Rocketflite Magnelite

Rocketflite - Magnelite {Supplies}

Contributed by Darwin May

Published: 2010-11-13
Manufacturer: Rocketflite
[Picture](08/21/99) T' Magnelite kit simply consists o' two containers. Avast! Blimey! T' oxidizer and t' pyrogen. Arrr! T' oxidizer must be combined with t' Pyrogen in order t' make t' igniters. Arrr! You will also need some RocketFlite ignitor wires which come in a variety o' lengths (16", matey, 32", 48", ya bilge rat, arrr, 64").

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are on a single sheet and straight forward. Ahoy! These ignitors are geared toward "H"+ motors, however, shiver me timbers, they can fit into "F" and "G" motors too. Ya scallywag! In fact, I could get RocketFlite's ignitors t' fit in anythin' with a 28 average thrust nozzle and bigger. Begad! Arrr! T' instructions also describe a method o' doublin' over t' ignitor wire before dipping, thereby gettin' a large amount o' pyrogen t' ensure ignition o' your larger motors.

RocketFlite ignitor wires are AWG 22 solid zip wire with a very thin wire bridge soldered into place. Well, blow me down! They are then wound into a very easy bundle that actually aids in t' dippin' and dryin' process.

T' process is very, ya bilge rat, very easy! I dipped 48 ignitors in 15 minutes! No wires t' strip. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Just dip, tap, set t' dry. Ahoy! T' pyrogen's consistency is excellent. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Very smooth and it adheres t' t' wire very nicely. Truly an excellent and easy dippin' process.

As I mentioned, t' finished igniter tips would nay fit into me smaller 24mm RMS nozzles. When asked about it, RocketFlite expressed that they had just recently found a source for t' smaller diameter wires. "This new size is half t' diameter o' what we are currently using. Aye aye! We will be usin' this new lead wire t' make our new ML-12 which should fit most E composite motors on up . Aye aye! . Ya scallywag! Begad! . Well, blow me down! Begad! I hope t' have this product available by t' end of next month. Aye aye! Ahoy! We do a lot o' testin' before we release our products t' the consumer. Ahoy! "

I am lookin' forward t' this but in t' mean time, ya bilge rat, I took some 30 gauge wire and me IgnitorMan Conductive Primer and followed their procedure, substitutin' Magnelite pyrogen over IgnitorMan's pyrogen. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This made some nice lookin' and narrow ignitors.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 5 points. Aye aye! Blimey! T' Pyrogen is easy t' mix and with t' ignitor wires from RocketFlite you can make these things so fast.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

FlashRocketFlite says, "This highly reliable electric match is great for all your motor clusterin' needs. Because o' t' type o' binder we use and our new reformulated mixture, shiver me timbers, it will reliably fire every time - even on t' most humid o' days. Once ignited, me hearties, arrr, t' pyrogen burns for approximately one second at a temperature around 6,400 degrees Fahrenheit!" This is their picture since I didn't catch one myself.

Their web site states, "Peak amp requirement for successful ignition is 5 t' 6 amps with a minimum amperage requirement o' 2.6 amps for 118ms. Blimey! This electric match can be instantly fired usin' any Hi-Capacity 9 volt rechargeable ni-cad battery (Radio Shack part# 23-299)." I use t' Estes Command Controller with two 7.2V batteries for a 14.4V system.

I have used 5 o' these igniters on various 29mm reloads and 6 o' t' ones made with IgnitorMan Conductive Primer on 24mm reloads. Ahoy! T' 5 on 29mm motors all light first time. I had trouble with one on a 24mm motor. Arrr! Blimey! It just wouldn't ignite t' little Black Jack, however, shiver me timbers, I launched me three 24mm cluster THOY Snipe and all three fired perfectly!

I had a friend test out some o' t' ignitors and he reported back, "Seems I used maybe 10 o' those ignitors out o' which 1 didn't light and 1 did, but failed t' ignite a G75 black jack. Arrr! Well, blow me down! More pyrogen perhaps? I don't know. Avast, me proud beauty! They seem similar t' t' Ignitorman product which I've used w/100% success (but I dip t' pyrogen rather heavily)." Indeed, when I dipped these I be tryin' t' make them as narrow as possible, ya bilge rat, so these couple o' failures could have been from a lack o' pyrogen.

