RoboRocketry

Join us for Desert Heat 2011 !!!

2011-03-14T20:26:00.001-07:00

Come out and join us for two days of great rocket launches in the desert! There are going to be some great projects to watch this year and always lots to see and do for families and anyone interested in our exciting hobby. Great prizes, food and raffles for the kids, etc.

This year will include an almost 7 foot AMRAAM scale missile built by BASIS Tucson Charter School's RoboRocketry Club. They are excited about launching this big monster of theirs and also showcasing some of their scratch built designs that they worked hard on. Cal Miller will be flying a scratch built rocket that he designed to carry a video camera up on its flight. Too cool. can't wait to see the video. We will post some pictures and video here after the launch.

I will also be launching my ARCAS rocket that is almost scale size at 4.1" in diameter and is also about 7 feet tall. I will be launching the ARCAS for my NAR Level 2 High Power Rocketry certification. Wish me luck. It should be a good time.

Another big highlight will be The Arizona Rocketry Team's 1/2 scale SCUD missile that towers at about 20 feet tall. Powered by 5 rocket motors and producing more than 800 lbs of thrust. This will be the largest ever launched out of Tucson.

For more information on Desert Heat 2011 go to the following link: http://sararocketry.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=57

Tow Truck to The Rescue - The Amish Edition

2011-03-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

This is great. I know not rocketry related, but actually really cool.
And looks like a big ol' fuel truck no less.

SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 with Dragon spacecraft!

2010-12-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

That was very cool to watch... It will orbit for 2-3 times and then re-enter for a splashdown recovery. How cool to be able to watch these historic launches live.

Live SpacX webcast of Falcon 9 Launch!

http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php

Building a Checkered Flag Model's Rocket Rack

2010-07-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have always thought about building something similar, but never got around to it. If you are like me and you are running out of room to put your rockets, then this new product can help you out. It is especially good for rockets that are not able to stand up on their fins.

I will post a full review of the "build" with pictures, etc, when I get it done. You can also check out their press release on the EMRR site at http://www.rocketreviews.com/vendor/press_release_cfm_may212010.shtml.

I believe they are even offering free shipping in the U.S. right now. You can contact Greg at Checkered Flag Models to find out.

Back to the blog!

2010-06-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since posting last. It was a very busy year.

Sonoran Science Academy - Broadway's 3rd and 4th Grade Rocketry Days

We launched hundreds of rockets with students at Sonoran Science Academy - Broadway in Tucson this year. We built multiple rockets with two 4th grade classes and one 3rd grade class. They really had a blast. We kept three 4-pad launch racks busy the whole time on launch days.

Sonoran Science Academy - Broadway's Rocketry Club

We started an official rocketry club at the school and had 14 members participating in the NARTREK Cadet Skills Program. It was very successful with all members at least finishing NARTREK Cadet Mercury Level and many finishing Gemini and Apollo. Alan Boldt pulled top honors by completing his Skylab Level certificate. His sister and a handful of other students are right on his heels.

I highly recommend mentoring some kids and getting them signed up for the NARTREK Cadet program. there are also some great incentives for joining the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) this year. (Make sure to mention that (Duane Boldt and RoboRocketry.com sent you over there to join! I think we get some kind of credit...) NARTREK Cadet is for modelers under the age of 18. But don't worry, if you are barely over that, like me... :-) Then you can participate in the NARTREK program. I am currently finishing up the Gold Level in that program. And yes, I will do a post when I finish that.

It was also a busy year last year participating in the 2009 EMRR Challenge. We actually did well in the Design This Spaceship contest for 2009. The 2010 EMRR Challenge is under way, so head on over and check it out. Join some cool rocketry contests and win cool prizes.

I will be doing some more updates and go into more depth on some of the topics discussed above in some upcoming posts.

Talk to you real soon. Keep on the lookout for the new posts coming.

Brenda's finished NARTREK Cadet Gemini Level, December 5, 2009

2009-12-10T22:19:00.006-07:00

Brenda Boldt completed her last two launches for her NARTREK Cadet Gemini Level. She used an Estes Wizard rocket with modified shock cord. She and her fellow club members at Sonoran Science Academy - Broadway's RoboRocketry Club, built the Wizard rockets in their club.

They replaced the stock "rubber band" shock cord with a Kevlar cord attached to a fin joint. This was done so that the rocket would descend more slowly, sideways, thus creating more drag and giving them longer descent times for streamer and parachute duration contest launches.

Brenda actually got some pretty good times with her Wizard. She made 79 seconds on an Estes A8-3 motor for parachute duration and 60 seconds on a Estes B6-4 motor for her streamer duration requirement. She had previously flown her Estes Cosmic Cobra for the HeliRoc option.

RoboRocketry NARTREK Launch, X-15 and More July 25, 2009

2009-09-18T20:59:00.003-07:00

Alan Boldt with his Estes Skywriter that he used for two of his NARTREK Cadet Mercury Level launches.

The Estes Executioner (This one was formerly the Executioner XL...) about to make it's first flight on an 18mm AeroTech RMS reload (We used a 24mm to 18mm adapter). This flight was awesomely loud in the echoing park. Click here to see the video.

Jet and Jim Thevenot joined us out there for the day. Jet is seen here at the controls of Alan's Launch Box.

RoboRocketry's Quest X-15 sitting on Pad #3 ready for liftoff.

One of Jet Thevenot's rockets making an excellent flight.

Alan and his Estes Skywriter just before another NARTREK Cadet Mercury Level flight.

RoboRocketry's Semroc Centurian getting ready for a 2 Stage flight.

The Semroc Centurian in flight on the first stage booster motor.

The Estes Wizard rocket that Alan built and flew for his other NARTREK Cadet Mercury Level flights.

Another of Jet Thevenot's great flights lifting off.

RoboRocketry's Estes Renegade sitting ready for a 2 stage flight.

The Estes Renegade under booster power of the first stage.

Jet and Alan happily returning from Rocket Retrieval Duty with the Estes Skywriter.

Jet and his dad Jim with a couple of their rockets they flew that day.

Jet and Alan with some of their rockets.

Jet, after a good day's launch.

RoboRocketry Launch July 16, 2009 Alan's Chinese Fire Arrow

2009-09-16T23:24:00.007-07:00

Alan made his flyable Chinese Fire Arrow as part of a History of Rockets project for his GATE class at Gale Elementary School a couple years ago. After using it in several presentations, he felt it was time to give it a try.

Alan was anxious to see what this thing would do...

Alan's Chinese Fire Arrow ready on Pad #2.

Just as the original Chinese fire arrows, it wasn't the most accurate, but it did instill fear in those attacking enemy hoardes that were near...

Actually, it had a pretty straight liftoff and just did a loop or two after gaining a little altitude. Pretty cool little show after all. And the ejection charge at the end added to the drama.

Alan safely recovers his Chinese Fire Arrow.

The only damage was couple of missing feathers... Still ready for his next History of Rockets presentation.

Another first of that launch day was the first flight of RoboRocketryOne, which I later used for a NAR Level 1 HPR (High Power Rocketry) certification.

Alan prepares the fire arrow as I prepare the mid power 24mm RMS Monster Motor for the RR1 flight.

