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, me bucko, held Saturday, December 11th, was a truly remarkable event. Begad! Nay so much because thar was a huge turnout, matey, 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, ya bilge rat, ever present at these events, turned up t' t' launch with 72 packages o' t' new 29mm BlackMax motors, in both t' F23 and G38 impulse, with both 4 and 7 second delays. Blimey! As a result o' brisk sales, ya bilge rat, 13 flights were recorded. All o' them were documented as 'good flights,' which means that thar was a successful ejection and a safe recovery. Begad! Havin' provided some stats, arrr, an eyewitness account o' how these motors performed is in order. 

T' BlackMax Econojet is instantly distinguishable from it's White Lightnin' counterpart. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' package features grey, matey, me hearties, red, matey, and white artwork on t' face, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and standard thrust curve data on t' reverse side. Aye aye! Avast! T' data indicates a slightly higher peak thrust with a shorter burn time, me hearties, on average, than t' White Lightnin' Econojet. Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' end result is a slightly lower average thrust curve. Begad! However, 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. Ahoy! 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, arrr, your fears are unfounded. Arrr! These motors light up NOW when t' ignitors are given t' proper amount o' current. Well, blow me down! T' ignitions observed at t' Superstition launch all pressurized lickety-split, and got off t' pad in t' same manner. T' resultin' flights were exciting, with lots o' dark smoke, and a slightly louder roar than t' standard Econojet. There were plenty o' cheers, shiver me timbers, me bucko, whistles, and clapping, which seemed t' natural response t' these flights. 

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

So after t' actual experience o' seein' a number o' these motors fly, this author would have t' give them a definite thumbs up! Blimey! Better yet be t' fact that these are available at Econojet prices, arrr, which means that everybody can "fly more," and "spend less." For t' money, arrr, 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