Newb launch pad Q

Hey guys, I am somewhat new to rocketry. I've launched a few inexpensive A, B, C engined rockets. I live in an area where I have lots of room to launch larger rockets, and would like to get some more advanced rockets; something that can handle D+. Before I spend money on the "Mantis Launch Pad" I was wondering if this is even neccesary? I've seen pics of people using some upside down, clay flower pots and other home made pads. Should I invest in a Mantis Pad? Whats the purpose of it vs using the upsidedown clay pot? I can't seem to find a whole lot of info regarding launch pads.

Basically it comes down to, is it better to just buy this package deal https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/aro/aro89001.htm With a pretty nice rocket, Mantis Pad, and a good launch controller, or just rig my own launch pad, buy whatever rocket I want and buy a launch controller seperate.

Any advice?

BTW, I'm not talking about launching rockets that require FAA, Certificates or any other authorization....Yet.

The Mantis isn't bad, although it needs to be anchored to the ground. Better to find a local club that has pads. Since I joined a couple of local clubs, my pads get no use at all. I'm sure there are other people here from Washington that can make club recommendations.

The Mantis is a reasonable choice for low and mid power rocketry (through F or G), if you are looking for something that's easy to assemble. It has some plastic parts you need to be careful of, but mine has been in use since the late 1980's, without any problems.
Greg

Hey Rooster-welcome to the forum! The Mantis is okay and I've had mine for years, but to be perfectly honest, you're way ahead of the game building your own out of PVC fittings, a keyless drill motor chuck (-or not, it's for different dia rods) some form of blast shield (you can bend your own cool looking ones) and stainless rod. There are several functional pads out there, but the key ideas are 1) portability; 2) stability and 3) ease of use. Still/video Camera tripods are favorite donors to the World Domination Machine-er-i mean, "the hobby". The Initiator kit is cool, easy to buiid and impressive; the launch controller is adequate for most lower MPR uses. I would look into the Pratt Systems controller(s) or simply make your own. Remember-every dollar you save in feeding your children can be used to make smoke. Clear skies, straight smoke and good chutes!

Rooster2410 said:

Hey guys, I am somewhat new to rocketry. I've launched a few inexpensive A, B, C engined rockets. I live in an area where I have lots of room to launch larger rockets, and would like to get some more advanced rockets; something that can handle D+. Before I spend money on the "Mantis Launch Pad" I was wondering if this is even neccesary? I've seen pics of people using some upside down, clay flower pots and other home made pads. Should I invest in a Mantis Pad? Whats the purpose of it vs using the upsidedown clay pot? I can't seem to find a whole lot of info regarding launch pads.

Basically it comes down to, is it better to just buy this package deal https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/aro/aro89001.htm With a pretty nice rocket, Mantis Pad, and a good launch controller, or just rig my own launch pad, buy whatever rocket I want and buy a launch controller seperate.

Any advice?

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Build your own... the Mantis isn't that good of a pad IMHO... building your own is cheaper and you'll have a better pad when you're done. There are lots of plans around, or you can get creative. They can be as simple as a tripod or made of wood, metal, or PVC pipe, which makes a "near instant" pad...

The flower pots are used as blast deflectors... terra cotta doesn't conduct electricity, which is good because it prevents shorting the ignitor clips to the blast plate. BUT they're fragile and when they break your done... you can get steel junction box covers at the hardware store for 99 cents... it's a square steel plate with rounded corners and usually an oblong hole punched on one side and a slot on the other... slide the hole down over the rod, and it will automatically fall at about a 45 degree angle-- perfect for a blast deflector. You can even get rods cheap at the hardware store... although they'll probably be mild steel and prone to rust, unless you make a run to the Fastenal or Grainger store and pick up stainless steel rods like I did for a little more money...

Later and good luck! OL JR

For what it's worth, I've launched some pretty large models from a stock Estes pad with a 5mm solid steel rod and with the pad legs secured by tent pegs. These include models powered by D's, clusters and multi-stage rockets, as well as Estes' own Mean Machine.