RoboRocketryOne sitting on Pad #3 ready for launch.

Another shot of RR1 before launch...

Great launch (Sorry no picture of that) and safe recovery. That was definately fun. Ready to go bigger next time... Closer to L1 cert...

The red ignitor retainer cap actually was burned through by the thrust and stayed on for the whole flight.

That caused the yellow Copper Head ignitor adapter to be carried with the rocket up a ways, but we did find it in the grass after the flight.

After a very satisfying launch day, back at the office cleaning up the Rouse-Tech Monster Motor casing.

RoboRocketry Launch July 11-12, 2009

2009-07-28T22:19:00.047-07:00

Brenda, Naomi and Alan all launched rockets early Saturday and Sunday mornings, July 11th and 12th. We had a lot of good flights including the maiden launch of the RoboRocketryOne which I will be using for a NAR Level 1 certification flight at SARA's August launch outside of Tucson.

A two stage flight of a Semroc Centurian with an added Semroc Booster-16 booster stage. The Booster-16 is powered by an Estes A10-0T Booster motor. We may even have the last stash of these rare motors. If you know where to buy more, let us know...

Alan prepares a rocket he won in a raffle at SARA's Desert Heat 2009 2-day launch.

Alan and Duane by the Quest X-15 just before launch.

Alan loads his Estes Skywriter onto pad #3.

Brenda retrieving the Skywriter.

Preparing a Semroc 1965 Retro Repro Hawk boost glider for it's maiden launch.

The Hawk just before it lifts off...

Well... the Hawk had a great flight until the ejection charge on the Estes 1/2A6-2 motor blew the fuselage in half.

Brenda wasn't so happy with the Hawks temporary demise... Since then the glider has been repaired and should be flown again soon. Maybe over the coming weekend.

Brenda with her Estes Cosmic Cobra. It's a pretty cool little rocket with helicopter recovery for the nose cone. They are a favorite at launches.

2nd flight of the X-15 on an Estes C6-3 motor. It had flown unstable on an Estes B6-4 motor earlier.

The flights took off nice and straight, but after a little altitude, the tail tried to whip around. We then rechecked and found that this rocket, that had been built exactly as the plans called for, needed weight to be added in the nose cone to move the CG forward. A good lesson in double checking to make sure the Center of Gravity (CG) is at least one body tube diameter in front of the Center of Pressure (CP) of the rocket. (We added 1/2 oz of Aves Fixit epoxy putty to the inside front of the nosecone and flew a great flight the next week...)

Showing off some RoboRocketry swag. :-)

Alan prepares his Semroc V-2 for launch.

Brenda prepares her Estes Cosmic Cobra for flight.

Brenda with RoboRocketryOne. the rocket is based on the Semroc SLS Brighton kit.

The Quest X-15.

Alan's reaction after the 2nd lopsided flight of the X-15...

He REALLY loves his rockets...

Brenda with RoboRocketryOne on the day of its maiden flight. It was a great flight except for the parachute not deploying fully, but no damage except for a couple tiny scrapes on the paint of one fin... It's ready for the Level 1 Cert flight!

Space Vehicles - Jon Richards

2009-07-28T21:39:00.005-07:00

Cutaway Space Vehicles by Jon Richards is a great book for young kids to read and learn about various vehicles throughout the history of our conquest of space flight. The book covers from the Russion Vostok 1, the German V-2, the Saturn V and up through the Space Shuttle and modern space stations in large easy to ready print. The technical details are kept to a level to make it interesting to young readers without overwhelming them. A great addition to elementary school classrooms, and both school and home libraries with young wannabe astronauts.

Von Braun - Michael J. Neufeld

2009-07-07T14:09:00.002-07:00

This is a well researched book that is a good read for anyone interested in the history of modern rockets and especially of the life and contributions of Werner von Braun. It covers his life from his birth to a well-to-do family, troubled school life and his lifelong obsession with rockets and manned space flight. It covers what appears to be his Faustian bargain with Nazi Germany and the eventual use of slave labor to build the famed V-2 rockets up through his surrender to the American forces and eventual key work and involvement with the Apollo missions that landed a man on the moon.

Space Camp - Anne Baird

2009-07-07T13:58:00.003-07:00

This is a good book for kids who are interested in becoming astronauts. It goes through a typical six days of Space Camp. With the planned retirement of the space shuttle fleet, it will be interesting to see how these camps change over the next few years as their programs center around shuttle missions.

Strange Angel (John Whiteside Parsons) - George Pendle

2009-07-07T13:45:00.002-07:00

Definitely a strange and interesting character in the history of rockets. The book covers many facets of this complex man from his contributions to the development of rocket fuels and helping to found what is now the Jet Propulsion Laboratories at CalTech to his involvement in Aleister Crowley's strange Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) cult. You may not agree with his political or religious convictions, but he definitely played and interesting and important part in our race to space.

Quick update on current projects.

2009-07-06T08:57:00.006-07:00

I will be reviewing and posting pictures of the building process and flight information, etc on the following projects when they are completed and ready for flight.

"RoboRocketryOne":

This rocket is built with a Semroc SLS Brighton kit. The motor mount retention system was modified as well as kevlar cord being added between the ejection baffle and the shock cord. The paint scheme was also changed to the patriotic stars and strips with the RoboRocketry logo added. This rocket will hopefully be flown for a Level 1 certifcation at the SARA launch this month.

Alan's V-2:

Alan is close to completing is V-2 rocket. He has alway's like the V-2 since he did a report on the history of rockets for his GATE class a couple years ago. He also got to see a real V-1 and V-2 at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas this summer.

Quest X-15:

The X-15 has always been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I dreamed of flying an X-15 from an early age. We have already build a SpaceShipOne model and flown it. (You can see that in earlier posts here.) So we just need to finish this X-15 and then build a space shuttle to complete our set if the winged vehicles that have made it to space.

We are also working on the following, but don't have pictures to post, yet. Brenda build a helicopter recovery rockey and also has a boost glider that needs to be flown. We ordereed various composite RMS motors to get ready for the upcoming certification flight with eth RoboRocketryOne. We have also gathered materials and will be starting on a model of an Armadillo Aerospace vehicle soon.

We will post more pictures of all of these projects and the progress.

Team Moon - Catherine Thimmesh

2009-07-06T08:30:00.003-07:00

Excellent book! I really like the approach she took to giving credit to the 400,000 plus people that were involved in making it possible to land a man on the moon. It is still awe inspiring to think back to what was accomplished in such a short time by the dedicated people at all levels. The book is full of color photographs and quotes from astronauts whose names you will know, but it refreshingly quotes and gives credit to many of the "backroom" and industry folks. These range from the aerospace engineers working on the recovery chutes to the heroic efforts of the team battling the high winds at the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia. It took all of these special people to make the dream come true.

J. Robert Oppenheimer - Toney Allman

2009-07-06T08:14:00.002-07:00

This is a good short overview to learn about Oppenheimer's life and his role in the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. This book is aimed at grades 5-9, but my third grade son had no problem reading it. It is only 63 pages but presents enough information for young readers looking to do a report on the subject.

