Aerotech

TODO: add info on RCS (former name of AeroTech)

Aerotech is a commercial rocket motor manufacturer. They make motors from 18mm up to 98mm diameter.

Propellant types

White Lightning (W)

White Lightning is the most popular Aerotech propellant. It generally burns slowly, with a large white flame and produces thick white clouds of smoke. It has high density but low specific impulse.

Super White Lightning (WS)

Super White Lightning is a new propellant. It produces less smoke, but has a brighter flame and a higher specific impulse.

Fast White Lightning

Fast White Lightning is a version of White Lightning used in White Lightning Q-jets.

Blue Thunder (T)

Blue thunder is a fast burning propellant that in larger sizes produces blue flame. The blue flame it makes is much less pronounced than other blue propellants, and typically only appears quite far away from the nozzle. It has low specific impulse.

New Blue Thunder (NT)

New Blue Thunder is a propellant that appears in a small number of Aerotech motors. It isn't always clearly distinguished from old Blue Thunder, such as in the G138T. New Blue Thunder produces a clear bluish-violet flame which is much more pronounced than the color of old Blue Thunder, especially in smaller motors. It has very high specific impulse.

Super Thunder (ST)

Super Thunder is a very fast burning propellant. It has a similar flame appearance to old Blue Thunder. It is available in both coreburning and endburning configurations.

Redline (R)

Redline is a moderately fast burning propellant that produces a red flame and white smoke. It is the brightest red propellant on the market.

Black Jack (J)

Black Jack is a slow burning propellant that produces dense black smoke. Over time the smoke turns to gray and then white. Black Jack is also used as the delay composition in most Aerotech motors.

Black Max/Fast Blackjack (FJ)

Black Max and Fast Blackjack are two names for a faster burning version of Black Jack. They have a moderate burn rate, and produce the same dense black smoke as standard Black Jack. This propellant is used in Quest Q-jets.

Warp 9 (N)

Warp 9 is the fastest burning propellant available from any hobby manufacturer. It has a clear yellowish-orange flame with prominent mach diamonds. It is available in both coreburning and endburning configurations.

Warp 9 & White Lightning Boost-Sustain (WN & NW)

Warp 9 and White Lightning propellants are occasionally used together to produce motors with an initial thrust spike followed by a longer sustain.

• The WN motors I59WN and K76WN have one grain of coreburning White Lightning at the bottom and an endburning Warp 9 grain. The boost lasts moderately long and the sustain is extremely long.
• The two very similar NW motors, the K375NW and K455NW, are completely coreburning with one grain of Warp 9 at the bottom. The boost is brief and the sustain is only moderately long.

Dark Matter (DM)

Dark Matter is a sparky propellant. It makes dense black smoke with bright white sparks.

Metalstorm (M)

Metalstorm is a sparky propellant. It is unique among sparkies in that it produces white smoke instead of black.

Mojave Green (G)

Mojave Green is a fast burning propellant that produces a green flame.

Propellant X (X)

Propellant X is a propellant based on the Space Shuttle SRB propellant formulation. It is designed to get very high specific impulse.

Classic (C)

Classic is a quick burning propellant that has a clear yellowish-orange flame with prominent mach diamonds. It produces almost no smoke.

Motor Lines

Single-Use

Aerotech has several lines of single-use motors.

Q-Jet

These are Quest-branded low-power motors ranging from A to F impulse in the standard Estes 18 and 24mm form factors.

Unnamed Single-Use, Enerjet, Econojet, Economax

These are small single-use motors in 24 and 29mm size ranging from E to G impulse. Some are branded Enerjet, Econojet, or Economax, but others do not seem to belong to any particular lines.

LMS (29mm)

These are versions of the G7R7, G78G, and G79W single use motors that come disassembled. One would think that they can be shipped via USPS without Hazmat charges, but apparently they cannot, according to the Aerotech Master Motor Matrix. The user must assemble them with epoxy.

DMS

These are fiberglass-cased high-power motors ranging from 29mm up to 98mm. Motors that have ejection charges can have their delay times adjusted with the Universal Delay Drilling Tool.