Build your own Launch pad. It's not all that involved or expensive. I've always built my own Launch equipment as I've always gone on the assumption that our Launch equipment should be at least as interesting as the models we fly.
Just about any Home improvement store can supply all the 1" or 1-1/2" PVC and connectors need to which adding whatever type exhaust deflector you'd like, Clay pots are OK but don't really redirect the blast away from the ground as much as it should. Flat Stainles "cheapy" bowls do very well as deflectors used in the UP position for most single and clustered A-E BP motors and easily use handle Models Up to 3.3lbs. (1500g) big honkin 5- D12 Clusters with a 1/4" x 72" launch rod or rail.

I've never owned a Mantis Pad because they are just not that well made or stable. Over the years I've seen lots of these pads fail flying some rather small models or with "Normal rocketeer hard use".
Building your own allows building in exactly the mass and strength you what for the flying you plan on doing.

Micromeister said:

Build your own Launch pad. It's not all that involved or expensive. I've always built my own Launch equipment as I've always gone on the assumption that our Launch equipment should be at least as interesting as the models we fly.
Just about any Home improvement store can supply all the 1" or 1-1/2" PVC and connectors need to which adding whatever type exhaust deflector you'd like, Clay pots are OK but don't really redirect the blast away from the ground as much as it should. Flat Stainles "cheapy" bowls do very well as deflectors used in the UP position for most single and clustered A-E BP motors and easily use handle Models Up to 3.3lbs. (1500g) big honkin 5- D12 Clusters with a 1/4" x 72" launch rod or rail.

I've never owned a Mantis Pad because they are just not that well made or stable. Over the years I've seen lots of these pads fail flying some rather small models or with "Normal rocketeer hard use".
Building your own allows building in exactly the mass and strength you what for the flying you plan on doing.

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I'll second that... the Mantis is a cool LOOKING pad, but it's not very strong at all IMHO and has some big drawbacks... here's an actual account of a flight that nearly ended badly out here one time...

A buddy of mine loaded up an Aerotech Arreaux (IIRC-- might have been another Aerotech kit) on his Mantis pad with a G motor in it IIRC.... I don't know if he didn't have the legs pushed in all the way, or what, but when he hit the launch button, the rocket kicked hard... hard enough that a leg fell off and the plastic adjustment screw that you can turn to adjust the launch angle, or release to lay the rod or rail over horizontal, broke loose at the same time, and basically the rocket left the rod at about a 30 degree angle above horizontal... she totally blew the pad away as she took off, sending it tumbling over... the rocket flew straight as an arrow, but at a 30 degree angle above horizontal, gaining altitude slowly and a WHOLE lot of speed. At burnout, she started decelerating just as quickly due to high drag, and started arcing over, apparently heading DIRECTLY for a mobile home across the road about 1/4 mile away... At this point I got some EXTREME pucker-factor, but evidently it had more altitude than we thought, because it ended up apprently crashing well behind the house, possible down in the creek. We ended up finding it well on the other side of the creek, about a 1/4 mile beyond it, hanging in a tree beside a sorghum field...

My buddy got to looking at his Mantis and recovering the parts... the aluminum leg popped out, possibly because it cracked the plastic frame they slide into and latch... the adjuster screw had apparently popped loose from the mechanism and allowed the rod to "fall over" horizontally as she launched...

That was the closest call we've had out here in the several years the club has flown out here, and I still cringe anytime someone starts talking about launching off a Mantis...
Most everybody just switched to the club pads which are MUCH heavier built, either with rail or rods...

Later! OL JR

Panavice bases make a good start to a launcher. The hole in the ball pivot is 5/8th inch. I used a brass rod and drilled the hole for the launch rod. Then the panavice can be connected to any set of legs you want or bolted to a 12 x 12 wood block or just about anything else. You can make up blast plates from floor leveling compound from Home Depot or Lowes. It will burn/blast off eventually but the last a long time.

The Mantis pad is a quick solution but even to my eye it's off center with the rod too close to the base circle of the tripod legs but I really don't know. The only times I've seen them they were folded up

Wow, I was not expecting the Mantis to get poo-poo'd so much. They have a great deal on 'em at ValueRockets.com, and I figured that, being built by Aerotech for mid-power rockets, it should be pretty good. Although I was not excited about a launch controller powered by my car. Rarely am I near my car while launching.