Handbook of Model Rocketry - G. Harry Stine and Bill Stine

2009-07-03T21:51:00.007-07:00

This is an excellent handbook on model rocketry. I recommend it to anyone that is just getting into this exciting hobby or for those that have been launching model rockets but haven't read much on the subject. It is a good overview on many aspects of model rocketry. It has something for everyone.

I have been making and flying rockets for quite a while, but picked up good pointers and theory from the sections on air foils and fin design. Alan also used information from the chapter on Ignition and Ignition Systems when building the RoboRocketry Launch Box.

It is packed with information and advice on topics ranging from tools, techniques and rocket contruction, to stability, aerodynamics and recovery devices. There are also overview chapters on scale model building, payloads, altitude determination, clubs and contests and more.

I especially recommend this book as an excellent resource for parents, teachers, scout masters and other club leaders that are planning to teach rocketry concepts to their classes, clubs or their own children.

SpaceShipOne - An Illustrated History by Dan Linehan

2009-06-03T07:14:00.007-07:00

Just finished reading this excellent book by Dan Linehan. I had picked up the copy earlier this year when we met Dan at the Pima Air and Space Museum during a talk he gave there. I wrote a short entry at that time with some pictures of our own SpaceShipOne model.

The book has many excellent pictures that chronical the evolution of the SpaceShipOne prject and their eventual winning of the Ansari X-Prize.

Very well done Dan! I highly recommend your book.

You can see some pictures of Dan with some of the the RoboRocketry team and a few pictures of our small SS1 in the earlier entry at: http://roborocketry.blogspot.com/2009/02/spaceshipone-illustrated-history-by-dan.html

Enhanced Motor Retention for Semroc Brighton

2009-05-20T08:36:00.006-07:00

The Semroc SLS Brighton is a a very nice versatile kit. It has a motor mount system that can take a wide variety of single motor and cluster configurations. You can fly it on a cluster of four C motors (18mm), a cluster of three D-E motors (24mm), or single 29mm motor for flights up through H size motors. You can also fligh on a single 24mm motor using and included 24mm-29mm adaptor for the single 29mm motor mount.

The only major drawback to the stock design is the small engine hook (One typically used with 18mm motors) that is used to keep the motor mounts from ejecting. You have an overall very strong design of though-the-wall basswood fins and very strong tubes that when glued with epoxy make for a robust rocket that can be flown on motors up to high powered range. But then you haveonly the tiny little hook to hold in the removable motor mount. In the picture above you can see the small hook on the left side of th picture.

To compensate for this, I used Aves Fix-It epoxy putty to mount two threaded rods between the sustainer tube and the internal mount for holding the interchangeable motor mounts. I used one 3" 6/32 threaded rod cut in half. That made each rod 1.5" in length.

Shown above are the 3/16" One Hole Midget Cable Straps and wing nuts I used for the retainers. I was going to use these wing nuts as a "tool-less" design for ease out in the field. However, I will replace those with regular nuts to fly to cut down on the drag of the "wings" on the nuts. As you can see from the picture above, I also used the Fix-It epoxy putty for the fillets on the launch lugs and fins. I plan on fiberglassing the fins and lower body tube for added strength for high powered flights.

Hope this helps out some of you building this model. I had read several stories of high powereed motors being ejected and lost because of relying on the supplied hook. I would actually just have left it off to save on weight, if I had known I was going to add this modified retainer system.

Steve Eves' 1:10 Scale Saturn V - April 25, 2009

2009-04-29T23:27:00.002-07:00

Just awesome! You have to check out the article on Steve Eves and his project to honor the anniversary of the great Saturn V rocket. It's a great story. You can read the full article at http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/2829/30/. It's well worth it.

Well, Saturday he had a great launch and my hat goes off to him. It really made my day to watch the video with the kids. What an inspiration! Check out the video and another aritcle on the launch at http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/04/followup-watch-the-36-foot-rocket-take-flight-video/.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj4lj6YSwzg.

Thanks Steve, that is one launch I would have loved to have been at to watch live. Glad they got some great video of it. Good luck on whatever you do. We wish you the best!

Desert Heat 2009 - March 28, 2009

2009-04-29T22:41:00.024-07:00

Took me a month to get these up here, but here are some shots from Desert Heat 2009. Above you see Brenda's Big Daddy from her SARSEF science fair project on pad number 6 about to be launched. It actually had a really great flight.

Preparing the Semroc Saturn 1B for launch on a cluster of four C6-3 motors. It was the first flight of this favorite rocket of ours and it was great. Perfect flight and recovery with no damage at all. We were pretty relieved after all the work building it. You can check out the building pictures at http://roborocketry.blogspot.com/2009/02/semroc-saturn-1b.html and http://roborocketry.blogspot.com/2009/02/semroc-saturn-1b-part-2.html.

Saturn 1B all hooked up and ready to go. Hopefully some of the video of the launch came out. We will have to take a look and post it if it did.

Heading out to recover the Saturn 1B.

Inspecting for damage.

We were all very happy with the results!

Our modified Executioner XL on an E9-6 motor. Perfect flight but unfortunately we couldn't find the very large payload section. :-(

Our 6 foot 7 inch "Mean Yankee" flying on an E9-6 motor. Perfect flight and recovery.

Our Semroc AeroDart sitting on the pad with an E9-6 motor. Unfortunately we didn't get to fly it as we took so long looking for the Executioner XL's payload bay.

Our 2-stage Estes Renegade taking off on its excellent flight.

We didn't make it out to the night launch, but plan on camping out and staying for both days next year. If you are in the Tucson area we highly recommend that you join SARA (Southern Arizona Rocketry Association), attend the monthly launches and the yearly Desert Heat launch. They are a lot of fun and the experienced rocketeers out there are very willing to help and advise you on your projects. Check out the site at http://sararocketry.org.

SARSEF Science Fair - Brenda's Fat Daddy

2009-04-29T22:27:00.003-07:00

Brenda's entry into SSA Broadway's science fair for SARSEF. She did great and barely missed going down to the Tucson Community Center. Her display was a favorite among some though, especially when she had so much fun telling people why she named the heavier one, her "Fat Daddy."

She compared flight altitudes of a standard Estes Big Daddy rocket with those of her modified version of the same rocket that she joyously calls "Fat Daddy." She predicted the one that weighed more would not go as high when flown on a motor of the same power (total impulse). She was right! The additional weight of the X-10 wireless camera and 9 volt battery would definitely take some more juice to get it up to the same altitude.

SARSEF Science Fair - Alan's Launch Box

2009-04-29T21:58:00.012-07:00

Alan made it down to the Tucson Community Center for the 2009 Southern Arizona Regional Science & Engineering Fair (http://www.sarsef.org/) after placing in the top of the students from his school. His project was based on measurements taken from his home built Launch Box (Featured in an earlier post if you want to build one.) and a standard Estes 6 volt launch controller. (http://roborocketry.blogspot.com/2009/02/alans-launch-box.html)

Alan next to his display at SARSEF science fair.

This shot shows only about 1/4 of the competition. Unfortunately Alan didn't place this time, but it was his first year and he learned a lot. Plus he already is coming up with some cool ideas for next year's fair. If you check back here and on (http://roborocketry.com/) you will probably see some previews of his work.

