Author Topic: Model Rockets (Read 11200 times)

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **on:** February 21, 2007, 10:11:40 AM »

My dad, brother, and myself decided to fool around with model rockets recently. (We're all grown men, don't laugh like my SO did.) Got a couple Estes Alpha III starter kits, and decided to fly. Man, was that fun.
Well, the one flight we did was fun at least. We misunderestimated the 30 MPH winds, and while the launch was flawless, the recovery was less so.

We think someone near the school baseball field we launched in how has our interpid space craft on their roof. Chasing a tiny parachuting rocket body up a road and then finally losing it was too much to bear, so we secured flight operations for the day. We'll try again this weekend.

I could see myself spending entirely too much money on this hobby. Any of you people fly model rockets?

jnojr · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:15:12 AM »

I used to.

I see people launching them on Fiesta Island all the time. They launch at a pretty steep angle into the wind, so when the engine burns out and pops the 'chute, it'll drift back towards them grin

280plus · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:16:50 AM »

I had a model rocket once. Three stager. The first stage sent it straight up, the second turned it sideways and the third turned it back toward the ground and drove it right in. Then the parachute popped. It would have been funny if I wasn't about twelve and really pissed off at that point. Hence my rocketeering days came to an abrupt end. sad

Now I feel like I'm a bit too old to go off chasing them into never never land. grin

Besides, you folks already got me thinking about buying a yo yo. I'll limit the second childhood to that. laugh

cosine · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:17:42 AM »

I've always wanted to try model rocketry. Haven't done so yet.

280plus · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:19:20 AM »

Then again what could it hurt. Well, besides the wallet. rolleyes

mfree · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:28:59 AM »

AUGH. it ate my post!

Anyways,

http://posterboard.tv/rocketry/bigrocket01.png
http://posterboard.tv/rocketry/bigrocket02.png
http://posterboard.tv/rocketry/bigrocket03.png
http://posterboard.tv/rocketry/bigrocket04.png

To re-iterate what was lost... huge rocketeer in high school, miss it daily. The photos are of my best creation, 10-11 foot long, 3 D12 engines, less than five pounds. Launched beautifully; crashed horribly due to a hung-up parachute.

By the time I was out of high school I'd completed and flown 50-60 models, too many to really count. Most of them were homemade designs as well, I think after numbers ten or eleven I stopped buying kits and started buying parts packs.

charby · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:29:10 AM »

I used to really big into rockets as a teenager, I probably built at least 40 kits and about a dozen from scratch.

I was at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago and was looking at the model section, another hobby that I used to be big into, at started looking at the Estes rocket stuff, I did notice that the price of engines haven't gone up much in 15 years and there was an "E" engine.

If it could justify to myself the cost of getting started again I might revist the hobby.

-C

280plus · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:30:55 AM »

Too...many...hobbies......must ...resist..... undecided

mfree · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:36:09 AM »

IIRC, if you're willing to get a LEUP and go for your Tripoli cert, there are engines and classes much, much bigger than E. Composite propellant motors go up to K size commercially, and those folks get to play with carbon fiber, kevlar, altitude keyed electronic ejection, all manner of neat stuff.

But, I chose to make my home in a city-filled VALLEY surrounded by MOUNTAINS. Nowhere to play! *grumble*.

cosine · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2007, 10:46:35 AM »

Quote from: 280plus on February 21, 2007, 09:30:55 AM

Too...many...hobbies......must ...resist..... undecided

Get the yo-yo. You'll have fun with it. grin

You know, there's this little matter of never having enough money for all the hobbies I want to try... undecided

mfree · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2007, 11:09:41 AM »

Rocketry, really, can be a cheap hobby. The only things you can't make for yourself are the engine and ignitors.

You can roll kraft (butcher) paper and dope it for body tubes, chuck a block of wood in a drill press and sand it into a nose cone... fins don't *have* to be balsa, I've used solid cardboard before. Your pad can be just a length of straight rod (like a scrap auto antenna) with the bottom of a tin can for a deflector. Yeah, it'll burn through... so? Make another. Ignition system? Just hold your wires to a lantern battery for a few seconds.

Engines are still less than ten bucks a pack, right?

roo_ster · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2007, 12:28:23 PM »

I loved model rocketry as a kid. What a hoot.

One hint: parachutes are for launching big rockets, fragile payloads, or guys who want to lose thier rocket.

Use a streamer next time.

Oh, I loved the rocket that had pop-out wings when it was finished climbing. It workd the first two times. The last time, only ONE wing popped out. The term "auger in" became reality that day.

I also experimented with funky payloads & got some of my plastic model planes airborne.

cosine · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2007, 12:35:13 PM »

Quote from: mfree on February 21, 2007, 10:09:41 AM

Rocketry, really, can be a cheap hobby. The only things you can't make for yourself are the engine and ignitors.

You can roll kraft (butcher) paper and dope it for body tubes, chuck a block of wood in a drill press and sand it into a nose cone... fins don't *have* to be balsa, I've used solid cardboard before. Your pad can be just a length of straight rod (like a scrap auto antenna) with the bottom of a tin can for a deflector. Yeah, it'll burn through... so? Make another. Ignition system? Just hold your wires to a lantern battery for a few seconds.

Engines are still less than ten bucks a pack, right?

Interesting. I may try it "on the cheap" this summer.

How small can you build rockets? What are th smallest engines you can use? How much land do you need to launch the rockets?

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2007, 12:45:58 PM »

Quote from: jnojr on February 21, 2007, 09:15:12 AM

I used to.