I built a pad out of PVC for 5 bucks, I just got a 5 foot length of 1 inch PVC pipe and a 3 way coupler. Cut the pipe into 3 lengths of 1.5 feet each, and made a tripod. I bought end caps for the pipe and glued them into place using epoxy, then filled them with rocks and sealed them in with epoxy. Then, drill a 1/4" hole into the coupler for the rod.

Then I spent 5 bucks on a 10 inch ceramic saucer for a planter. and another 5 bucks for a 48 inch stainless steel 1/4 inch rod from Fastenal.....15 bucks and I have a pad heavy duty enough to launch up to a G motor in the bigger rockets and with the rocks in the legs it doesn't suffer from tipping

darthgriffin said:

Wow, I was not expecting the Mantis to get poo-poo'd so much. They have a great deal on 'em at ValueRockets.com, and I figured that, being built by Aerotech for mid-power rockets, it should be pretty good. Although I was not excited about a launch controller powered by my car. Rarely am I near my car while launching.

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The Mantis is not a bad pad, but it's not heavy duty by any means. Flying the larger Aerotech rockets off of it is iffy at best, but it's great for the smaller stuff. I've been using one for years, though never with the included aluminum rod.

darthgriffin said:

Wow, I was not expecting the Mantis to get poo-poo'd so much. They have a great deal on 'em at ValueRockets.com, and I figured that, being built by Aerotech for mid-power rockets, it should be pretty good. Although I was not excited about a launch controller powered by my car. Rarely am I near my car while launching.

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You don't need to be... get you a car booster jumper pack... you can get them from Harbor Freight or Walmart or various auto supplies, even online. They work GREAT. Not only are they extremely portable, being self-contained battery packs, they usually also have handy tools built in like mini-air compressors or lights... they can usually be charged either via wall-wart or with a cable that plugs directly into the cig lighter of the car. They're pretty lightweight and have plenty of power to launch all day, but what's really nice is that they do double duty, riding in the trunk of the car when you're not at launches, patiently waiting for when you inevitably leave the lights on in the car, or the battery goes flat or dies, or you have a flat tire or low tire (assuming it has the compressor built in), or you have to change a tire at night (if it's got the built in light). This makes it well worth the expense of them, and they'll last for years.

For launching, I just clip the jumper cable clamps directly onto the "battery charger clamps" they install on the launch controllers that are used to clip to the car battery. Works like a champ.

The other possibility is using a small lawn mower or motorcycle/ATV battery... these are quite small and can be made very portable with some ingenuity... but they don't last as long as the car jumper packs and aren't as "turn key" of a deal... you'll also either need a small car battery charger, or a small battery conditioner (mini-charger or trickle charger) to keep them plugged into between launching sessions to prevent them from sulfating and ruining.

The good thing about these batteries is, you don't have to worry about them not having enough power to launch, so long as you keep them charged...

later! OL JR

Hey thanks for the responses guys. Think I'll find some instructions and make my own pad then. Im just gonna buy a launch controler though.

I've always liked the motorcycle/car battery idea. I want to build the battery into the launch pad and use its weight to increase stability. A car battery is no fun to lug around, but it sure is hard to blow over.

Really for Personal Launching even motorcycle wet cell batteries are overkill. a little 7amp/hr Hobbico rechargable Gelcell is a wonderful all day battery for personal and small group flying.
I've used one with my rangebox relay system for years. For under 20bucks they are an excellent value. With proper care and recharging they will last a very long time. I'm on my second Gelcell purchased in over 28years. A small 120v/12v- 500 to 1000ma Wall pack power supply can be converted to a very nice little 12-16hr Charger with just the addition of a pair of alligator clips.

If you want more weight and/or power a bit larger Gelcel makes keeping up with your power supply simple
Harbor Frieght has an outstanding 600ma trickle charger usually for well under 10 bucks.

Personally I'll NEVER buy another wet cell battery of anykind for Model rocket use. Gelcels all the way