Valuable lesson

[fixit]

Now I understand why we have parachutes. Hi all, I'm new here. After a couple of attempts, I successfully built a paper rocket (see attached). It was made from essentially two sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper and 2-ply cardstock for the fins, fired by a A3-4T rocket. It took off like a freaking bullet, straight up - disappeared from sight - then straight back down again. It impaled itself in the ground just a few feet from where my son was standing - whew! Guess I'd better spend some time reading this recovery forum...

 

[Bat-mite]

Look up the word "ballistic." That is what a rocket is until it separates, preferably at apogee. If you are interested in this awesome pastime, may I recommend The Handbook of Model Rocketry by G. Harry Stine? Available at Amazon.

 

[fyrfytr310]

Glad no one got hit. Valuable lesson indeed. For a rocket that light, you might consider streamer recovery as well.

***EDIT***

Have you messed around with any simulators yet? The are great at helping you make recovery selections. Additionally, I'd be really interested to see how your rocket performs under various simulated scenarios.

 

[Handeman]

Now I understand why we have parachutes. Hi all, I'm new here. After a couple of attempts, I successfully built a paper rocket (see attached). It was made from essentially two sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper and 2-ply cardstock for the fins, fired by a A3-4T rocket. It took off like a freaking bullet, straight up - disappeared from sight - then straight back down again. It impaled itself in the ground just a few feet from where my son was standing - whew! Guess I'd better spend some time reading this recovery forum...

Welcome to the forum and Welcome to rocketry!!!!

Since you scratch built your first rocket and you're here asking about recovery, I have to ask, did you have any type of recovery built into that rocket?

You might want to get a kit from one of the low power vendors. If nothing else, it will give you experience building a rocket with an active recovery system along with instructions on how to make it work successfully. Like using wadding, etc. That will give you a much better idea of how to design your own.

Good luck, have fun, and let us know how it goes...