Below are a few shots of Brenda and Alan by some of the other project displays. Notice how Brenda likes the ones that have to do with dogs? She finds them wherever she goes!

I had to point this one out to Naomi. You should check out the backpack that she carries around at BASIS Tucson. It's at least as heavy as some of the rucksacks that I carried around in the jungles in the 25th Infantry Division!

Sonoran Science Academy - 2-Stage Launches - March 27, 2009

2009-04-24T12:44:00.033-07:00

On March 27, 2009, the SSA Broadway 3rd Grade Rocketeers launched their 2-Stage rockets. These were built from Estes Loadstar kits and were flown on B6-0/B-6-6 motors. Once again they had a great day with 100% of the rockets igniting both stages! Awesome job class!

A thank you to Mrs. Jahan's father, Otto, who helped install the ignitors into the rocket motors!

Alan choosing some other rockets for a demo after the students had fired all their Loadstar rockets.
The Sonoran Science Academy students behaved very well, following instructions. I would love to teach this class again.

A few fins on the student's rockets were broken off by accident during the walk to the park. We repaired them quickly with some strong packing tape and they actually flew well. They were pretty happy we had that roll off tape in our box of supplies...

Rocketry can sure be a fun family affair!

Another special thank you to Jet's Mom, Diane Thevenot, for sticking around afterword with her husband Jim, to help clean everything up and especially for driving around and finding one of our favorite demo rockets, the 36 D Squared, that ended up in a rocket eating tree outside the park. Thanks guys!

Thanks again for parent volunteers that helped retrieve rockets with the kids.

In case you are wondering, that is Jet's motor.

A rocket launch is definitely an emotional event!

Kinda cool when your bosster lands right side up!

And now a couple demo rockets!

A Semroc Centurion with a Semroc Booster-16 for a two stage flight. That neat little booster uses an Estes A10-0T motor that is pretty hard to find now. We found a site online that had what may have been the last lot and bought all that they had left. Glad we did because it's a cool little booster stage.

Here is our Estes Outlander. Another very cool rocket that takes a while to build. Lots of parts! It had an awesome flight and actually landed perfectly on its legs that flex. Unfortunately, we were nervous because of posts online saying that it was unstable, so I didn't film it. I was too busy watching it carefully. It would have made a great video. Well, we like the kit and ours flies very stable so we are pretty happy.

Another favorite is the 36 D Squared. It gets its name from its length of 36 inches and its cluster of two D sized motors. We flew it on two D12-5 motors for this flight. Another perfect flight. This is the tree hugging rocket that landed outside the park and Diane found it after the launch. Thanks again!

the Mean Yankee is a real fun rocket to launch. It is 6 feet 7 inches tall and we flew it on an E9-6 motor. that was the largest motor of the day (It is about equal to eight of the motors that the students' Estes Loadstars flew on) . We have a blog entries at http://roborocketry.blogspot.com/2008/01/stars-and-stripes-rocket.html and http://roborocketry.blogspot.com/2008/01/mean-yankee-rocket-completed.html that talk about building this rocket and painting the stars and stripes on it.

You can also find some prior launch videos at http://www.youtube.com/Roborocketry. Just look for the "Mean Yankee" and "Orange Twist" videos there.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and posts. I will have to do one more short post on the SARA Desert Heat 2009 launch and then I will be back to building and documenting some more of our Roborocketry projects.

Thanks goes out to Mrs. Jahan the students' teacher and Mr. Ercan Aydogdu their principal for their support, those who donated funds to help purchase the rocket kits, and the parents who helped building, painting, chasing and cleaning up after the rockets!

Thank you!

Sonoran Science Academy - Rocket Repair Day - March 26, 2009

2009-04-24T12:03:00.015-07:00

On March 26, 2009, the SSA - Broadway 3rd Grade Rocketeers made their final repairs and adjustments for their 2nd launch the following day. They would be conducting 2-stage launches and so they had to double check the fit of their boosters into the upper sustainer stage.

Sonoran Science Academy- 1st Launch - March 13, 2009 - More Pictures

2009-04-23T20:01:00.025-07:00

Here are some more pictures from the first launch day for the Sonoran Science Academy 3rd Grade rocketeers.

Sonoran Science Academy Rockets - March 12, 2009

2009-04-23T19:50:00.006-07:00

The students went out and posed a day before their first launch. You can really tell they were excited.

Sonoran Science Academy Rockets - March 5, 2009

2009-04-23T19:42:00.002-07:00

Some new pictures of the students rockets before their first flight. They should be proud!

Sonoran Science Academy - 1st Launch - March 13, 2009

2009-04-21T20:21:00.038-07:00

As you can imagine, the Sonoran Science Academy (http://sonoranacedemy.org/) 3rd grade students were hyped and ready to launch their rockets after all the work they put into building and learning about them.

The launches were spectacular! They really enjoyed launching, watching and recovering their rockets.

They even used Alan's Launch Box that was described in an earlier post here. Check out that post if you are interested in building one of your own.

We also used Roborocketry's Quad Pad Launch Rack for loading up four at a time. This worked out great for the size of group and allowed us to make adjustments for wind, etc, without having to move and re-stake four separate single launch pads. We were very happy with the results. You can check out an earlier post for the decription of building that rack.

For this launch we used B6-4 motors to launch the Estes Loadstar rockets they had built. They were all single stage launches. Two weeks later they would all launch their rockets in the 2 stage configuration.

I will now stop rambling and just let you enjoy the pictures below from this fun filled launch day. Enjoy...

That's it till the 2nd launch post. Hope you enjoyed it as much as they did!

Roborocketry Now on Twitter

2009-04-21T00:54:00.002-07:00

For quick updates on what we are doing, check out and subscribe to the Roborocketry Tweets at http://Twitter.com/Roborocketry.

Sonoran Science Academy Rocket Class

2009-04-20T23:09:00.025-07:00

From January through March 2009, 3rd grade students at Sonoran Science Academy (http://sonoranacademy.org) in Tucson, Arizona, worked hard on building some pretty neat two stage rockets. The kit they built was the Estes Loadstar. This project was made possible by generous donations from several parents, relatives and community members.

The students were taught about various aspects of rocketry as the projects progressed. These kits were quite challenging, but the students did a great job that their parents should be very proud of.

It's really amazing what 3rd graders can do if given the opportunity. Ask any of these students what "apogee" is or other questions related to their rockets or rocket flight and you will probably be surprizes how mcuh they know.

It was really neat to watch them work so intense on their rockets. It's amazing what they can learn when they are having fun.

Parents got involved and also learned some things. Some have also continued on past our introductory class and are now travelling to other rocket lauches and participating in this fun eductaional hobby.

They even learned to keep their project pieces nice and organized. this helped since there were 26 of the exact same kit...

They felt accomplishment each step of the way...

There were even some whacky NASA tattoos and other prizes for those who answered the quizes fastest.

They also learned that it can be difficult to get those pesky fins to stick and stay in place on the body tubes. They learned a couple tricks and to let the glue "cure" for a little while...

