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View Full Version : Mini Booster Engines A10-0T or A8-0


chronister
06-19-2008, 01:50 PM
Anybody have some old A10-0T or A8-0 booster engines you would like to sell? I like to fly staged rockets but I don't want to lose them.

space_bus
06-19-2008, 02:23 PM
I bought some old A3-0T and A10-0T motors from Red Arrow Hobbies last year. I recently used one of the A3-0T's in an Estes Beta clone, and it worked great despite being of 1979 vintage.

It looks like the A10-0T's are gone, but A3-0T's are still listed on their site:

http://www.redarrowhobbies.com/estes_model_rocket_engines.htm

Bob H
06-19-2008, 03:49 PM
Launch Pad 2000 still lists A10-0T's on their site.

http://www.launchpad2000.com/modrocen-miniengines1.html

Green Dragon
06-19-2008, 04:45 PM
I have some spare paks of A10-0T's .. would have to look and see how many ( bought out the remaining ones a local shop had, at a good price, too. ( some forum mebers got some last year from me )

Would be interested in scoring soem A3-0T myself, will have to go check Red Arrow for those.... be good for the Beta, and stagin the ARG T-113 ( downscale 2250 clone ) .

Most 2 stagers are good sized enough a B6-0 is not overkill, so generally fly a lot of those ( I love 2 stagers, and am slowly building every one ever offered, lol )

will dig out the A10-0T and post how many I still have, just in case.

Keep Flying

~ AL

Bob H
06-19-2008, 07:35 PM
I managed to score 3 packs of 1/2A3-0T from a fellow club member at the last CMASS launch.

So I built a cardstock Mini Omega to use them in. It can be built rather quickly with the longest wait for the fin laminations to dry.

I can't wait to try it at our next launch on June 28th.

Plans can be found here: http://rocketry.wordpress.com/ultimate-paper-rocket-guide/paper-rocket-partial-builds/

chronister
06-27-2008, 08:32 PM
I placed an order with Red Arrow, and I got the other items I ordered, but no A3-0T engines. I guess they are out of them. Did any of you guys manage to score some before they ran out? I'd be willing to buy a pack or individual engine(s) if anybody has a few to spare. Thanks.

mojo1986
06-28-2008, 07:09 AM
I have old packs of both A3-0 and A10-0 engines, but I won't mail them due to postal regulations. It occurred to me that NARAM or any other large meet that was well attended would be a great venue for getting engines from the guys who have them into the hands of guys that need them. Even if you don't plan to attend NARAM, there might be someone who lives relatively close to you that is attending.................so that the exchange of engines could take place opportunistically a few times a year (sounds sort of like a window of opportunity for a space shot). Just a thought..................

What we would need is a list (even better if it was a map) of the locations of everyone (who's willing to participate, of course) that uses this forum. Who knows...............maybe there's someone within 25 miles of me that's going to NARAM and could have carried engines to someone who's within 50 miles of you.

Joe

Afterthought................if this concept has any value, copy this message in a PM to Scott Hansen (LTVScout) to see whether anything can be set up on this site (sorry, Scott................I know you don't need any extra work!).

Ltvscout
06-28-2008, 07:56 AM
What we would need is a list (even better if it was a map) of the locations of everyone (who's willing to participate, of course) that uses this forum. Who knows...............maybe there's someone within 25 miles of me that's going to NARAM and could have carried engines to someone who's within 50 miles of you.

Joe

Afterthought................if this concept has any value, copy this message in a PM to Scott Hansen (LTVScout) to see whether anything can be set up on this site (sorry, Scott................I know you don't need any extra work!).
If someone wanted to start a new thread related to this I could make it a sticky.

dwmzmm
06-28-2008, 11:34 AM
Isn't there a frapper map somewhere in this forum showing the locations of many here?!
I recall putting a pin on Katy, TX....

dwmzmm
06-28-2008, 11:35 AM
Isn't there a frapper map somewhere in this forum showing the locations of many here?!
I recall putting a pin on Katy, TX....

