rocketsonly
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- Apr 7, 2004
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Hey all. I just finished my 2nd rocket building project with my TARC team (the 1st being a Baby Bertha). I thought it would be a logical step foward that isn't to complex. We started with a Executioner that I had lying around. We wanted a big bang, so we decided to go with 4x 18mm C6-5 motors. I wanted the team to learn a little about designing some fins, along with CG and CP orientation. So I decided to ditch the fins that came with the Executioner and showed them how to work the Barrowman Equations. We used square fins for simplicity. I also had the members design a payload bay for an alitimeter that we might decide to put in in later flights.
We were planning on lauching the rocket in a 300x300 square yard field, but didn't have time to drive to it because one of our members had driving school. So we instead launched it at our school, a place which I've NEVER had luck with even only 1 C engine! I had a good feeling we were going to loose the rocket, and everyone on the team knew it, but being teenagers, we couldn't wait another day to launch a rocket that took so long to build (sound very weird eh? you would think we wanted to wait the day so we could actually retrieve the rocket... the rocket that took so long to build...)
So it came to launch time. We put a tiny 12" parachute in it, with what I believed to be too little wadding (2 pieces wrapped around the chute). We didn't have anymore wadding, and didn't have time to go to the grocery store for some lettuce. Everyone stood about 50 yards away from the rocket in 5 different directions (the 6th member on the team launched it) to try and catch the rocket so the fins wouldn't break off.
5....4....3....2....1....START
The rocket had an arrow straight flight (about 700' I would say), perfectly timed ejection charge, and landed about 30 yards away from the launch pad. A miracle...
We were planning on lauching the rocket in a 300x300 square yard field, but didn't have time to drive to it because one of our members had driving school. So we instead launched it at our school, a place which I've NEVER had luck with even only 1 C engine! I had a good feeling we were going to loose the rocket, and everyone on the team knew it, but being teenagers, we couldn't wait another day to launch a rocket that took so long to build (sound very weird eh? you would think we wanted to wait the day so we could actually retrieve the rocket... the rocket that took so long to build...)
So it came to launch time. We put a tiny 12" parachute in it, with what I believed to be too little wadding (2 pieces wrapped around the chute). We didn't have anymore wadding, and didn't have time to go to the grocery store for some lettuce. Everyone stood about 50 yards away from the rocket in 5 different directions (the 6th member on the team launched it) to try and catch the rocket so the fins wouldn't break off.
5....4....3....2....1....START
The rocket had an arrow straight flight (about 700' I would say), perfectly timed ejection charge, and landed about 30 yards away from the launch pad. A miracle...
