Ed's prototype "big" rocket (11-1-09).
The purpose behind this design was to try to figure out how to build the biggest most impressive looking rocket using a relatively small inexpensive engine and inexpensive parts. I new that a long, mostly empty body tube would make the rocket unstable unless very large awkward looking fins were added. My idea was to put the heavy rocket engine in the nose and have it pull a light weight body tube behind it. The body tube would be hollow and act as the stabilizer fins. The rocket exhaust would mostly go down the center of the tube and mix with enough ambient cool air to hopefully not set the tube on fire. The body tube in the attached photo is made from two 22-inch by 28-inch poster boards ($0.38 each) taped and wrapped around three 6-inch diameter wooden embroidery hoops ($1.29 each at Michael's Crafts). The small blue body tube at the top is an old Estes mailing tube that I still had from many years ago. A "D" size single stage engine fits tightly into the bottom of the mailing tube. The mailing tube is attached to the big tube below with four 1/4-inch diameter 24-inch long wooden dowels. The wooden dowels were intended to give the illusion of a nose cone from a distance, but I didn't quite achieve that result. It is actually a lot like the ejection rocket gantry atop early NASA manned rockets. The blue tube contains a 12-inch diameter parachute made from a plastic garbage bag just like the parachutes I drop from my planes. The rocket stands 6 feet tall, is 6-inches in diameter and look Ma, no fins! I used no glue. The rocket is held together by Duck Tape. I hoped the connection between the dowels and the tubes was strong enough to withstand the initial 10-pound thrust of the D-engine. The entire rocket including D-engine weighed just 13 ounces, so I expected it could climb at least a few hundred feet if it didn't rip apart. I figured there was a 50-50 chance that the D-engine may rip loose and leave the big body tube behind on the launch pad. The engine would then be totally unstable and zigzag back and forth near the ground. I could launch the rocket electrically, but instead I used a long fuse so I could step farther away (at least 100 feet) before it fired.
The first few flights were not great but at least they proved that this design has potential. The Duck Tape and poster board proved strong enough. The concept of a rocket engine at the top of a big hollow body tube with no fins proved marginally stable. There may be something inherently less stable about a rocket engine pulling the body tube from the top verses pushing from below. There may be something inherently unstable about an open cylinder flying through the air. The first 3 flights used an Estes D12-5 engine. 5 seconds proved to be too long of a delay; the rocket always hit the ground before ejecting the parachute. Flights 4 and 5 used an Estes D12-3 engine with better results. Later flights went much higher with an Estes E9-4 engine, the biggest engine available at local hobby stores. Though not totally successful, every flight was exciting.
In flight #1, the rocket took a sharp 90-degree turn just after lift-off, it flew parallel to the ground for 150 feet then dropped down and stuck nose-first into the ground with its tail in the air like a giant lawn dart! It was not damaged! After landing, the ejection charge fired, but because the nose was plugged with dirt, the engine ejected backwards!
Flight #1 video with D12-5 engine and no fins (11-6-09.
In flight #2 I used a proper 6-foot launching rod with ring lugs instead of just sliding the rocket over a short tomato stake. It flew higher but arced sharply and steadily back toward the ground. I suspected that the arcing was due to the fact that the engine was not being held straight enough by the wooded dowels.
Flight #2 video with D12-5 engine, no fins and launching rod (11-10-09).
In flight #3 I added small angled internal fins that would make the rocket rotate and hopefully negate the affect of a crooked engine. I also added streamers at the bottom of the rocket to give the appearance of flames, but afterward decided they looked silly. This rocket flew a bit straighter and higher but it still hit the ground nose first before ejecting the parachute. The wooden dowel nose structure was completely destroyed.
Flight #3 with D12-5 engine and internal angled spinner fins (11-17-09).
