UnityLover
Active Member
I imagine most of you guys have seen Grant Thompson's (r.i.p.) sugar rocket video from 7 years ago. How powerful are the rockets? What Letter would they classify on? F? G?
How powerful are sugar rockets?
- Thread starter UnityLover
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UnityLover
Active Member
What letter do sugar rockets like the ones grant thompson made classify as?
rharshberger
Well-Known Member
Research/Experimental, without the specific info on max thrust and thrust duration it would be impossible to "classify" it into one designation
UnityLover
Active Member
can you guess some sort of range, like E-H or something? The motors alone fly up to 2300 feet in the air (according to Grant)
Take a look at Richard Nakka's site...
http://www.nakka-rocketry.net/There's others, like Jimmy Yawn's...
https://jamesyawn.net/Might make it easier for you to make a guess.
Remember, PVC cased motors are "verboten"
http://www.nakka-rocketry.net/There's others, like Jimmy Yawn's...
https://jamesyawn.net/Might make it easier for you to make a guess.
Remember, PVC cased motors are "verboten"
Altitude achieved doesn't tell us anything. Total impulse depends on average thrust and burn time.
UnityLover
Active Member
verboten?
Many rockets of many different configurations and power ranges can hit this altitude. NAR records indicate that even rockets powered by B motors have done it. I have no idea how, but I trust the NAR.
UnityLover
Active Member
I dont have the rockets built yet, but what can I use instead of pvc? And why cant I use pvc?
Commercial motors, for one. It’s safer that way. Experimental motors are basically a hobby unto themselves. You’ll learn more and have more fun with certified motors running on black powder or ammonium perchlorate composite propellant.
I believe most commercial reloadable casings are aluminum though. If you insist on jumping directly into research rocketry, that may be a good place to start. Just be safe and obey the applicable law.
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UnityLover
Active Member
im not sure if my hobby lobby has them, but i can give them a call
UnityLover
Active Member
what can I use instead of pvc though? just asking
Please do.
They’re also available for mail order. Some require HAZMAT so buying those in larger quantities is worth it. You may also be able to find a vendor at a large launch event.
It appears we’re a bit asynchronous, typing at the same time.
Certified reload casings are usually made of machined aluminum tubing, with screw threads to accept forward and aft closures. These threads are designed and tested to ensure that an overpressure spits out one of the closures instead of turning the casing into a pipe bomb. But in the extremely unlikely event that an explosive failure of the actual casing does occur (which I have never personally witnessed, nor heard of), the aluminum can be seen on an X-ray and surgically removed. Not so with PVC.
Sugar motors can be made in any impulse level.
Before making rocket motors, it’s much safer to learn how to make rockets which will fly safely and to learn the safety basics which are documented in the Safety Codes of Tripoli and NAR. These rules have been developed over many years of launches. Many locations have adopted NFPA 1122 and NFPA 1127 which were based on the safety codes adopted by our organizations. Rockets are much more enjoyable when accidents are avoided.
Welcome to the forum and hobby and best wishes!
Before making rocket motors, it’s much safer to learn how to make rockets which will fly safely and to learn the safety basics which are documented in the Safety Codes of Tripoli and NAR. These rules have been developed over many years of launches. Many locations have adopted NFPA 1122 and NFPA 1127 which were based on the safety codes adopted by our organizations. Rockets are much more enjoyable when accidents are avoided.
Welcome to the forum and hobby and best wishes!
UnityLover
Active Member
so what can i use legally (in new york and north babylon and places near it), and it will hold. Can I use cardboard?
I read NAR safety, but I haven't read Tripoli. May I have a link?
https://www.tripoli.org/Click on Safety Information.
Hobby rocketry is governed in the US by NAR and Tripoli.
NAR prohibits experimental motors at its events altogether. Tripoli requires makers and fliers of experimental motors to be high-power certified at Level 2. I bet that if you get in contact with your local Tripoli prefecture they’d be willing to help you get there and learn what you need to know. They’d rather see you do it safely than turn you away and create an embarrassment or a liability if/when you suffer an accident.
Federal law may make exceptions to these requirements for university teams, motor manufacturers, and other similar interested parties, but I’m not aware of any exemptions being granted for individual hobbyists.
UnityLover
Active Member
If I use experimental motors, Im not planning to launch them at an event, more like at some public place which allows it (like a park if some parks do)
UnityLover
Active Member
And my local library has a 3D printer, I can probably get them to 3D print parts for me for a small fee, Would that qualify as "breakable plastic"?
Grant Thompson, AKA the king of random, was a notorious Youtuber. I'm guessing the op is referring to his "How to make sugar rockets" video. @UnityLover this forum is mostly focused on rocketry using the "expensive" commercial motors he shows in the first 10 seconds. I'm not sure you'll get much information here other than variations on the "stay safe" theme.
You’ll want to double-check city ordinance and state law, then. They may not make the distinction between homemade experimental rocket motors built by an uncertified individual and homemade fireworks, the latter of which may be illegal. Again, your local Tripoli prefecture may be a resource for navigating these.
I’d also still suggest the L2 certification because it’s basically a learning exercise and demonstration of the knowledge to fly safely. This is valuable.
Regardless of your chosen level of involvement with Tripoli, most places require the approval of the landowner. They’ll be easier to sway if you’re working in the prescribed framework of model/high-power rocketry instead of experimental rocketry, which is more permissive but requires more expertise to engage in without causing injury or property damage. The generous insurance coverage in particular opens a lot of doors that would otherwise stay shut.
Remember that you’re playing with fire and objects that, if all goes well, will move through the air at high speed. Act accordingly.
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UnityLover
Active Member
I will try to go to my local hobby lobby and get some motors, can the motors be launched as just motors? Or does it need an actual body?
UnityLover
Active Member
Ill be chilling in model for now, will buy some motors
UnityLover
Active Member
yes
rharshberger
Well-Known Member
Very good choice!
the plain motor needs to be inserted into a model rocket. just go to the hobby shop, buy a rocket kit. build it, and go to a local launch that the hobby store can direct you to.
They have rocket kits, as well as motors. The kits include everything you need for stable flight, and successful recovery so that the rocket may be flown again and again.
And much more fun than a motor on a stick.
This is great advice. Find a place that sells a starter kit from Estes. It will have all you need. It will come with a launch control system, a launch pad, a rocket kit, and perhaps even the appropriate motors for the kit, although you might need to buy them separately.
