' flights were exciting, ya bilge rat, with lots o' dark smoke, me bucko, and a slightly louder roar than t' standard Econojet. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! There were plenty o' cheers, whistles, arrr, and clapping, which seemed t' natural response t' these flights. 

Another observation be that t' BlackMax motors did indeed perform very similarly t' t' White Lightnin' Econojets in terms o' flight profile. This means that until t' simulation data for these motors is widely available, simulations based on standard White Lightnin' Econojet data will produce very close ejection delay information. However, it's also important t' note that t' delays (as observed by this author) seemed a tad short. Aye aye! Avast! However, me bucko, no actual measurements o' t' delays were made, and no objections on t' part o' t' flyers were noted. 

So after t' actual experience o' seein' a number o' these motors fly, ya bilge rat, this author would have t' give them a definite thumbs up! Better yet be t' fact that these are available at Econojet prices, which means that everybody can "fly more," and "spend less." For t' money, matey, you just won't get a more excitin' flight out o' your 29mm bird!

Written and submitted by Peter Riddell for Rocketry Online -- Copyright 1996-2000