In flight #4 I rebuilt the nose shorter and sturdier to hold the engine straighter. I used four 5-inch dowels with four 1-inch dowels as reinforcing crossbeams to form a rigid truss structure. The hobby store had a better selection of engines this time so I bought a package of 3 D12-3 engines with the desired shorter 3-second delay ejection charge. This time the rocket started out flying straighter but then at about 50-feet up it took a sharp 90-degree turn and shot sideways. The inexplicable sharp turn is visible in the following video. Even so, the parachute ejected before it hit the ground, but it broke loose. The parachute cord appeared to have been burned.
Flight #4 with D12-3 engine and internal angled spinner fins (11-19-09).
In flight #5 I finally gave in and added fins for greater stability. The rocket still arced, but not as severely, and the parachute burned and broke loose again. Sorry, there is no video of this flight.
In flight #6 I used an Estes E9-4, the biggest engine sold at the local hobby store. I suspected that the parachute cord was getting burned because it was tied too close to the top of the rocket where the ejection charge produces a ball of flame. This time I attached the parachute cord halfway down the side of the main 6-inch body tube. The parachute finally worked! The rocket flew much higher with the bigger engine but it still arced over. The parachute deployed just 20 feet off the ground. The parachute is too small to see in the video (it's just 12-inches in diameter and black) but you can see the rocket suddenly slow its decent.
Flight #6 with bigger E9-4 engine, working parachute and external fins (11-24-09).
In flight #7 I angled the fins to make the rocket spin and fly straighter. This was the best flight yet. With an E9-4 engine, it rose straight up to about 250 feet. You can see the fins spinning in the video and you can see and hear the ejection charge and see the parachute open.
Flight #7 with E9-4 engine, working parachute and spinning fins (12-1-09).
Flight #8: It was too windy to fly our model planes today, so against my better judgement we decided to test the rocket to see if it could handle the high winds. It worked okay, but in the following video you can see that the rocket acted erratically near the top of its flight. When I recovered the rocket I saw that the styrofoam fins were melted and severely warped. I'll design new fins that are entirely outside of the main body tube and away from the hot exhaust gasses.
Flight #8 with E9-4 engine and high winds (12-3-09).
Flight #9 & #10: I put new fins entirely outside of the main body tube to be away from the hot exhaust gasses and provide a pathway for ignition wires up the inside of the main body tube to the engine. I launched the rocket with a 9VDC alkaline transistor radio battery, 20 feet of lamp cord and a door bell button. The fins were twisted sharply in flight #9; the rocket flew straight, but not as high as it could. I set the fins straight in flight #10; the rocket flew higher, but zig-zagged a little. I switched to a bigger 22-inch diameter white parachute in flight #10. I would like to somehow measure the altitude of the rocket, maybe by triangulation. I'm guessing that it's going about 250 feet high. I'm confused by the sight and sound in the flight #10 video. You can clearly see a puff of smoke when the ejection charge fires, but you don't hear the pop until 2 seconds later. That would put the rocket at 2000 feet! That can't be right.
Flight #10 video with E9-4 engine and electrical ignition (12-8-09).
Flight #10 photo (12-08-09):
********** Click here to see all model rocket and model airplane videos recorded by Jeff. **********
I'm looking for new materials to make main body tubes that are lighter and/or bigger. I'm also looking for a local store that sells bigger engines. These changes should help the rocket fly faster, straighter and higher. If I stick with this hobby I will probably build much bigger rockets based on the same design. I'll stick with the 10-to-1 aspect ratio where the body tube length is 10 times the diameter. The next bigger rocket would be 10-feet tall and 1-foot in diameter, followed by 20ft x 2ft etc..
This photo shows the top of the rocket with its truss-work of wooden dowels secured with Duck Tape that supports the upper body tube and engine. The bigger 22-inch parachute doesn't fit inside the small body tube so I simply placed the parachute above the body tube and taped some paper around it. The ejection charge blows the paper apart.
The fins are made from a styrofoam food tray and are simply taped on.
