Please see the joint communication below from Tripoli and NAR.
CMASS will no longer allow CTI VMAX motors to be flown at our launches without the use of electronic deployment for the primary recovery system. Saucers and boost gliders that use VMAX motors will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Once the safety concerns are addressed by the manufacturer and approved by the certifying organizations, we will review this restriction.
To our members:
The National Association of Rocketry’s Standards & Testing and Tripoli Rocketry Association’s Tripoli Motor Testing Chairmen are hereby enacting temporary Safety restriction for all Cesaroni Technology, Inc. VMAX reload motors equipped with delay charges.
We have both seen a growing number of VMAX flights using delay only recovery coming in ballistic at our flying fields, due to delay snuffing. It is believed that delay snuffing is likely a result of any extremely high burn rate motor completing its burn with a significant drop in pressure and/or temperature, breaking the burn ‘chain’, extinguishing or ‘snuffing’ the delay slug.
In light of the unpredictable VMAX delay performance and the resulting significant safety issues, we will now require all VMAX motor flights flown at NAR and Tripoli launch sites to have at least one electronic system installed for primary recovery. These electronics need to be able to handle the short G period of these motors to insure “Flight in progress” triggers. The safety restriction will be lifted when the manufacturer has provided documentation to the three motor certification committee chairman which includes the root cause analysis, the corresponding design changes undertaken by the manufacture to address the issue, and implements the necessary changes..
Any questions about this restriction may be sent to your respective organization’s motor test chair
Regards,
Steve Lubliner
NAR Safety Committee Chairman
Paul Holmes
Tripoli Motor Testing Chairman
Deb Koloms
Tripoli President
Ted Cochran
NAR President
John W Lyngdal
NAR Safety Committee