Motors from 29mm up through 54mm come fully assembled and ready to fly, but 75mm and 98mm DMS motors must be assembled before use with epoxy.

LMS (54mm)

The K250W is essentially 54mm RMS but comes with a non-anodized casing tube that is not designed to be reused. The user must supply forward and aft closures, which can be reused.

Reloadable

Reloadable motors utilize reusable aluminum casings and closures to contain pressure, and the reloads themselves come with single-use nozzles, insulating liner, propellant, O-rings, and delay/smoke grain.

Aerotech's overall brand for these is Reloadable Motor System, or RMS.

Hobbyline RMS

Hobbyline motors are a line of reloadable motors and casings consist of 18mm, two sizes of 24mm, and one 29mm. The RMS 18/20 has C and D motors, the RMS 24/40 has D through F motors, the RMS 24/60 has F motors, and the RMS 29/40-120 ranges from E through G motors.

They use a slightly different forward closure sealing mechanism from the standard RMS motors, with the delay O-ring located on the forward face of the delay grain.

Only one motor, the G138T for the RMS 29/40-120, requires high power certification.

RMS-RC

These are 24mm and 32mm casings that have D and E, and F and G reloads respectively. All of these reloads are endburners designed for use with rocket-powered boost gliders.

All of these motors are plugged with no smoke grain.

RMS

Normal RMS motors are available in 29mm, 38mm, 54mm, 75mm, and 98mm sizes. 29mm F and G motors that are not actually high power are labeled as "High Power Style" to distinguish them from Hobbyline RMS motors.

RMS hardware consists of the casing itself (a tube with threads on the end), with an aft closure that holds the nozzle in and a forward closure that contains the delay/smoke grain.

Unlike the Hobbyline RMS line, the delay grains on 54mm and smaller RMS are sealed with an o-ring that contacts the outer surface of the delay grain's casting tube.

Aerotech RMS Hardware Models are available for fit check and Outer Mold Line (OML) dimensions,

Special Hardware for RMS

• Forward Seal Disk: an aluminum disc with a hole in the center and an o-ring groove on the outside that seals the forward end of the liner in order to prevent gas from passing around the outside of the liner and damaging the case. These are used on longer motors and some smaller motors that are particularly high-performance. In 75mm and 98mm there is a stainless steel variant; the 98mm one is used specifically for Super Thunder motors.
• Endburn Style Forward Closure: in 38mm, the endburning Warp 9 motors do not include a delay grain and use a unique forward closure that supports the front of the grain and displace all empty volume.
• Forward Closure Bulkhead Plug: in 54mm and 98mm, in lieu of a special forward closure, a plastic plug replaces the delay grain that sticks forward enough to fill the empty spaces forward of the grain.
• 54mm Extended Forward Closure: in 54mm, long burn White Lightning motors (including the loadable K250W ) require a longer smoke grain than the standard forward closure accounts for.
• 54mm Small Nozzle Aft Closure: in 54mm, the lowest-thrust motors use a smaller nozzle (also used in 38mm motors) that requires an aft closure with a smaller opening to retain it.
• 98mm Enlarged Aft Closure: newer 98mm reloads use a larger nozzle that does not fit through the older 98mm aft closure. This works with all 98mm reloads so this is the only 98mm closure currently sold.

Reload Adapter System

In response to the popularity of CTI's case spacers, Aerotech developed the Reload Adapter System of case spacers for RMS 29mm, 38mm, 54mm, and 75mm so reloads can be flown in a larger size case than originally intended.

• Floating Forward Closure: Instead of threading directly into the case, the floating forward closure supports the sealing O-ring and holds the delay/smoke grain and ejection charge.
• Forward Closure Retaining Ring: This threads into the casing and keeps the floating forward closure in the case.
• Case Spacer: This goes between the floating forward closure and retaining ring, holding the forward closure in the position it would be with a smaller case size.

RMS-EZ

RMS-EZ motors are very similar to RMS motors with the Reload Adapter System, but they come with a preassembled plastic floating forward closure and delay assembly that can be adjusted with the same Universal Delay Drilling Tool as DMS motors, making it much easier for users to assemble. They use standard aft closures and the Reload Adapter System forward closure retaining ring and spacers.