The main body tube is hollow. It's made of 2 poster boards wound around 3 embroidery hoops and is held together by clear packaging tape. The twist in the fins makes the rocket spin and fly straighter.
I'm building a second rocket to try out some lighter weight materials. I found that the "Royal Brites" poster boards sold at Michael's Crafts weigh only 3 ounces each as compared to the 4 ounce poster boards from Target that I used on the first rocket. This will cut 2 ounces from the total weight. I'm also using balsa sticks instead of hardwood dowels for the truss at the top. This photo shows how to use Duck Tape to make really strong bonds in the truss. Use "Professional Grade" Duck Tape; it's stronger and sticks better.
I wondered if polystyrene foam sheet insulation could be used to make rocket body tubes. I bought a $35.98 stack of polystyrene foam sheets (shown below) at Lowe's. It's 4ft x 50ft x 0.25 inches thick and it's fan-folded into 2ft x 4ft sheets. The 14-inch diameter tube shown below was made with one 2ft X 4ft sheet and it weighs just 6 ounces. 6 of them stacked together would make a nice 12ft rocket. The 7-inch diameter tube shown below was made with a 2ft x 2ft sheet. I'll test the 7-inch diameter tube in a rocket soon to see if it burns or melts.
Flight #11 on 12-16-09: The all-foam rocket flew well and did not burn or melt! It weighed 10.5 ounces with engine; 2 ounces less than the original rocket that was made with poster board. The polystyrene foam body tube is also stiffer and stronger than the poster board body tube. I made a 30-inch diameter parachute from a 30-gallon plastic garbage bag. The parachute opened at the last second, lowered the rocket gently to the ground, but then dragged the rocket across the field (thanks to the wind) and broke off all the fins. If the parachute opened sooner, the rocket might have drifted into the trees.
Flight #11 with polystyrene foam body & fins, E9-4 engine and 30-inch parachute (12-16-09).
Flight #12 on 12-18-09: On this second flight of the all-foam rocket (with E9-4 engine) I attempted to measure the height of the flight by triangulation. I folded a square sheet of paper diagonally to form a 45-degree angle, I stood 300 feet (100 strides) from the rocket launch pad, I held the paper up to my eye and Jeff launched the rocket. The rocket rose straight up just 2 or 3 degrees short of 45 degrees. The rocket's height was therefore 300ft x Tan(42deg) = 270 feet.
Flight #12 with polystyrene foam body & fins, E9-4 engine and 20-inch parachute (12-16-09).
Flight #13 on 1-7-10: On this third flight of the all-foam rocket with E9-4 engine, I attached a tiny video camera to the body of the rocket. This camera only weighs 0.65 ounces. I purchased the video camera for $29.70 from the following WEB site: www.hobbypartz.com . It requires a $9.99 micro SD memory card (not included) that I purchased at Walmart. This 2 gigabyte memory card can record up to 30 minutes of video & audio. I am very satisfied with the quality of this camera. It has a 1.9 megapixel CCD that takes 1600 x 1200 still photos and 640 x 480 videos. The videos can be edited with a free video editor program called Avidemux available from www.cnet.com. I rigged the 20-inch parachute so that it would hold the rocket horizontally and aim the camera downward as it descended. Because the rocket descended horizontally, it offered more wind resistance and descended more slowly than previous flights. The rocket drifted out of the park and I nearly lost it in some trees.
Flight #13 as seen from onboard video camera (1-7-10). See some great views looking down from rocket & parachute; a snow-covered baseball field, a close pass over treetops and a construction site.
Flight #13 as seen from the ground (1-7-10). The rocket gets lost in the sun.
Flight #14 as seen from rocket landing in tree (1-14-10). In this flight, the parachute was supposed to hold the rocket vertically with fins downward so that the video would be upright and give panoramic views throughout the flight. The bottom end of the rocket was so light, however, that it bobbed upward and flapped around spoiling the camera view. The bobbing also caused the rocket to descend more slowly and drift farther than expected causing the rocket to land in the "Devil Tree" near the center of the field.