Sometimes it takes even more patience... But we all like virtues, right?

We took a couple shortcuts and used a hot glue gun to get the standoffs and launch lugs attached quickly. This was the first time I had used the hot glue gun on rockets. They all actually held up for multiple flights. Sure makes a quick way to repair things quick. I wouldn't want to use it on mid or high powereed rockets, but it enabled us to get some students' rockets finished and launched that otherwise would not have had time to dry.

Brenda did a great job making sure that the launch lugs all lined up after they were attached.

Packing fireproof wadding and parachutes for the much anticipated maiden launches.

They all finished their rockets in time for the first schedules launch on March 13, 2009. I will soon post pictures from their first day at the launch site.

Roborocketry Quad Pad Launch Rack

2009-04-20T13:45:00.010-07:00

I wanted a heavier launch pad or row of pads that could accomodate multiple launch rods and not have to be staked down. We usually use hooked stakes when using the Estes standard and E launch pads, especially when launching larger rockets such as the Mean Yankee (Estes Mean Machine).

You can build your own multi-station launch pad with common parts from the local hardware store.

I had looked online at several from various launch pictures that were made out of wood saw horses. I was about to go the same route until I came across some nice heavy guage steel folding saw horses at Lowes.

I wanted both the elevation and azimuth to be adjustable, so I bought some angle brackets, carriage bolts, lock washers and wing nuts to be able to tighten, loosen and adjust as necessary without tools.

I then attached heavy duty grounding clamps to these that conveniently hold launch rods of various diameters very nicely. They also have a hole that works great for the carriage bolts hooked to the angle brackets. We have used the same clamps with 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" rods just fine.

We used four blast deflectors from some of our estes launch pads.

Another feature we added were ignitor lead standoffs made from wire coat hangers.

The standoffs have really done the trick for keeping the wires and clips free from the blast of the rocket motors. It is amazing how clean they stay using this feature.

So for a little bit of time and a very modest budget, you can build your own four staion launch pad. Sorry I didn't make a detailed parts list on this project, but hopefully the pictures will do the trick. I bought everything for this at Lowes, so one trip should do the trick!

KVM Fin Holder

2009-02-25T07:38:00.008-07:00

Many rocketeers create ingenious jigs, measuring tools and other devices that make building rockets much easier with better results. We also find things that are already available around the house, office or shop to use in our sky bound pursuits.

I use one such device in my office enough that I decided to put in a quick post.

At my desk I have a KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) switch that I use to switch between 1-4 computers. I have my work machine on one channel, my home machine on another, a docking station on one for the laptop and another for an extra set of cables under the desk. That is for connecting family and friends' computers that make their way over from time to time for troubleshooting.

Anyway, the space between the D-Sub connectors in the back works perfectly for holding up to four fins in an upright position while glue sets up a little. The steps I usually follow are below.

1. Mark fin and launch lug lines on body tubes.
2. Mark the very end of the tube at the fin and launch lug lines. (This is for sighting as you are lining the fins up, especially if the fins are glued clear up to the edge.)
3. Put a bead of glue on one of the fins root edges and then use that to apply a line of glue to each line on the body tube where the fins will be glued.
4. Put another bead of glue on that fin and stand it up in the KVM switch.
5. Do the same for the other fins.
6. After about a minute of setting time, start attaching your fins. If need be, you can put another small bead of glue on the root edge if it has set too much.
7. This technique allows for good strong bond and makes it easier to put all fins on one right after another for good alignment.
8. When they are all on, stand the tube on its end with the fins up.
9. Sight down each fin and make sure they are lined up properly and check for uniformity in relation to each other. They should all be sticking out perpendicular to their attachment points.
10. Once they are all set fine, let they dry strong and then come back and apply your fillets to the fin joints. On smaller rockets I only apply the fillets once, but on larger rockets that use higher impulse motors, I may make several layers to the fillets till I achieve the size and shape I want.

Hope this helps for any computer geek/model rocket engineer that may have a KVM at their desk.

I also use Titebond II for all of my rockets that fly on A-E motors. This sets faster and is easier to work with than Elmer's/white glue. I also buy a large 32 oz or larger container and refill the small 4 oz bottle I use for actual gluing. This saves money on glue and is very convenient. For the high powered rockets I am using an epoxy.

Semroc Saturn 1B - Part 2

2009-02-23T19:30:00.015-07:00

Welcome back... And we continue from the white paint on the main body and detail of the Saturn 1B.

Now we move on to the Apollo Capsule. This kit is also sold alone by Semroc and also as the capsule for their Little Joe kit.

The Apollo Capsule kit is itself a Skill Level 4 kit.

You start by gluing together the escape tower motor unit and command module. Then comes the fun and tedious work.... Building the tower itself.

It takes a lot of pins and patience. I used a cork bulletin board, putting a layer of wax paper over the pattern before pinning and gluing the pieces together.

The supplied tiny dowels have to be sanded to the correct diameter. This takes quite a while and a lot of care to make sure the diameter stays uniform as you are sanding them down.

Paper jigs are used to stand the upper and lower "V" strut assemblies together. This holds them in the correct position as the glue dries.

I worked on the tower sides and "V" strut assemblies at the same time. They both were dry at the same time and then I was able to put it all together. have patience and let each stage dry thoroughly before moving on to the next. As long as you are very accurate and measuring your lengths and angles of cut, you should be good to go when gluing the various assemblies together.

While the escape tower is drying you assemble the four escape motor nozzles. These are made from pieces cut from the same sheet that the capsule shroud came from. these are glued and twisted around the sharpened end of a pencil to get their shape. Not quite as easy as it would seem.

Before assembling all these components, you should use filler coat and sanding sealer on the nose cone until you have all the tiny wood grain and holes in the balsa filled in. This will give you a nice flat, slick surface to prime and sand for painting.

Unfortunately I went straight on to assembly and primering and skipped the filling and sealing... It was my one moment of weakness where I became impatient during the construction that spread over three months.

I had to try on the capsule for fit. You start to get excited at this point because the model is really taking shape.

I went on to primer the capsule. The kit did still turn out very nice and I am the only who has made comments about not filling all the tiny holes, but...

I painted the capsule white and then went on to finish the silver details on the rest of the model. And last but not least, I applied the waterslide decals, sealing them over with a thin coat of Future floor wax painted on with a fine haired brush for protection. The wax was applied only after the waterslide decals had set for at least one day.

And Voilà a Saturn 1B!

SpaceShipOne - An Illustrated History by Dan Linehan

2009-02-14T19:58:00.017-07:00

We had the opportunity to meet Dan Linehan today at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson. He was there to give a presentation on his work on the book.
It was very interesting and we learned some more details that we had not heard before. If you are ion Tucson yourself, you can still pick up a signed copy of his book from the Barnes & Noble bookstore on East Broadway. It is an excellent history with great photos of the project and vehicles.
Below are some pictures from our visit to the museum.

Dan was happy to answer people's questions and was very gracious to sign people's copies of the book.

February 14th, 2009 - Duane, Naomi and Alan with Dan Linehan, Author of SpaceShipOne.

Dan did a nice presentation and we highly recommend the book.