Oh yes, it's in the Free For All section!

Ltvscout
06-28-2008, 12:00 PM
Isn't there a frapper map somewhere in this forum showing the locations of many here?!
I recall putting a pin on Katy, TX....
Ya, that's just locations of our members though. I haven't been to that site in a long time. I suppose I could make a new FRAPPR map where people can point out where they live. I guess that would only work well though if "descriptions" could be left for each point showing the motors available/wanted at that location. Like I said, I haven't done FRAPPR in awhile so I'm not sure if it allows that kind of functionality.

dwmzmm
06-28-2008, 12:08 PM
Ya, that's just locations of our members though. I haven't been to that site in a long time. I suppose I could make a new FRAPPR map where people can point out where they live. I guess that would only work well though if "descriptions" could be left for each point showing the motors available/wanted at that location. Like I said, I haven't done FRAPPR in awhile so I'm not sure if it allows that kind of functionality.

It's still a pretty good indication pointing out where many of our members live. I know it was a number of years ago when I put my pic & location there. Before I made my previous
post, I kind of scanned through some of the members pics; recognized quite a few of them.

chronister
06-28-2008, 02:53 PM
I thought it was OK to mail engines as long as they were surface mail. I don't really know what the rules are though.

I am planning to attend NYPOWER in Geneseo on July 26th.

mojo1986
06-28-2008, 08:49 PM
Where is Geneseo? I could possibly attend that too. And I have A3-0's and A10-0's in my stash.

Joe

Bob H
06-29-2008, 09:57 AM
I managed to score 3 packs of 1/2A3-0T from a fellow club member at the last CMASS launch.

So I built a cardstock Mini Omega to use them in. It can be built rather quickly with the longest wait for the fin laminations to dry.

I can't wait to try it at our next launch on June 28th.

Plans can be found here: http://rocketry.wordpress.com/ultimate-paper-rocket-guide/paper-rocket-partial-builds/I got to fly the Mini Omega yesterday. I used a 1/2A3-0T in the booster with a 1/2A3-4T in the sustainer. It was a beautiful liftoff and it staged perfectly.

I then lost sight of the sustainer and couldn't pick up any smoke trail against the overcast sky. Luckily one of the other club members was able to track it and I got it back.

I flew 2 other mini motor staged flights. An A3-0T staged to a 1/2A3-4T in my Firefly for a perfect flight and an A10-0T staged to a 1/2A3-4T in my Midget which had a not so successful flight. The A10-0T catoed and blew right through the side of the casing and destroyed the booster. Even so, it did light the upper stage which had a uneventful flight.

I had 3 packs of A10-0T's with the same date code and one of the packs had 3 out of 4 that worked perfectly and the other had a blow through and ignited the upper stage about 25 ft off the end of the rod. This pack had 1 work and 2 with blow through and this one that blew through the casing. I have 1 more pack with the same date code so we'll see what happens with those,

chronister
06-29-2008, 10:16 AM
Geneseo is in New York State about 30 miles south of Rochester.

Ltvscout
06-29-2008, 11:04 AM
I had 3 packs of A10-0T's with the same date code and one of the packs had 3 out of 4 that worked perfectly and the other had a blow through and ignited the upper stage about 25 ft off the end of the rod. This pack had 1 work and 2 with blow through and this one that blew through the casing. I have 1 more pack with the same date code so we'll see what happens with those,
That sounds more like improper storage somewhere along the way vs a bad batch of motors.

Bob H
06-29-2008, 10:14 PM
That sounds more like improper storage somewhere along the way vs a bad batch of motors.Possibly, but I got all 3 packs at the same time a couple of years ago from the same vendor so I was thinking that they should have been stored together.

They have been stored on a closet shelf since I got them but there's no telling where they were stored before then.

PaulK
07-02-2008, 07:57 AM
AKPilot over on TRF is exploring the possibility of a midwest convention near St. Louis, that would be a swell place to swap motors in the future.

