Hello from Poland!

[BM1993]

Dzień Dobry!

I'm very happy to be a new member of this forum. My experience with rockets goes a long way back to my youth when I started out with kNo3 and sugar. I also developed an avid interest in pyrotechnics overall. A couple of years back I decided to purchase a BP core burn rocket tooling set from the US for 1lb rockets.

I followed instructions on how to build rockets with parachute deployment capabilities from the Youtube channel "The King of Random". They consisted of golf club tubes for the rocket body, empty pill bottles and plastic champagne glasses for the nosecone. They were pretty cool.

Now I have decided to step my game up a notch and build a professional rocket. Fibreglass body, altimeter bay, parachute ejection etc etc etc.

I will be posting some questions throughout the forum and I hope for helpful and constructive feedback

See you then,

B.

 

[smstachwick]

Excellent work! We’ve got a bunch of knowledgeable people here, I expect you’ll find the site a good resource.

 

[fyrwrxz]

Welcome, 'B'. As you mite guess from my screen name, I also have a pyro background. Sounds like you paid your dues! Will the rocket still be sugar-based? Ironically, you may find it easier to get the KNO3 there than we can! Hopefully, you know about Richard Nakka's deep quest into rocketry as he has an excellent site detailing his experiments with motors, ignitors, airframes, etc.
I know commercial motors can be hard to get there. Fly any Klima motors? I'm sure the 'special military operations' have disrupted your supply chains, so we are hoping you stay safe in your endeavours and not cut any corners. There are good altimeters available in Europe, but if you need US based suppliers for anything, please let me know. We are all cheering you on and please ask any and all questions you may have. There is no such thing as a dumb question. Welcome to the smoke, my friend! You can use my screen name @gmail.com for my personal email if you'd like. Just be aware these chaps here thrive on pictures, so think about posting a build thread for your new rocket!

 

[Huxter]

Welcome to the forum! We would love to see what you're up to - sounds pretty cool!

 

[Hobie1dog]

 

[BM1993]

Thank you all for the very warm welcome You left me pleasantly surprised!

As to the question posed @fyrwrxz , I will be using 3lb BP rocket motors. I don't have the appropriate tooling to make these motors, but I'm hoping to buy them soon and get them shipped to Poland. Right now I have a 1lb BP tooling set on hand, so I might start with those.

I would also like to add that I have had tremendous response to my first thread, where I asked the question whether an ebay sled could be accidentally pulled out of the bulkhead during parachute deployment, since I have seen that there is no glue to hold it together to the tube.. (More in depth explaining on what exactly I mean is in the thread).

Maybe I'll just use this occasion to ask another question. Would you recommend buying a DIY rocket kit (a mid-high power one) or make the rocket yourself (which would involve fibreglassing, jet cutting plywood for the fins, making your own sled, motor mount etc etc)? I must add that I am very handy when it comes to these sort of things. I have built many contraptions in my life, I tend to think of myself as a "złota rączka" (which in Polish means handyman).

So when the lady from the rocket shop emailed me and ill advised me on building one myself, I was kind of disappointed and at the same time felt like I had to prove myself, so I think I'll stick with the idea of trying my own strengths. How hard can it be?

 

[smstachwick]

Thank you all for the very warm welcome You left me pleasantly surprised!

As to the question posed @fyrwrxz , I will be using 3lb BP rocket motors. I don't have the appropriate tooling to make these motors, but I'm hoping to buy them soon and get them shipped to Poland. Right now I have a 1lb BP tooling set on hand, so I might start with those.

I would also like to add that I have had tremendous response to my first thread, where I asked the question whether an ebay sled could be accidentally pulled out of the bulkhead during parachute deployment, since I have seen that there is no glue to hold it together to the tube.. (More in depth explaining on what exactly I mean is in the thread).

Maybe I'll just use this occasion to ask another question. Would you recommend buying a DIY rocket kit (a mid-high power one) or make the rocket yourself (which would involve fibreglassing, jet cutting plywood for the fins, making your own sled, motor mount etc etc)? I must add that I am very handy when it comes to these sort of things. I have built many contraptions in my life, I tend to think of myself as a "złota rączka" (which in Polish means handyman).

So when the lady from the rocket shop emailed me and ill advised me on building one myself, I was kind of disappointed and at the same time felt like I had to prove myself, so I think I'll stick with the idea of trying my own strengths. How hard can it be?

Scratch builders abound in hobby rocketry, especially toward the high-power end where precision engineered kits can be a bit expensive. If you think your skills are up to the challenge, then by all means go for it. People have successfully built safe and reliable rocket airframes with materials that sound really strange, and the result sometimes looks even stranger.

I will say that a kit from a local supplier is definitely worth trying at some point down the road, if only for design inspiration, but it is not strictly necessary.

Normally I would recommend against manufacturing your own motors, but you’ve managed to do that without blowing yourself up and it sounds to me like you have the experience and knowledge to do it with minimal hazard to life and limb. Just remember that discussions on specific details of making motors are restricted to the research rocketry sub-forum.

 

[fyrwrxz]

Wow, Shane! Really impressed with your great posting! Thanks for those observations! See you soon!
'B' (you really need a nickname- how about "handyman"?) take a bunch of pics going forward as you fab your bird. We eat that up here! Much respect for your life skills. Straight smoke and good chutes! Let me know if you need anything, mind you shipping will be really slow as I'm in California, USA.