Not sure if someone has said this but if your wondering what that stuff is i found some info.



Tetranitromethane, also called TeNMe, is a colorless to pale yellow liquid that was first prepared by the action of nitric acid on trinitromethane back in 1861. The Germans used it back in WWII for an intermediate in making other explosives and as a substitute for nitric acid in the V-2 rocket. A pilot plant in New Jersey used to make tetranitromethane blew up in 1953. This compound is rather toxic, irritating the skin, mucous membranes and the respiratory tract. Prolonged exposure to vapors causes damage to the liver, kidneys, and other organs. A concentration of 0.1 ppm in the air is fatal. Mixtures of tetranitromethane with organic liquids tend to form more powerful explosives , but the sensitivity is worse. A list of mixtures has been provided. Tetranitromethane has been proposed as a chemical warfare agent.


Hydrazine is a colorless, mobile liquid which is used as missile fuel. It is also used to remove oxygen from boiler water to prevent corrosion and as a building block for agricultural chemicals.

Hydrazine (assuming you could even get it) is not something to play with at home. I'm a contractor at a USAF test facility where I have worked extensively in a rocket test cell testing Titan IV LR-91 rocket engines. Full hazmat suits are used around the Aerozine 50 (a variant of hydrazine) propellant systems, because when absorbed into the skin it has some very nasty effects on the body. Hydrazine is a hypergolic propellant, that is it spontaneously combusts with certain oxidizers. It is most often used in rockets with nitrogen tetroxide (N204). As a side note, when N204 leaks from pipes, it makes fuming red nitric acid clouds
that turn to nitric acid in your lungs.

Go here for additional hydrazine info:


http://wwwsam.brooks.af.mil/web/ram/.../hydrazine.htm

But don,t you think its a bit of a stretch calling this "RC related" or RC beginners related.

John

Hey John i wrote thid because thats a rule in the AMA rules that you can't use that stuff.

>>>>>>>>>>
Hey John i wrote thid because thats a rule in the AMA rules that you can't use that stuff.

<<<<<<<<<<

IMO, things like this should be considered with beginners every so often.
In the technology of today, those items and why those items exist are usually long forgotten.

Back in the period around 1960, tetranitromethane was used as a fuel additive for CL speed models.
They came with their big Ice-Coolers, with an ounce of *tetra* packed down in lots of ice. Just before a flight, two drops tetra per 3 ounces (Hazy recall on exact mix) of high nitro glow fuel was prepared and injected into the model's bladder fuel tank.
The engine had to be ported for high speed and then ran rather quietly, and hauled its rear! There was no benefit from just any engine.
After the flight, the engine (usually mounted on an aluminum belly pan) was detached from the model and inserted into a large container of wood alcohol. Tetra was not friendly to the brass components of the engine.

So yes, IMO, the history of this sport has evolved around more than 3D and a backyard electric ARF.

Lasted several years. but then put to rest.

Wow. Sounds like a pain to me.

Horrace, good to hear from you and I certainly could not agree more that there is more to modeling than just "3D and backyard electric ARF".

In the distant past I too have had some involvement with 'controline speed' and am well aware of some of the witchs brew which were used. As a matter of fact I still have my 1956 OS type 11 pulse jet and am currently building a replica of a 1949 Hell Razor nats winner only this time around for 'D' class just for the heck off it.

However there is no history lesson in those first two posts nor is there any relationship with any kind of modeling. And I will maintain that I find the Subject and the tone of the posts most particularly inappropriate in a beginners forum.

John

Hydrazine is also used in the APU of the F-16. If the engine quits, the APU kicks in and supplies electrical power to the instruments and flight control surfaces, hopefully long enough for the pilot to make a successful ejection or deadstick. So if you ever come across an F-16 that has deadsticked at your field, stay away from the APU. Always good advice!