Were you able to get any from launchpad2000?

chronister
07-03-2008, 04:02 PM
I never tried ordering the A10-0T engines from Launch Pad 2000. I wanted the A3-0T engines, because of their lower thrust and longer burn. I tried to order those from Red Arrow and found out they didn't have any left. They said I missed them by about a week, which seems to indicate I should have grabbed them up the minute that link was posted on the forum. Instead I waited around and missed the opportunity. Did anyone else here manage to grab some of those?

It's ironic, I was born in St. Louis, but it would be too far a trip for me, from where I live now.

Doug Sams
07-03-2008, 05:50 PM
I wanted the A3-0T engines, because of their lower thrust and longer burn. They don't really have a lower thrust. While the A10 has a bigger (huge) spike, its tail is actually lower than the A3's. Because of this difference, the A10 can lift bigger rockets.

But overall, there ain't that much diff. Order the A10's from Launchpad2000 before they too are gone ;)

Doug

http://home.flash.net/~samily/stuff/A10vsA3.gif

.

tbzep
07-03-2008, 06:34 PM
They don't really have a lower thrust. While the A10 has a bigger (huge) spike, its tail is actually lower than the A3's. Because of this difference, the A10 can lift bigger rockets.

But overall, there ain't that much diff. Order the A10's from Launchpad2000 before they too are gone ;)

Doug

http://home.flash.net/~samily/stuff/A10vsA3.gif

.

Yep. With the near 1 sec. burn, it seems like it should really be more like an A2 or A3 itself.

Doug Sams
07-03-2008, 06:59 PM
Yep. With the near 1 sec. burn, it seems like it should really be more like an A2 or A3 itself.Yes. The NAR motor datasheets show the A10's average thrust is 2.35N, and the A3's is 2.22N. Not much diff, eh? BTW, those are the same exact numbers I got playing with the thrust curves in Excel.

Doug

.

mojo1986
07-03-2008, 08:24 PM
Chronister, I have packs of both and would be willing to part with a few, but I won't put them in the mail. Geneseo is a long drive for me, but if I ever make another trip to Kentucky I will be passing south of Rochester and could conceivably hook up with you if you're not too far from there. In the meantime, I travel frequently to Watertown, NY. Do your travels ever take you up that way?

Joe

dwmzmm
07-03-2008, 10:08 PM
But overall, there ain't that much diff. Order the A10's from Launchpad2000 before they too are gone ;)

Doug

.

One of our Challenger 498 club member is related to the owner of LaunchPad2000, and he
use to bring a good assortment of engines to our club launches and NAR contests. I recall
he had (at least, in his possession) a pretty good supply of the A10-0T's, so there's no telling
how many they have in stock in their warehouse. I would venture to guess you'll be safe
in getting your order(s) for A10-0T's filled with them (but, you'll never really know)..... :rolleyes:

chronister
07-04-2008, 08:47 AM
I live in Rochester. Do you pass through here on your way to Watertown?

I thought the weaker spike would give a slower liftoff. I have two projects in mind for the A3-0T: one is to fly my beta clone, and the other is a mini to D staged rocket, where I want to maximize the difference in engine size & thrust for a hopefully neat effect. The whole thing will be just inside the max lift weight of the A3. It should take off slow and quiet, then get loud and really take off. If I get the engines I'll try to post a video of the flight.

mojo1986
07-04-2008, 03:28 PM
I'm in Canada. I come down I-81 to Watertown. About the farthest I might go is Syracuse, but it would have to be a planned trip with the price of gas so high these days. As I said before, there is an outside chance that I will drive to Kentucky later this summer, and if so, I would get in touch to see whether we could hook up.

You're correct about the liftoff speed of the two engines...............the A10 gives a much faster liftoff. The A3 has only a slightly lower average thrust than the A10, but much lower initially. Also it should be remembered that the A3 has somewhat higher total impulse if we can believe the thrust curves since the slightly lower average thrust is applied for about 25% longer.

Joe