Flight #15 as seen from rocket with parachute malfunction. (1-26-10). In this flight the parachute melted and did not open. The rocket hit the ground hard, nose down. The top of the rocket was severely damaged and had to be re-built. In the video it sounds like the rocket engine is propelling the rocket downward, but that's just the roar of the rushing wind.
Flight #16 with parachute malfunction as seen from the ground (2-1-10). This time the parachute tangled around the fins causing the rocket to descend rapidly nose down. Again the top of the rocket was damaged. I taped it back together like I do with my remote control planes. The parachute was supposed to hold the rocket horizontally for panoramic views, but instead the video looked just like the previous doomed flight.
Flight #17 with failed ejection charge as seen from ground (2-2-10). Rocket crashes to ground; repaired with tape.
Flight #18 with another failed ejection charge as seen from the ground (2-4-10). More damage. More tape.
Flight #19 lands in tree as seen from ground (2-5-10). Believing that I had a batch of bad Estes engines (weak or absent ejection charge), in this flight I used an Aerotek E15-7 engine. As you can see in the video, the parachute deployed correctly and held the rocket horizontally as intended, but because of the long 7-second delay, the parachute opened late and jerked the rocket hard causing the on-board video camera to flip over, obscuring its view. I need to design a better camera mount. You can see the "Devil Tree" work its evil magic in this video. The "Devil Tree", as I call it, is a small solitary tree near the center of the field that snags more than its share of remote control planes, parachutes, kites and rockets. You can see the very moment that the tree turned on its tractor beam to pull the rocket inward even though the wind was blowing the rocket away from the tree.
Flight #20 as seen from rocket camera (2-9-10). Finally the E15-7 engine, parachute, and camera worked as intended.
Flight #20 as seen from the ground (2-9-10). See how rocket hangs horizontally from parachute as intended.
There is no easy way to take aerial 1600 x 1200 photos from the video camera that I purchased from hobbypartz.com because the shutter button would have to be pushed during the flight. Nice 640 x 480 photos, however, can be extracted from the video. I created the following photo from the Flight #13 video by selecting "Edit" and "Copy" from the Quicktime Video Player, then "Edit" and "Paste" in the Paintshop Pro photo editing program. Photos can also be created using a free video editor called Avidemux that can be downloaded from www.cnet.com.
View of Route 7 from Flight #13 over Allen's Meadow in Wilton, Connecticut (1-7-10):
Ed demo's his "Hollow-Tube" rocket at CTRA launch event (4-24-10).
Terry flies his Triton with J355 motor at CTRA launch event (4-24-10).
Flying saucer with J90 motor at CTRA launch event (4-24-10).
View of Hurley NY launch site from Ed's remotely controlled Radian Sailplane (4-24-10):
I built a 14-in diameter 12-ft tall rocket using 1/4 inch thick polystyrene foam sheets from Lowe's. I designed it for a G40-4 motor, but for the first flight I decided to shorten the rocket by 4 feet and use a smaller F42-4 motor. The first flight on 6-30-10 was a spectacular failure. The hollow foam body collapsed and disintegrated on take-off.
Flight video of Ed's 8-ft rocket malfunction (6-30-10).
In October, 2010 I built a slightly smaller 8-ft tall, 10-inch in diameter rocket with polystyrene foam. This one held together and flew well, but the parachute failed to deploy and it crashed. I really need to pack the parachute more loosely. I used an Aerotech F42-4 motor, same as with the 14-inch dia rocket. The next flight, after repairs, will probably use a bigger G40-4.
Video of Ed's 10-inch dia rocket flight and crash (10-14-10).
Video of Ed's 10-inch dia rocket flight from on-board camera (10-14-10).