An SR-71 Blackbird. This is an impressive bird to see.

A "Supper Guppy" that was used to transport Saturn V boosters.

The Air Force One used by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

The mueums diorama of a V-1 launch site.

Our own Estes SpaceShipOne model that we built and has made two successful flights. This one uses parachute recovery, but we would someday like to make one that uses glider recovery. This kit comes with some interesting jigs that help glue the "wings" in there proper position on the body tube.

Semroc Saturn 1B - Part 1

2009-02-12T22:03:00.012-07:00

Another project I have been meaning to write about was the 1/70 Scale Saturn 1B kit from Semroc we built. I haven't flown it yet, but now that we have the Launch Box working great, we should be good to go on lighting the four motor cluster.

The kit comes nicely packaged in a decent sized box.

It's amazing how much comes out of that box when you start unpacking it. This kit definitely has a lot of parts. I should have expected that... It's a Saturn 1B.

As with all the Semroc kits I have built, the Saturn 1B came with a detailed instructions with check boxes to keep track of your progress. That helps when you have this many steps. The Apollo Capsule was a project in itself. Although included with this kit, the Capsule kit is also available separately.

You have a choice of building a clustered motor mount for four C6-3 motors (600' approx altitude) or a single larger motor mount that will use D12-3 (220' approx altitude) or D15-4 (325' approx altitude).

I chose to go with the four clustered motors. I wanted it to be more like the real rocket and a four motor launch should make for a nice show.

The motor cluster attaches to the stuffer tube that runs up through the center of the model.

This configuration allows for piping the pressurized gases from the ejection charge from the four motors up into the single stuffer tube to deploy the parachute(s).

Four of the eight fuel tubes have to be slotted to fit over the motor mounts.

They are glued in place and also aligned with two "stars."

After you glue on the four slotted fuel tubes, you proceed to glue on the remaining four.

With the tanks glued on, you realize that this is going to be a fairly good sized rocket.

The tail ring is glued into place with spacer strips and fins between the ring and the fuel tubes.

The lower cap ring in glued into place.

The fairing shroud is cutout and glued into place around the bottom of the fuel tubes.

The tank tube cover and tube adapters are glued into place.

The shock cord is attached to the parachute tube which is then clued over the adapter rings.

Shown at this stage of construction next to a Semroc Hydra VII and an Estes Big Daddy.

Another adapter ring is glued onto the parachute tube. The upper body tube is then fit over this and glued. While that dries, you can cut out and glue together the LEM should.

The LEM shroud is glued into place.

Two sets of fin materials are included in the kit. The first set are laser cut balsa wood. The second choice is the "paper of balsa frame" stype which is much more difficult to build. I opted for the framed fins because because they look much better and realistic if finished well.

The following pictures are shots throughout the remainder of the construction.

To be continued...

Alan's Launch Box

2009-02-08T21:44:00.033-07:00

Well, Alan had to do a project at Sonoran Science Academy for the science fair and we needed a new launch controller. So he came up with a good idea and we followed it.

We have been using the small 6 volt Estes controllers for years with no complaints. These handy little controllers are lightweight, are powered by 4 inexpensive AA batteries, have continuity lights, a safety "key" and have never failed us... launching rockets with single motors. The only problem we have ever had with them has been launching rockets with multiple motors. These groups of motors fired at the same time at lift off are referred to as clusters or clustered motors.

We built two Estes 36 D Squared rockets that have been really fun to fly. The problem has been that we have had only about 50-66% success rate using the Estes controller with four AA's.

I had came across a posting online someone who had built his homemade launch controller out of a regular toolbox. It was a very good article and he graciously explained what he had done and the evolution of his box. I will put a link to that article at the end of this entry to give credit where it is due.

I had Alan read the post and start working on his own schematic of what his circuit would look like building a box for 4 launch pads. This was his original drawing.

After his hand drawing he made another version in Microsoft Visio. After we had the basic idea of what we wanted, we headed to the store(s) multiple times. As with most projects like this you don't quite have everything on hand and you learn a lot as you go.

First we picked up a toolbox for about $10 at Wal-Mart and a 3/8" thick piece of good quality wood from Lowe's. We cut the wood with a jigsaw to fit the inside dimensions of the toolbox so that the piece could sit in where the tray would normally go.

Most of the electronic parts came from the local Radio Shack store. We did make multiple trips to Ace Hardware for electrical connectors because the selection was better and they had larger packages. (If they have what you are looking for, Home Depot and Lowe's are usually cheaper for the connectors) The universal automotive starter switch that we use for the Master Safety switch was $9.99 from Pep Boys Auto.

We laid out the board and marked it where we wanted the switches to go. Below is the original layout with the lighted fuse holder near the Master Power Switch. This was later moved to the left of the pad power switches and then later to it's final position up top. This was because of clearance issues with the built in storage trays in the lid. It also shows the Continuity switches which were later removed. We primered and then painted the board with an Aluminum colored paint.

We used regular outlet switches for plugging in the launch cords that run out to the igniters. We used 14 gauge outdoor extension cords that we picked up at Wal-Mart. We also made a couple out of some 16 gauge cords we already had on hand. We bought 50 foot cords and cut them at 35 feet from the male end. We then stripped the remaining 15 foot to harvest the 14 gauge wire for wiring the box inside. This ended up much cheaper than buying bulk 14 or 16 gauge wire. We could get an extension cord and the extra wire we needed for the same price or lower than buying just the bulk wire for the insides..

One thing we did include was a 0-15 Volt DC meter from Radio Shack. They didn't carry it in the local store, but they ordered it for us and it arrived in just a couple days with no shipping cost. It was $12.99. Shown below is soldering the resister for this meter inline and then covering it with heat shrink tubing.

We then wired up most of the circuits to test. We used alligator jumper wires on some paths just for the tests.

After several tests and not liking the tiny wires on the original continuity lights we had installed, we decided to go with some standard size bulbs as recommended for 12 volt launch systems in G. Harry Stines's book. Make sure to use Type 53 bulb for a 12 volt system. (You should use a Type 47 bulb for 6 volt sytems like the Estes controller) We had to make the holes a little bigger, but were very happy with the results.

Once we switched to the larger continuity lights and were able to wire them with 14 gauge as we had with the rest of the box, we finished the connections. We were ready to test some igniters and current readings.

We ran tests with live igniters and quick shorting tests to see what kind of current we were getting from the new system using a 12 volt automotive jump start system as opposed to 6 volts from AA batteries.

All the continuity circuits/lights worked great without lighting the igniters. The igniters fired flawlessly with the launch circuit.

The results were great. We had 1/2 the current on the continuity circuit of the new box as opposed to the Estes controller and more than 5X the current on the launch circuit. The results from Alan's report are below.

Another change we made was eliminating the continuity test buttons from the circuits. It was really unnecessary and just added expense and an extra step to launch procedures. Now if you arm the master and a launch pads power switch the continuity light is already showing whether the circuit is complete or not. If your igniter is connected properly, then you should be getting a green light.

We have had zero failures launching clusters of 2 engines with this new controller. We hope to be testing our Semroc Saturn 1B on four motors and up to the full seven motors on our Semroc Hydra VII here in the near future. We will be sure to report back on how that goes.

