Model Forum / General / Rockets / December 2006

John

You hit the nail on the head. "the sun's in my eyes, my gloves too big,
my shoelaces were untied"  Oh and BTW I moved, didn't I tell you?

Simply amazing.

It's time to nip it in the bud.

Chuck

If this is the case, I'd like to see specific information made public
so that we can attempt to have the problem corrected before it gets to
the Bruce Kelly stage.

I have noticed that there are a few manufacturers that never seem to
have a problem having their motors tested.

Phil

I think I'll weigh in on this thread.

First of all, thanks to the guys who've jumped in to defend me/Sky
Ripper.  While they don't officially talk for me, I appreciate their
loyal friendship and their willingness to help a friend.  Thanks guys.

In regards to my 54mm certification, I will take the blame where I can,
but to be sure the fault of the delay isn't entirely or even mostly or
half mine. Below I will outline the story to the very best of my
memory.

Let me start out my story by saying that I find Paul Holmes a
completely fair, honest, and likable fellow.   It has been my pleasure
to work with Paul for the complete duration of our certification
efforts. Being that I am a guy who has a job much like Paul's in terms
of travel, I understand how hard it is to live up to commitments while
being away from home all week.   Paul has only so much time per week
that he can commit to testing, and every moment he spends testing, is a
moment he spends away from home - a place where his presence in rare to
begin with.   I think we all owe him some thanks for the job he has
done in the past.  Thank you, Paul - motor testing is a thankless job,
the hours stink, and the pay is... well..... You know. ;)

Now, on to my 54mm story.

Woody took primary control of the motor hardware manufacturing for the
54mm product, and he completed the first run of components for delivery
to TMT in mid March, 2006.  I can't remember the exact date, but I do
remember that he was scrambling to leave for a meeting in LA when he
was getting the shipment together, and that meeting was in March.

Slightly after that or at about the exact same time, I had completed
the injection mold for the 54mm fuel grains.  The injection mold was
for sure the most expensive and time consuming part of the 54mm
project, so when it was complete, I got some sample parts made, did a
few preliminary tests, and sent reload kits to Paul.  Apparently, my
'prelim' tests were not enough.

I had done all the development of the 54mm product using machined ABS
grains, in *mostly* the same configuration as I would later be molding.
However, due to a normal manufacturing flaw that occurs in most
injection molded parts, a pin hole in the grain could be opened up
under some operating conditions.   Despite the earlier tests, I only
found this pin hole a day before Paul did his first official test.  I
sent him an email asking him to hold off the tests until I could
replace his defective grains, but unfortunately Paul didn't get the
message until after he did his first testing, and experienced the pin
hole issue for himself.  I got the message about the failed test on
Easter day, 2006.

I repaired the issue with the mold by the following weekend,
manufactured new grains, and sent them to Paul.  Paul received the
updated reload kits before the end of April, for tests he had
scheduled.  Note that this was the last time that an 'issue' with our
motors held up a testing; The end of April, 2006.

Paul tested a few more times, but noted that his numbers had come up
quite different than the numbers we had sent him.   To us, this wasn't
odd - all of the 29 and 38mm motors we had sent to TMT for testing had
been about 20% off in total impulse from our tests.  We had always
assumed that this was due to the fact that in our testing climate, N20
temps of 60 degrees is common, and in Paul's climate, N20 temperatures
of 90+ degrees are common.
It's easy to understand just on the basis of N20 density alone why the
numbers would be that far off.   TMT has no testing manual, let alone
any criteria for nominal hybrid testing temperature - something that I
believe is infinitely important when it comes to testing hybrids.

Paul and I talked on the telephone in May (from memory), and he
explained that it would be a good idea to get CAR involved in testing.
The temperatures in Arizona were too hot for him to be able to test the
motors at a nominal temperature, and that lower temps would be easily
attained in Canada.   He shipped hardware and some reloads to CAR after
they confirmed that they would be willing to help with the
certification efforts.   Unfortunately, because the reloads were going
to Canada, our approved and tested pyrotechnic ignition components
could not make the trip.   I wrote specific instructions to the CAR
people on what was required for the preheater.

I got confirmation that CAR had received product from Paul in June, and
they quickly performed the first test within a week of receiving the
shipment.   They had, confusingly at first, gotten results that were
very close to what Paul had tested.  When I inquired about the
specifics of the test, I had learned that they had heated the N20 up to
850psi in a bath of warm water, in order to more closely match the
results Paul was getting in the desert.  Of course, this was an
indication that there was some kind of miscommunication as to what the
CAR tests were being performed to prove.   I then wrote an email to the
CAR testing chairman, asking that the next test be performed at 700psi.
They agreed that this would be their course of action.