I see people launching them on Fiesta Island all the time. They launch at a pretty steep angle into the wind, so when the engine burns out and pops the 'chute, it'll drift back towards them grin

We wanted to launch there, but you need to be a member of a specific club, or contact the city for a damned permit.

charby · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2007, 12:46:14 PM »

Quote from: cosine on February 21, 2007, 11:35:13 AM

Quote from: mfree on February 21, 2007, 10:09:41 AM

Rocketry, really, can be a cheap hobby. The only things you can't make for yourself are the engine and ignitors.

You can roll kraft (butcher) paper and dope it for body tubes, chuck a block of wood in a drill press and sand it into a nose cone... fins don't *have* to be balsa, I've used solid cardboard before. Your pad can be just a length of straight rod (like a scrap auto antenna) with the bottom of a tin can for a deflector. Yeah, it'll burn through... so? Make another. Ignition system? Just hold your wires to a lantern battery for a few seconds.

Engines are still less than ten bucks a pack, right?

Interesting. I may try it "on the cheap" this summer.

How small can you build rockets? What are th smallest engines you can use? How much land do you need to launch the rockets?

I could shoot A or B sized engines in a baseball diamond and depending upon the wind my rocket would land inside the park. You'll need to angle your launch rod into the wind and shoot from the side of the diamond that is into the direction of the wind. If I could figure that out at 12 years of age, you'll do fine.

-C

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2007, 12:47:35 PM »

Quote from: 280plus on February 21, 2007, 09:30:55 AM

Too...many...hobbies......must ...resist..... undecided

The Estes Alpha III Kit is less than 25 bucks, and includes everything you need. Do it.

charby · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2007, 12:52:04 PM »

Quote from: dasmi on February 21, 2007, 11:47:35 AM

Quote from: 280plus on February 21, 2007, 09:30:55 AM

Too...many...hobbies......must ...resist..... undecided

The Estes Alpha III Kit is less than 25 bucks, and includes everything you need. Do it.

That was my first kit, I think my folks paid $18 for it back in 1986

here is a link to one for under $20

https://www.discountrocketry.com/estes-alpha-rocket-starter-p-555.html?osCsid=a4923f5bfd8e757c8ef2cc1bd0e61553

-C

crt360 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:03:31 PM »

I did the rocket thing when I was a kid. I'm not sure why I quit. Maybe I got tired of hunting them down. I always liked shooting little rockets as high possible, which made judging their landing area a little more difficult. I'm sure I've still got a launchpad or two and some engines packed away somewhere. What's the shelf life of rocket engines? I might have to slap together a rocket and light up a few.

Did anyone ever use one of those rockets with the camera in it? If so, did it work?

Ben · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:05:19 PM »

I used to love flying model rockets. Did it as a kid, then when my niece was 8 or so, "had to" do it again for her sake (which was a lot more fun because I splurged on the works). laugh

Was actually looking at playing around with them again -- but the bigger ones (especially after wathcing the Reliant space shuttle from the other thread). When I was a kid, it was a fun hobby for both me and my dog -- she used to bring the rockets back to me after they landed. Luckily she was a soft-mouthed retriever.

Headless Thompson Gunner · « **Reply #19 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:08:42 PM »

I used to play with those. Lots of fun.

My mother took 'em away from me after she discovered I was modifying my engines into improvised explosive devises...

onions! · « **Reply #20 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:13:17 PM »

I've heard of,& seen video of,guys using model rockets to signal a strike on their tip ups.
Heck of alot more noticeable than just that dinky flag!

MechAg94 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:23:46 PM »

I remember launching a smaller rocket with a larger engine on an overcast day with low clouds. The little rocket disappeared in the clouds and we never saw it again. We were out in a pasture had plenty of room for recovery normally.

mfree · « **Reply #22 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:38:37 PM »

I'm remembering all my conquests now

Two are notable... well, two other than the monster I showed previously. One was a superlight, super-compact D powered model that shredded with a bang a ways before it would have hit burnout. I'd exceeded VNE

Apparently you can only fly balsa and mylar so fast...

The other was a two-stage powered with long-burn C engines. Very sleek and optimized for drag. Optical measurements put it at 3400' and even with streamer recovery it drifted out of our area.

As for the small stuff, I remember that there are 1/4A and 1/2A engines out there for rockets that aren't much bigger than a 50 ring cigar. There is, or used to be, a model out there that is not much more than one of those small engines, a nose cone, and three swept fins. On the eject charge it just blows the engine out and the CG change is enough to make it tumble down, like a leaf.

Believe it or not a lot of the bigger single D models were suitable for small fields; they're so big and draggy they won't hit a thousand feet.

crt360 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:41:49 PM »

Quote from: MechAg94 on February 21, 2007, 12:23:46 PM

I remember launching a smaller rocket with a larger engine on an overcast day with low clouds. The little rocket disappeared in the clouds and we never saw it again. We were out in a pasture had plenty of room for recovery normally.

That sounds exactly like what I did several times. I even had one disappear on a clear day.

Sylvilagus Aquaticus · « **Reply #24 on:** February 21, 2007, 01:51:57 PM »

I was into it as a kid. Bought a few Centauri kits (Estes' compeditor), and got one for the Incubii back when they were more impressionable. Launched it once, then they lost interest. It's under the back seat of the VW Campmobile still in the box.

I have a cousin who threw a fit wanting to launch his Very First Rocket one stifling summer day down near San Antonio. Daddy releted finally and he started a 200 acre grass fire. He's still a brat at 30.

Regards,
Rabbit.

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Author Topic: Model Rockets (Read 11200 times)

onions!