I repaired the 10-in diameter 8-ft tall rocket and flew it with a bigger G40-4 motor at the Metra Launch Event at Pine Island, New York on 10-30-2010. It flew well and the parachute opened but the parachute wasn't big enough to prevent damage to the nose on landing. Next time I'll use a bigger parachute.
Flight video of Ed's 8-ft rocket at Metra Launch Event (10-30-10).
Video from camera on board Ed's 8-ft rocket at Metra Event (10-30-10).
Typical high-powered rockets at Metra Launch Event (10-30-10).
Ed's 8-ft rocket at Allen's Meadow with bigger parachute (11-15-10).
Rocket motor malfunction on Ed's 5-ft rocket at Allen's Meadow (12-3-10).
Ed's 5-ft tall, 7-in diameter rocket disaster at the METRA launch event (7-9-11).
Ed's 9-ft tall, 7-in diameter rocket at Allen's Meadow (9-26-11).
Ed's 8-ft tall, 10-in diameter rocket at Allen's Meadow (12-12-11).
This is 2nd successful flight of 10-in dia 8-ft tall foam rocket with G40-4 motor. Motor is just under nose cone. Exhaust goes through hollow body tube. The nose cone is improved with a better look but is still wide open and lets air flow through body tube. Judging from the 25 ft tree in the center of the field, this rocket flew nearly 400 ft.
Ed's 6-ft tall, 7-in diameter clasic rocket at Allen's Meadow (1-19-12).
This 7-in diameter 6-ft tall rocket made of 1/4-in thick polystyrene foam is a classic design with G40-4 motor at the bottom and closed nose cone at the top (unlike my previous designs with hollow body tube open at top and motor at top). The payload adds weight to nose for stability. The payload consists of a 7-in dia rubber ball (that doubles as a nosecone), two 6-in tall plastic astronaut dolls each with parachute, a 10-ft weighted streamer and a parachute for the main rocket body. This rocket appeared to go higher than my previous hollow-tube rockets.
Ed's 6-ft tall, 7-in diameter clasic rocket designed for measuring altitude (1-26-12).
This 6-ft tall foam rocket with G40-4 motor dropped a 7-in diameter rubber ball trailing a 10-ft streamer at the apex of the flight. The video runs at 20 frames per second. The 10-ft streamer took exactly 7 frames to cross the tree line so it was falling at 28.5 ft/sec. The rocket launched at frame 197. The flight apex was near frame 310. The parachute was fully deployed by frame 340. The ball was near full speed by frame 350. The ball hit the ground at frame 737. The ball fell 737 -- 350 = 387 frames = 19.35 seconds. 19.35 sec times 28.5 ft/sec = 551 feet. The rocket flew 551 feet high with an average velocity of 100 ft/sec
Preparing 6-ft rocket for launch (1-26-12).
Lift off (1-26-12).
Return by parachute. Rubber ball, streamer and 2 astronauts were ejected. One astronaut got tangled around main chute (1-26-12).
Video of Ed's 8-ft tall, 7-in diameter rocket at Allen's Meadow that measures altitude (3-21-12).
A 10-ft tall all-foam rocket with foam nose cone (1-26-13).
Flight video of Ed's 10-ft tall model rocket (3-13-13).
Flight Video of Ed's 10-ft tall 2-stage model rocket (9-11-13).
Flight Video of Ed's 10-ft tall 2-motor model rocket (7-18-14).
Video: Ed's 1st attempt for high-power rocket certification with "H" motor failed (9-5-15).
Video: Ed's successful attempt for high-power rocket certification (10-17-15).
Altimeter Graph - 9-ft Foam Rocket certification flight with H115W-14A Aerotech Motor (10-17-15).
Video of Ed's 9ft foam rocket with an I-140 motor that exploded at a METRA event (11-7-15).
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Video of Ed's other 9-foot rocket with I-140 motor that exploded at a CATO Event May 21, 2016.
Photos of Ed's 9-foot rocket with I-140 motor that exploded at a CATO Launch Event May 21, 2016.
