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Engines

Been doing more reading....about engines in particular. Seems that some kit manufacturers recommend 'black powder' engines as opposed to I'll just call 'em regular engines. And by that I mean 'Estes' type engines.

Maybe 'Estes' engines ARE black powder engines, I don't know.

What's the difference and why and when should you use 'em?

Oh yeah, my next build will be a Drake with a baffle kit....for something different :) and I just think it looks very cool!

Primarily I want to see how the Fliskit's differ from the Estes and by God they have rave reviews so I want to check 'em out for myself.

Reply to
Zman
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Yes they are. The propellant is BP

APCP is used by Areotech (and others). By weight, it is much more performant. While AT does have motors in the 18mm and 24mm size (same as estes), most tend to be larger - F thru N class and 29mm on up, with "single use" and "reloadable" Anything above "H" requires user certification (and some f and g's do too).

I don't know if this is possible, but look up a club in your area and attend a launch (maybe not even fly anything). I'll bet there are folks there that will not only talk about this stuff, but probably show you too.

Reply to
AZ Woody

I believe Estes are indeed black powder engines. Black powder refers to the fuel that the engine uses. I haven't ventured outside of Estes engines myself, so I am not sure of what other fuels there are beyond the fact that the major classifications are solid, liquid and hybrid. Black powder would be a solid.

Reply to
daniel.bergquist

Find yourself a copy of G. Harry Stine's (now with Bill Stine) "Handbook of Model Rocketry", which will answer a lot of your questions.

Reply to
Jeff Vincent

Ditto Jeff's recommendation about the "Handbook of model rocketry". If you can't afford one now, check your local library as you may have access to one there.

As for your question, there are (basically) 3 types of motors explored in "sport rocketry"

They are:

"Black Powder" (BP for short). These are the Estes and Quest motors and the fule is a black powder base (1/8A through E (and in the past, F and G))

"Composite" or APCP (correct me folks, i'm on uncertain ground here). I am not sure of the exact nature of the mixture but the fuel produces a good deal more energy per unit weight then does black powder. You typically see these in D motors and up, though smaller ones have been made.

"Hybrid" - I will leave this to others to explain as I am even further removed from these critters (though I love watching them fly! :) )

Congrats and thank you for selecting the Drake. You will love this model. It looks even cooler in the air than it does on your desk :)

Jim

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Reply to
jflis

The three links after "motor types" at

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have more details, but Jim has done a nice job on BP, and APCP. The hobby hybrids available currently use liquid nitrous oxide and a (usually plastic pipe) solid fuel. More details at
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if you are curious.

Reply to
Will Marchant

they dont?

18mm D13 reloads 24mm D-E-F reloads 24mm single use F
Reply to
tater schuld

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