Rockets are fun
New Way rockets sells kits on ebay. They are unique because they use square tubes. I picked up 4 SQUARE rocket from them and they included a gift I have vid of below. It was a fun build. No making sure the fins were straight because they were just chunks of square tubes I glued with wood glue. Theresa did most of the paint and decals.
So this was the free gift. It is a square of balsa plywood with a motor mount and square launch lug. It does not have a clip to hold the engine in it, so it spits out on launch and the “rocket” tumbles down for recovery. It is more of a proof that you do not need a rocket form to shoot something up in the air as long as it is aerodynamic.
If you watch the launch a couple times (:16) you can see where it sorta struggles and might spin from the sound of it, but it still went high and was fun.
So much more rocket stuff below. ~slides open~
They even include sand paper. Darn good kits.
So the square motor mount. Fun fun
This is how you should hook your shock cord that connects to the chute and nose cone that gets ejected from the body tube. If you glue a folded piece of paper on the side of the thin tube it can rip off in bad situations. Mounting the connecting cord to the strongest part of the rocket works. The kevlar cord Should be 3 times the length or the rocket on average. It gives time for all the parts to reduce their trajectory and reduce strain while making the recovery system work better with less tangles.
That above is dog barf insulation. It is recycled paper that fills the walls of my 100 + year old house. They treat it with boric acid to make it flameproof. I picked up an 18 pound square of it that runs under $7. That is enough for a lifetime of rocket launching.
A rocket engine is basically 3 parts. The thrust fuel, the delay smoke, and an ejection charge that pops off the nosecone and shoots the parachute out. It is just hot gas so you need something to block the flame from your plastic or nylon chute. I have been using this flame proof toilet paper that costs about $5 for 300 sheets. Dog barf works just as good and is totally green. It will rain down and degrade in no time.
Kevlar cord. The big spool on the right is 100 pound test, and the stuff on the left is 380 pound test. I am looking for quality and longevity. Building the rockets right instead of just putting it together and launching it, is the best way to go.
Thanks for checking the rest of this post.
Here is my home brew one
I hope it passes a swing test and I can figure out a good motor mount.
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