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Video of Ed's scale model Mercury Redstone Rocket flight with I-55 motor Sept 16, 2017. (A successful flight.)
Photo of Ed's scale model Mercury Redstone Rocket with I-55 motor Sept 16, 2017.
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Ed flew his rocket "High Hopes" (it exploded) at the CATO Launch Event in Durham, CT (10-19-19).
***** Link to all of Ed's YouTube videos (Username: LakatosFilms) *****.
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***** Click here for 10-ft foam rocket assembly instructions. *****
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Brian sent me the following information about his model rocketry club:
There are two major rocketry organizations in the United States: The NAR, or National Association of Rocketry and the TRA or Tripoli Rocketry Association. The NAR has been around since we were kids and caters more to lower powered model rockets, although not entirely. TRA or Tripoli for short is much more involved with high powered and in some cases experimental high powered rocketry.
Click on the two links below about each organization:
The club that I belonged to on Long Island for 15 years is the Long Island Advanced Rocketry Society or LIARS for short. Unfortunately, we lost our flying field on Long Island due to government and political circumstances (like suspicion that Flight 800 was shot down by a rocket) and we have not be able to find and negotiate for a suitable flying field for quite a few years now. So, I also joined the Metropolitan Rocketry Club a few years ago because they have a good, expansive field in Pine Island, New York, which is upstate off of Route 17. Click on the links below for information about each club:
http://www.metrarocketclub.org - This rocketry club launches in Pine Island, NY.
Finally, for a terrific website which is all about model rocketry from low powered to high powered to experimental powered, try Rocketry Planet. Recently, one intrepid rocketeer named Steve Eves, built and flew a 1/10 scale Apollo/Saturn V rocket in honor of the 40'th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. His model was 36 feet tall and flew beautifully. You can locate the article and video on Rocketry Planet with the following link:
http://www.rocketryplanet.com/
YouTube video of Steve Eves' 36-ft Saturn-5 rocket launch (4-25-09).
YouTube video of Metra rocket launch event at Pine Island NY (6-17-09).
YouTube video of Metra rocket launch event at Pine Island NY (10-4-09).
YouTube video of Metra rocket launch event at Pine Island NY (11-1-09).
LDRS-23 Tripoli rocket music video (4-18-06).
Star Wars X-Wing Fighter explosion video (10-6-07).
LDRS-25 US Flag Rocket video (9-18-07).
"Flying High" music video by Captain Hollywood Project.
www.ctra-narconn.org - This Connecticut rocketry club launches in Hurley, NY.
www.catorockets.org - This Connecticut rocketry club launches in Durham, CT.
www.rocketcentral.org - General rocketry info and links.
www.apogeerocketscom - sells motors and explains how to get certified for high-powered rocketry.
www.aerotech-rocketry.com - Maker of high-powered rocket engines.
www.csrocketry.com - An on-line vendor of rocket engines and kits.
www.hobbylinc.com - An on-line vendor of rocket engines and kits.
www.redarrowhobbies.com - An on-line vendor of rocket engines and kits.
www.discountrocketry.com - An on-line vendor of rocket engines and kits.
www.hangar11.com - This hobby store in Washingtonville, NY sells Aerotech rocket engines.
www.winkies.com - This vendor sells Quest Q2-G2-LONG igniters for Aerotech engines.
www.a2zhobbies.com - An on-line vendor of rocket engines and kits.
www.performancehobbies.com - An on-line vendor of rocket engines and kits.
www.hobbyking.com - sells the "Hobby King Altimeter" and Lipo batteries to power it.
www.perfectflite.com - sells altimeters that can deploy a chute.
www.heavenlyhobbies.com - sells motors & altimeters.
www.discounthobbycenter.com - sells motors.
www.missileworks.com - sells altimeters that can deploy a chute.
www.unm.edu - online "Rocket Altitude Calculator".