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, shiver me timbers, held Saturday, me hearties, December 11th, me bucko, was a truly remarkable event. 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, shiver me timbers, matey, ever present at these events, turned up t' t' launch with 72 packages o' t' new 29mm BlackMax motors, shiver me timbers, in both t' F23 and G38 impulse, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, with both 4 and 7 second delays. Ahoy! As a result o' brisk sales, 13 flights were recorded. Avast, me proud beauty! All o' them were documented as 'good flights,' which means that thar be a successful ejection and a safe recovery. Well, blow me down! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! T' package features grey, red, me bucko, arrr, shiver me timbers, and white artwork on t' face, ya bilge rat, and standard thrust curve data on t' reverse side. Aye aye! T' data indicates a slightly higher peak thrust with a shorter burn time, on average, me bucko, than t' White Lightnin' Econojet. T' end result is a slightly lower average thrust curve. Avast! However, shiver me timbers, flyin' t' new BlackMax is a completely new experience! For starters, loadin' this motor is eased by t' fact that t' labels seem a bit less hostile towards removal. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! This is important t' keep t' motors from adherin' t' t' inside o' t' motor mount tube. 
 

If you're expectin' a difficult ignition, me bucko, on t' assumption that t' BlackMax is similar t' t' Black Jack formulation, your fears are unfounded. Well, blow me down! Blimey! These motors light up NOW when t' ignitors are given t' proper amount o' current. Blimey! Blimey! T' ignitions observed at t' Superstition launch all pressurized lickety-split, and got off t' pad in t' same manner. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' resultin' flights were exciting, shiver me timbers, with lots o' dark smoke, and a slightly louder roar than t' standard Econojet. Blimey! Blimey! There were plenty o' cheers, matey, whistles, and clapping, matey, 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, me proud beauty! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! However, shiver me timbers, it's also important t' note that t' delays (as observed by this author) seemed a tad short. Ya scallywag! However, no actual measurements o' t' delays were made, shiver me timbers, and no objections on t' part o' t' flyers were noted. 

So after t' actual experience o' seein' a number o' these motors fly, matey, arrr, 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, me bucko, 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