well have we heard anything remarkable about super capacitors yet…
That would be a pretty incredible achievement for a single person to make. I am impressed.
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I would imagine that early rocketry was like this - with countless failures leading up to something that would work most of the time. It makes you realize how brave (and crazy) those first astronauts were.
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Yes, we recommend Estes! This is a great kit for beginners because it includes TWO rockets along with the launch system: https://estesrockets.com/product/001469-tandem-x-launch-set/
There is a list of what else you’ll need, including the motors, wadding, and igniters (starters) for launch.
Of course, check local laws and look around the model rocket forums for suggested places to launch safely. Have a blast!
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Not anymore.
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Yup. Me and my kiddo have launched quite a few. Just be careful about space: One time the 'chute didn’t deploy and we were using a larger engine than we probably should have. The thing came straight down like a missile and wedged itself in the ground ~10 meters from a playground. Got some nasty looks from parents, but the kids all thought it was awesome.
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Fortunately, we are down the road from the amazingly named Bong Recreation Area, which features a 2 mile long abandoned runway and designated high altitude launch windows.
https://www.nar.org/events/bong-recreation-area-high-power-launch-2015-08-30/
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Heh. I live in a MA (legal pot), so you could probably just re-name the entire state to that. Seriously, I’ve smelled it more and more just walking by people’s houses or driving by someone with their windows down. The former doesn’t bother me, the latter is a bit concerning.
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I am hearing that in Inspector Clouseau’s voice.
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I experienced way too much glee at the clips where the rocket fell to the side and scooted across the ground like a snake crossed with the Shinkansen. As long as no one gets hurt, videos like this are absolutely hilarious.
It also brings back memories of going to my friends’ model rocket launches. I had one friend who purposely designed a rocket, the Hindenberg II, to go as horribly wrong as much as possible. If there is video, it’s over 20 years old and, if not saved to some old PC somewhere, probably long gone. We also had a near hit, when one rocket flew towards the crowd and buried itself in the ground maybe a foot from someone’s toes.
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Just a pedantic point here that he also makes on his site - “guidance” is not what he is doing. Guidance implies steering toward a target, and it’s against the NAR and TRA rules. I’m not saying it hasn’t been tried, but it’s banned to prevent model rockets from being used as weapons.
He’s doing stability control, to make them fly straight up despite the lack of fins.
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I think (hope?) camera lens compression adds to this effect. Responsible rocketeers are quite thorough in determining assured clear distance prior to commencing activities. One would hope, at least, that with this much experience on the part of the operator in the video would come a certain degree of responsibility.
My old friend Bryan and I used to try blowing our hands and faces off with model rockets that, more often than not, just fucking exploded, man. I miss those days - but I’m glad I kept all my fingers.
Also - from the film October Sky:
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My favorite has to be the one where the rocket goes up about 5 feet, and then drifts along, sideways, but still perfectly perpendicular to the ground. “Tum te dum, just moseying along…up? What about up?”
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Interestingly, October Sky is an anagram of the original title Rocket Boys. Also, my two favorite launches are 1) the parachutes manage to safely escape the rocket and 2) the rocket that seems to only get 5 feet off the ground and then takes a walk sideways.
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From the Nat Rocketry Assn; some wicked new strains:
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Awesome! New channel to subscribe to!
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As other posters have said, yes!
My teen and I graduated through increasingly larger Estes rockets, including the red one below (first vid). The orange one (second vid) is a larger one from Public Missiles.
(Shot with a $12 key fob camera)
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Given the nature of the testing he’s doing on these flights, it also seems likely to me that he’s using short-burn motors. There’s not much benefit in sending these rockets up 500 or 1000 feet if what he’s trying to do is assess the rocket’s stability during the first few seconds of flight. It looked like these largely failed at low altitudes–much lower than the distance to the buildings. [EDIT: And watch when the motor burns out on the ones where you can see it burn out.]]
Plus, per his website, he’s trying to achieve a slow launch followed by a buildup of speed, unlike most model rockets.
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I remember the Mosquito! Good times.
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