Model Rocketry

[MulderMan]

Can anyone recomend a good book or online resource to aid in making a model rocket? And if anyones actually made one is it hard and what sort of things will you need inc. tools etc.

 

Thanks

[blike]

http://www.info-central.org/infocentral.shtml

 

That's probably the best online resource.

And if anyones actually made one is it hard and what sort of things will you need inc. tools etc.

It depends on whether or not you're using a kit. If so, it's not all that hard, just follow the directions. If you're making one from scratch its a bit more difficult, though really not too hard. You've just got to worry about the center of gravity and center of pressure, but it seems to be fairly forgiving in that respect.

 

I've built a few from scratch in the past, but my main interest now is putting video on board (and recovering it safely), not the rocket construction itself. So I usually buy advanced kits. They come premeasured and precut, but not so manufactured that I can't modify it. I'm in the middle of building a new rocket. I'm mixing my own propellent and designing a unique ejection system (YT's idea). It's coming along slowly, but this time I'm putting a wireless video camera on board and receiving live video with a high power antenna.

 

Here's my first two attempts at a video rocket. The first one was a cheap 'Estes' rocket powered by a "D" motor. Everything (but the parachute) worked fine. The second attempt was a bigger rocket on a "G" motor. The camera broke on touch-down and I lost the onboard video

 

http://www.blike.com/dmrocket/

[ed84c]

what about calculations to the rockets height etc.

 

e.g. thrust produced by 1lb of [fuel].

 

Height/ Thrust/ Weight relationship.

 

This is what i wanted to know when building mine. i.e. mathematically would it fly?

[blike]

what about calculations to the rockets height etc.

 

e.g. thrust produced by 1lb of [fuel].

 

Height/ Thrust/ Weight relationship.

 

This is what i wanted to know when building mine. i.e. mathematically would it fly?

You'll need to calculate the thrust your motor produces. You want a 5:1 thrust to weight ratio.

 

http://www.info-central.org/propulsion_selection.shtml

[akcapr]

if ur just a beginner i could provide some info on making motors from scratch

[Auk]

http://www.nakka-rocketry.net

This is a great website for rocketry for those of you who do not already know it.