Credits: Great idea of using a toolbox, layout and the automotive starter switch from Scott Fintel in his post at http://www.thefintels.com/aer/launchcontroller.htm.

Our final parts list:

1 - Stanley tool box - Wal-Mart
1 - Good quality wood board -Lowe's
1 - 0-15 Volt DC Meter from Radio Shack (22-410)
1 - 12 Volt Car Accessory Outlet - Radio Shack (270-1556)
1 - Universal Automotive starter switch from Pep Boys (85936)
1 - Lighted Fuse Holder - Radio Shack
4 - Continuity Lights - Radio Shack (272-325)
4 - Launch Push Buttons - Radio Shack (275-609)
4 - Lighted Rocker Power Switches - Radio Shack ( 275-712)
4 - 14 Gauge Extension cords - Wal-Mart
2 - Wall Plate Covers - Wal-Mart
2 - Wall Receptacles - Wal-Mart
1 - Black & Decker 12 volt Jump Starter/Air Compressor - Wal-Mart

We also used many connectors and heat shrink tubing from Ace Hardware, Radio Shack, Lowe's and Home Depot. The microclips that we used for our clip whips were also from Radio Shack.

I will do another post later on the quick disconnect clip whips that we made and are using with this launcher.

Back to the blog...

2009-01-26T00:08:00.011-07:00

I haven't added any new entries for quite a while, but we have built a lot of rockets and have a lot to write about. We just had another small launch session today that went great.

Danny Pacheco conducted a series of launches for his science project at Sonoran Science Academy - Tucson. He found out some interesting things about drag, stability and performance. He had predicted that his rocket would not fly as high if he made cutouts in the fins because of increased drag. However in his test flights, the rocket flew much straighter and to higher altitudes after cutting the notches in the fins.

We also tested out Alan's new "Launch Box" for the flights today. The primary reason we built the new 12 volt launch ignition system was to ensure smooth, simultaneous ignition of all motors at the same time when flying clustered motors. We had several "no fires" in the past using the small Estes controllers. We have never had any issues using Estes 6 volt controllers for the hundreds of launches we have done with single motors. They are great for that.

However, we have added a growing number of rockets to our fleet that have from 2 to 7 clustered engines. For these we wanted a 12 volt system. We built the new "Launch Box" and it worked fantastic. I will write a separate review of that process and experience later.

Danny with Alan's new "Launch Box"

The flight we conducted with the one of our Estes 36 D Squared was awesome! We launched it on two D12-3 motors for a fantastic tall trail of smoke up into the heavens. Those watching in the park really liked that one!

The 36 D Squared sits next to Danny's experimental rocket as it lifts off Pad #1.

Another big crowd pleaser was the two stage launch of Naomi's Estes Renegade rocket. It was the first flight for this rocket so we flew it on a B6-0 / B6-6 combo and it was excellent. Talk about a happy girl after the perfect liftoff, second stage ignition and flawless separation! Very cool. Expect us to be doing many more multistage launches.

That's about it for now, but I do promise to get back to writing and get some more posts up on building rockets and the new "Launch Box" controller system.

Masters of Doom: Armadillo's roots...

2008-03-08T06:09:00.009-07:00

Masters of Doom...

Wow! I finished reading this book by David Kushner a few weeks ago and really meant to get a posting up. It alls ties together for me. Teaching myself computer programming, experimenting with my own rocket engines as a kid, and now having a renewed interest in rocketry myself.

This book brought back many memories from the past. Back to my first kit computer, a Timex-Sinclair ZX81, my Commodore 64 and a luggable IBM PC with little amber screen. I actually carried that thing around with me to class at the University of Arizona...

I started programming games on the TRS 80's and later IBM PC's at Sabio Junior High School. I taught myself BASIC on the ZX81 at home. Later, I fell in love with the Commodore 64. It's added color, resolution and sprites made for much more interesting graphical games.

I wrote some pretty good games, but never sent them off for publishing. Don't we all wish we could go back a change a few things...

I only dreamed of what Carmack and Romero actually did with their games...

Last year at the X Prize Cup Lunar Lander Challenge at Holloman AFB in New Mexico, we actually got to meet John Carmack and watch the flights of the Mod rockets in the competition. We drove over there to see his team complete, visit White Sands and the Space Museum. (Our hotel up in the mountains was even haunted... Very cool.) I will post another entry with pictures from the trip...

Carmack signing the group shot of the Armadillo team that we brought with us.

UA teams up to shoot for Moon!

2008-03-05T08:48:00.003-07:00

This is great news for Tucson!

"The UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department have teamed with Raytheon Missile Systems and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to design, build, fly and operate a robotic lunar lander mission.

The team, called Astrobotic Technology Inc., is competing with nine other groups for the the Google Lunar X Prize, which offers a $30 million purse for the first private robotic mission to the moon that meets operational specifications."

Read the full article at: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/frontpage/78677.php

Brenda's Custom Elite finished

2008-02-20T16:41:00.015-07:00

Brenda finished her custom painted Custom Elite rocket today.

This Custom Elite egg lofting rocket kit was purchased from http://acsupplyco.com where they sell for only $6.19. Pretty good price for a rocket that can send eggs up into the air.

It is 15.37" when complete and has an 18" motor mount.

The recommended motors are: B6-2, B6-4, C6-3 and C6-5.

Custom Rocket Company
Lake Havasu City, Arizona

We will see later about sending up some sort of small robot in it...

Keyboard as a fin holder...

Fins, standoffs and launch lugs all glued on and ready for paint.

Painting the nose cone yellow with help from twin Alan...

Body and fins all primered gray.

Sanding the primer off for a smooth finish before painting.

Adding her favorite color - RED!

Red and Yellow, Brenda's two favorite colors.

Painting the clear ring silver color.

Masking for Brenda's custom design touch.

Last step, assembling and attaching the parachute...

She had a great time building it and insisted on her design over the suggested theme. Great girl! Can't wait to see what she sends up into orbit!

Primer, Sanding Sealer, Balsa Filler, Paint, etc...

2008-02-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Do you really need all this stuff to build rockets?

Well the short answer is "No. " For the majority of the rockets we are building, we follow a pretty simple regimen for prepping and finishing them.

1. Sand the fins with tapered trailing edges, rounded leading edges and flat where they are glued to other surfaces.

2. After the rocket is constructed, paint with regular, inexpensive gray paint primer. This fills in some iregularities, but also provides a more even paint finish when parts that are originally dfferent colors, such as white or black plastic parts, balsa wood parts and various colored body tubes. We use gray colored primer because it works well under all light and dark colored paints.

3. Let the primer dry for a couple hours.
4. Paint a light coat of paint.
5. Let the paint dry for a couple hours.
6. Paint final coat of paint for good coverage.
7. Let completely dry for 24 hours or more. (Or you may end up with fingerprints, etc.)

Now go out fly it and have fun. Get out of the shop!

Now, on the other hand, if you are building an expensive scale model, a model that has fins that will be difficult to reach, once the model is constructed, or if you are building a rocket for performance over utility, then you will probably want to use fillers, fillercoats and sanding sealers.