Early in July, I got a reply from CAR stating that they had experienced
a catastrophic disassembly failure of our hardware during a test. I was
shocked to hear this news.  As I began an email review of the cato, I
discovered that the instructions I had given for preheater
construction/implementation were not followed.  It was clear that this
was the cause of the cato, and it was no fault of the motor design.
CAR agreed with my assessment of the failure point, and agreed to do
some more testing with correct preheaters, provided I could supply them
with another complete motor and 2 or more reload kits, which I did.   I
boxed up my personal 54mm hardware and two new reloads without pyro
elements as soon as I possibly could, and sent them up to Canada.   I
received communication from CAR that the box containing the motor was
received, but that no testing could be completed until the testing
agent had returned from a 3 week long trip he was to be taking.  As it
turns out, this was the last I had heard from CAR.  No further testing
has been done, and I've not had hardware returned to me.

After about six weeks, I contacted Paul and asked him if he had any
information regarding the CAR tests, and he replied that he had assumed
that I was dealing directly with CAR when it came to the tests they
were doing.   I then told Paul that I hadn't heard from them since the
acknowledgment of the shipment, and he sent an email to CAR requesting
return of unused testing materials.  He then told me that TMT would be
in a position to resume testing again when the temperatures cooled a
bit more in the desert.

In October, I got an email from Paul telling me that he had one last
chance to test before he moved to Texas to start a new position with
his company.  From what I recall, the email from Paul came in on a
Wednesday, requesting new reloads for testing one week from the
upcoming Saturday.   Since the 54mm reloads aren't a 'production'
product, and I had assumed that I had already supplied enough reloads
to TMT and CAR to perform the tests, I didn't have enough extra 54mm
grains in my possession to fill his request.

So scrambling, I scheduled a production run of the 54mm grain mold as
early as I could on Sunday, and had a box ready for shipment on Monday
morning - an amazing feat considering the cost and availability of
injection molding machines - particularly on the weekends.  Using our
standard shipping scheme, this would enable enough time to get the box
to Paul for his tests.

Now, in retrospect, I do remember the email that came in during the
middle of summer telling all manufacturers of Paul's change of
address.  However, since I don't have access to my outlook on the
weekends, and I had already assumed that I had sent everything to Paul
that I would need to send, I didn't act at all on his email when it was
received.  This was a poor decision, I'll admit.   But, it must be
understood that when I was filling Paul's request for more reloads, I
was in absolute scramble mode, and the last thing I thought about was
weather or not the only address I had ever used in correspondence with
Paul was still valid - The fact that he had sent the change of address
email had totally slipped my mind.

On Wednesday of that week, after the Monday shipment had been made, I
got an email from Paul asking "Say - did you remember to send the
reloads to my new address?"...Which of course, I did not.  It seems
Paul understood enough to think it reasonable that I might have shipped
to the wrong address to comment on it.  The reloads arrived mid way
through the following week, several days after the testing session.

I have since received communication from Paul that there might be a new
testing location near his new home in Texas that might be perfect for
TMT, and that tests might be able to be performed in early 07.

That is the story, to the best of my honest recollection.
I did not tell this story to trash Paul, because I believe Paul has
done a job to the absolute best of his abilities, and again - I thank
him for doing a completely thankless job.

However, if anyone can read the above and suggest that this is
acceptable for a testing agency who a manufacturer is REQUIRED to
utilize before selling their product, their sanity must be questioned.

The system is broken.  It may be on its way to being fixed but for now,
it is broken, and it being broke has darn near cost Woody and I
everything we've ever worked for in Sky Ripper Systems.

Every penny we have made is now invested in a 54mm product that has sit
on the shelf for 8 months at least, waiting for a resolution outside of
our control.  We are, at this point, bankrupt.  There is no money in
the account for us to pay for the manufacture of even 29 and 38mm
hardware.

Both Woody and I are hoping that the new link Paul has in Texas will
lead to a fair and consistent testing schedule, so that no one else has
to face the loss of their business due to the inability of getting
their products tested.

Thanks for reading.

I hope you all have a rewarding and joyous holiday season!

Todd Moore
Sky Ripper Systems.