Model rocket launch

[Zeus-cat]

Here are a few photos of my recent rocket launch. I used my digital camera in rapid fire mode to get 7 or 8 photos of each launch. I then selected the best photos.

The first launch was to test the rocket. It worked fine, but my parachute was too small and the rocket was damaged slightly. A bit of super glue and she was ready to fly a few minutes later. Here are two photos of the first launch on a pair of Estes B4-4 motors.

For the second launch I added an altimeter to the payload bay. The specs say it takes 10 samples a second and is accurate to 4 feet at sea level and is good to 15,000 feet.

The wind died down so I eliminated the angle on the launch pad and launched straight up for the next two flights. The second flight was also on a pair of B4-4 motors. The altimeter popped out of the payload bay somewhere on descent, but was undamaged. The altimeter recorded a max altitude of only 135 feet. Apparently, a pair of B4 engines wasn't going to cut it. I inserted a pair of C6-5 motors and prepared the altimeter. I reinforced the payload bay couplings to make sure the altimeter wouldn't come out.

Both motors lit up and the rocket made a very nice flight. The altimeter recorded an apogee of 397 feet. I later discarded the two highest readings as errors induced by the parachute deployment and determined that the rocket actually reached about 380 feet. You can see some of the data I plotted from the altimeter.

[B16Enk]

Wow, and reading your graph that was some acceleration

My eldest brother 'experimented' with rocket fuel he was making in the science lab at school.

For tests it was injected into one those CO2 cartridges (empty of course ) placed in a tub and then buried in a trench.

A hot wire was used for ignition.

Was a useless rocket fuel but a bloody good explosive, and his experiments could be heard for quite some distance!

[Friar]

a couple of years ago i started building my own water rockets, which i believe are very popular in the schools in the u.s. and has a large internet community on the net. i was never able to build a succesful release mechanism that was water and air tight. some of the real experts can get them real high.