General Rocketry Discussion!

Weldo said:
Part of the NAR safety code says that rockets should only be made of lightweight materials like balsa wood and paper, but I suppose at freefall from several hundred feet, even a plastic and balsa rocket has some decent momentum.
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Yep, plastic, cardboard, and balsa. With a sharp enough nose cone you can punch through thin sheet metal. I wouldn't expect to get through 1" or anything, but it's amazing how much energy a little one can pick up on the way down.

East coast launch sites are more difficult. I'm fortunate to have have a couple of near-ish large open areas available so the club can hold launches. The little models are still a lot of fun and I still build and fly them. The big stuff gets expensive fast. :)
 
I have been to East Coast launches with a waiver to 15,000' I believe. That is N territory? You guys have me interested in seeing what is available in NC.
Robert
 
Based on the best launch area I could find and since I'm not yet a member of a club I'm pretty much limited to the smaller 18mm motors. I'll probably try a 24 this summer but only on a cheaper kit I don't mind losing.

Within the smaller range I've been looking for kits that are a bit different than the normal rockets. I've built and flew a cool glider and a helicopter rocket both from Apogee Components. They were fun builds and the flights were exciting!

Glider

Helicopter

I also picked these up at my local craft store. The three of them were like $8 and they run on 1/2A or A size motors.

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I launched each one as intended by the instructions but then I decided to experiment a little. I was having problems with chute deployment with the plastic film parachutes that came in the kits so for one of the models I made a 12" chute out of mylar. Another one now has a mylar streamer about 2"x36". And the last rocket has nothing, it's gonna tumble back to earth.

I'm interested in comparing the effectiveness of recovery options for small rockets and how far they might drift. I haven't launched any of them yet but the experimentation aspect of my next launch makes it very exciting to me!
 
Those are small enough that simply popping the nose cone might slow it down enough. There are a couple of programs that can help simulate the rates. Openrocket is free and works well. Just an option so you can see if it's even close. A streamer is likely fine. Packing chutes in those thin tubes can be a challenge.
 
Yea, the plastic chutes packed so tight that they didn't want to open very well. I'm hoping a mylar one folds a bit more small and springs open better.

I downloaded open rocket a while ago and made a model of my bullpup to find an approximate center of pressure. I determined that I needed more nosed weight to achieve good stability so I removed the clay from the kit and glued in some steel shot. I haven't flown that one yet.
 
So in my search for unique and different rockets to fly that are feasible for my launch area, I found these from Aerospace Specialty Products....

Mini Rockets

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They are super small and look like a challenge to build! They fly on a Quest Micro Maxx engine and are supposed to have an ejection charge and recover with streamers. I ordered two kits to try them out. Look like fun!
 
If you want to try something cool, with a limited flight area, try this. I once built a largish rocket out of a 4" mailing tube. It was about 3 ft tall. I used a D engine to power it. Parachute recovery. The rocket was only slightly less weight than the motor could lift. It was loud and slow (which was interesting) and only flew to about 200 ft. It was actually very cool to fly and obviously easy to recover.
Robert
 
Hey that’s a neat idea! I actually have a heavy wall mailing tube, about 3” by 36”!
 
Neat idea?! Sheez, back in the late 60s, we built our own almost exclusively
 
Yes! Try building the whole thing from scratch. How could you build the nose cone? You will be impressed by a low, slow and loud rocket.
R
 
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