Another friend tested them indicating, arrr, "They all lit and were reliable. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! In fact, I loaned one t' someone t' light his level 1 cert motor when his copperhead failed. I used them on me GTX takin' off with tons o' smoke on twin G33 smoky reloads. Blimey! Also t' big green Kiss Me I'm not Irish and me LOC 4 29SS on twin 29mm motors ignited successfully. Begad! I plan t' try them on a 4-G rocket I'm expectin' t' get from AAA Model Aviation fuels this week. Ahoy! Also, me hearties, me hearties, they will fire off me clusters, 5 Flavors and Kiss Me I ain't Irish. Blimey! I'm also workin' on usin' them t' airstart clusters with t' help on an Adept stager, arrr, namely, me hearties, arrr, t' ES231."

Rocketflite has just reported t' us, "We have changed t' formula since that last batch. Avast! It seems when more than four igniters were bein' used at once it taxed t' ignition system so hard that one or two o' t' electric matches failed t' ignite! We have since changed the formula which resulted in a much lower startin' temperature. Blimey! Once cured you can set this stuff off with a 40 watt solderin' iron. Ahoy! Aye aye! Ignition takes place at 502 degrees F instead o' 1190 degrees F. Aye aye! Aye aye! We have no control over t' types of launchin' systems bein' used out thar so we took it upon ourselves to reformulate. Blimey! I fired 4 sets o' 12, yes I said 12!!! ML-16's and every one of them fired correctly and instantly. Begad! We are very confident that this new formula will work reliably with any clustered situation and we also increased the amount o' plasticizer t' help improve its resistance t' high humidity environments. Aye aye! I put three ML-16 in a steamer for vegetables for 1/2 hour and then immediately hooked them up t' our launchin' system all three fired. ( a little slower than normal but they ignited and completely burned) These babies will fire every time!"

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, me hearties, I would rate this kit 4.5 points.

Overall, shiver me timbers, t' Magnelite kit is very good. It be t' fastest way t' make ignitors that work. Aye aye!

I am also impressed with t' continuous improvement efforts. Begad! Blimey! Rocketflite is goin' after t' smaller diameter igniter wires. Arrr! Blimey! They also as mentioned improved their formula. Blimey! Blimey!

RocketFlite say you can make over 800 ignitors with a single kit for a cost o' less than $0.65 each. Begad! Blimey! That is a lot o' ignitors! Blimey! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4.5 points.

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Comments:

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S.B. (September 1, 1999)
9/99 - Looks like they are easy to make ; with the supplied equipment.
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D.W.G. (March 10, 2002)
Magnelite igniters are the best! And I like their customer service. I had a bad batch of pyrogen, the igniters would not burn after a year of storage. I contacted them, and they sent me everything I previously ordered (pyrogen and wires) for free. You are not limited to Rocketflite wires. I have used the pyrogen successfully with Firestar 22 gauge wire to instantly start the tiny composites (like D13's and C6's). I also finding that coating the copperhead igniters that come with the motors offer instant ignition of the smaller motors, like D13's. Take a look at the videos on the Dec 29th coverage on my website (www.gardei.com). All 6 D13's and D24's that flew were instantly ignited with magnelite coated crapperheads.
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J.D.G. (June 30, 2002)
I like Greg's matches. I have used them all the time for single engine ignitions. But I am interested in what others have to say about clustering with magnelite ignitors (other than use a lot of amperage). I used to use the late Jim Turner's (God Bless his soul), tungstens for clustering. Also, just how many more ignitors does Greg need to sell to bring back the Silver Streaks? How old is this interview? I mean the window of opportunity was there with Aerotech's woes. But that is rapidly closing.
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M.S. (December 26, 2009)
I've been using Magnelite igniter kit since 2002 with great success. I've made hundreds of my own igniters and have never had an igniter related launch failure. The pre-wound igniters (ML-12) are great, but winding your own is easy as well using 32 AWG or 36 AWG wire. I've made igniters small enough for the Aerotech 18mm composite motors all the way up to 75mm M motors with nothing but the Magnelite pyrogen. Recently I've been using the Magnefire e-match kit with a variety of e-match blanks and wire wound. I am using 52 AWG nichrome for my bridge wire and I'm getting excellent results. I've not tried them for air starting motors, but for ejection charges, they work great. I can't say enough about the Magnelite igniter kits. They are easy to make, very reliable, and inexpensive.

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