Model Rocketry
Any of you ever done this?
Anyone who still does it?
We had a 6th Grade teacher who taught science, he specialized in aerospace and every spring there'd be a big Estes rocket-building class. All the kids in 6th grade would build rockets and then we'd have a big launch day out on the playground. There were always some might launches, mixed in with a lot of whacky screw-ups. I remember one girl's black Andromeda rocket (really long rocket) went up about 150 feet and turned over like a cruise missle and went flying out across town.
Anyone who still does it?
We had a 6th Grade teacher who taught science, he specialized in aerospace and every spring there'd be a big Estes rocket-building class. All the kids in 6th grade would build rockets and then we'd have a big launch day out on the playground. There were always some might launches, mixed in with a lot of whacky screw-ups. I remember one girl's black Andromeda rocket (really long rocket) went up about 150 feet and turned over like a cruise missle and went flying out across town.
Comments
I guess back in the 50s and 60s they had "E" and higher designated engines. So much so that they used radio trackers to find the rockets after they came down.
What I used to like to do was to pound an E engine into one of the cheaper models, (usually designed for A's or B's) and fill up the rest of the tube with a mixture of strontium nitrate (from road flares) and C1 plastic explosive. (made in the back yard).
Then I'd take a bunch of em out into the country on a nice evening and send em up. Big, red explosions.
I've made some, ah, missiles with booster engines and M-80s. Fun stuff.
Sounds like something to do again for the Fourth...
I rigged a piece of PVC pipe with a couple of switches and handles
you could really wake up the nieghborhood.
Originally posted by Xool
I've powered balsa wood "cars" with CD wheels (light light!) with various sized rocket engines. They went fast and all over the place! Good stuff.
I actually am making a cardboard boat just to blow up on the Fourth...
Cut out all the cardboard, hot glued it all together then coated it with this rubber stuff. I have it all nice and spray painted now. Going to fill that bastard with fireworks, stuff a small Estes booster in it and blow it to pieces.
I just found a picture of my whole fleet (circa 1999)
I really liked the landers and the ones that were supposed to deploy glider wings when they'd reach a certain altitude (propellant pressure blowing the cap). I built one but wasn't that good a woodworker in 6th grade and the wings didn't pop out on cue and it just tumbled to Earth.
The one that would take an aerial photograph was always near the top of my list. I never understood building them to just blow them up, but that's just me.
http://sjaz.net/subpages/videorocket/vrindex.html
Pretty cool.
They work like a charm. I have this four foot long cast iron pipe that's capped at one end (mostly, so I can attach the igniters.) Can be used as a shoulder-fire rocket launcher (close your eyes, smoke bad!)
http://www.aardvark.co.nz/pjet/
It was funny at the time.
Thankfully nobody got hurt!
Originally posted by Buggy
Here is a guy with a plan!
http://www.aardvark.co.nz/pjet/
Thanks for the link. I wanted to build to-scale functional pulsejets in high school, but never had the time.