Currently, we are building a Semroc Hydra VII that has some hard to reach, "internal" fins. For this reason, and because I wanted to follow the "exact" instructions, I decided to go ahead and take the time to use balsa fillercoat and sanding sealer.

The instructions below, from Semroc, came with the Hydra VII and have a good illustration of the smoothness achieved by using fillercoat and sanding sealer. This decreases drag and improves performance of the rocket. The rocket should be able to fly faster and higher.

* Note that for my 3rd coat, I used sanding sealer in place of fillercoat.

For this rocket, I used the following steps:

1. Sanded the flat sides of the fins before cutting them out of the sheets.

2. Sand the fins with tapered trailing edges, rounded leading edges and flat where they are glued to other surfaces.

2. Brush on two coats of balsa fillercoat and let dry in between each coat. You can use wax paper to set the pieces on after applying the fillercoat.

3. After letting the fillercoat dry completely, sand with fine sandpaper again. This all took a while with the Hydra VII as it has 21 fins in all!

4. Then I applied sanding sealer to all the fins.

5. After the sanding sealer dried overnight, I again sanded all the fins with fine sandpaper.

This process takes days, especially if the rocket has 21 fins. But seeing as I wanted to do it "by the book" on this rocket and because of how it is constructed, I followed these steps.

For this type of rocket with "internal fins," you could also follow a similar practice and spray on primer and sand it off before contruction as a lower cost alternative.

You can see by the picture of the Hydra VII below why it is hard to primer and sand the fins after the rocket has been assembled.

The Hydra VII kit is available from Semroc for $38.00 Postpaid from the following link: Hydra VII

"Mean Yankee" Rocket Completed

2008-01-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

Brenda standing next to the "Mean Yankee"

After the gray primer was applied and sanded down, a gloss white paint was applied to the whole rocket. After this white paint had dried for a day, we wrapped the upper 3/4 of the rocket with a high quality painter's tape. Use this instead of regular masking tape so that it comes off easily without messing up your paint job.

This masking spiral was done so we could next spray on the gloss red spiraling stripe shown next.

The red gloss paint was sprayed on after covering the lower section and fins with a plastic trash bag taped to the last part of the purple painter's tape.

Only let the paint dry for a couple minutes before unwrapping the painter's tape. You want it to just start setting just a little, and the paint we use dries very fast. If you let it dry too long you can end up ripping off part of the paint when you remove the tape.

After a couple tries and a few rockets, you will get the hang of it. Or maybe you will be perfect from the git go... :-)

Alan next to the lower section before applying the stars...

We used foil stars bought at Michael's craft shop and stuck them on the lower white section for "masking" where we wanted our stars. Here it is even more critical than with the painter's tape to work quickly because the paint dries so fast.

Painter's tape is made for this... Foil stars are not... so you must work even faster.

I sprayed a quick first coat of gloss blue over the stars. I let it just dry for 30 seconds or so and sprayed the second coat to get it dark and even. Then I waited just 30 seconds more before using a pen knife and tweezers to remove the stars. I would use the pen knife to raise a corner of the start and the tweezers to quickly pull it off.

It actually turned out pretty good with only a few taking off more blue paint than desired, but you can't really see those unless you are real close. No one should be that close anyway at launch... right?...

Overall, it turned out pretty good. Above you see the finished paint job drying.

The finished "Mean Yankee" standing tall at 6 feet 7 inches.

The name comes from the fact that it was made from an Estes "Mean machine" model rocket and of course the US Flag paint job. I guess we will be flying this one the Fourth of July.

It was also a play on the irony of our country coming to the aid of other countries with money, resources and even our soldiers' lives and still being considered by some to be "Mean Yankees."

I served proudly in many countries and helped people wherever I went. I always tried to learn as much of the language and culture that I could. I showed great respect for the countries that I was a guest in.

I was no "Mean Yankee," but this rocket is...

Recreation of 1962 John Glenn Space Flight

2008-01-23T05:43:00.000-07:00

Americans In Orbit-50 Years has announced their plans to recreate the historic flight of John Glenn in which he was the first man to orbit the Earth.

They will actually be launching an improved version of the famous Mercury capsule and even splash down in the ocean for recovery.

They are taking applications for astronauts right now if you are interested...

http://www.aio50.org/updates/index.html

That would be a dream come true. I wish I was qualified. I just don't have quite enough hours in high performance aircraft, yet...

Also pretty cool that they looking to use the Falcon 9 being developed by SpaceX for transport.

SpaceX was the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. You may remember him also as the founder of PayPal and Zip2 Corporation.

http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php

On a side note, we were able to see a model of SpaceX's own capsule at the X-Prize Lunar Lander Challenge at Holloman AFB in New Mexico last year.

http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php

Alan really liked that as his soccer team is the Blue Dragons. http://bluedragonsoccer.com/.

The link to the full article on the Recreation Flight in Space Daily is at: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Americans_In_Orbit_50_Years_Announces_Plans_To_Re_Create_1962_John_Glenn_Space_Flight_999.html

Asteroid near Earth on Jan 29, 2008

2008-01-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

I know this is not about rockets and/or robots, but it is pretty cool.

On January 29, 2008, Asteroid 2007 TU24 will pass by the Earth at just 1.4 lunar distances from the Earth.

Space Daily article:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Near_Earth_Asteroid_2007_TU24_To_Pass_Close_To_Past_Earth_On_Jan_29_999.html

Cool 3D Java simulation of orbits.
(Use the Forward, Pause, etc to turn the auto simulation on…)
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2007+TU24&orb=1

The image above was captured from the simulation.

Stars and Stripes Rocket

2008-01-22T12:51:00.001-07:00

Well, now that the "Orange Twist" has met its demise, we are building another Mean Machine. As I said, this is a great rocket. The kids especially love it! So, I imagine, we will always have at least one of these in our fleet.

Our new paint scheme will be more patriotic in nature, Stars and Stripes, etc. I saw a similar paint job before and it looked pretty cool on this rocket. It is just primered in these shots. The new coat of White Gloss is drying now...

In thethe shot below, you can see the coupler that separates the two halves for transport. Great feature! I have read of many people shutting the old model in car doors because it was too long and the wind caught and shut the door...

My advice: Build one! You will love it! We will keep you posted on the "Stars and Stripes."

Orange Twist KIA

2008-01-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Big Daddy, "Orange Twist", Executioner and SpaceShipOne

We are currently replacing the Orange Twist the was KIA after more than a dozen beautiful flights. The link below is a video of it's 2nd flight. A slightly shorter delay would have been a bit better, that flight was on a D12-5. A D12-3 would have probably been perfect.

This Estes kit is one of our most recommended for enthusiasts to build! The kids just love it. Being over 6 1/2 feet tall, it is definitely impressive out there on the launch site. And this newer version, that now accepts E size engines, flies 50% higher than the riginal. Another very nice feature is the twist-lock coupler that lets you break this extra long rocket down in half for much easier transport than the original that had to be transported at the full length!

This kit is not bad to build even for those starting out. So if you have a several rocket builds under your belt, buy a Mean Machine, build it, fly it and have a blast!

Estes Mean Machine™

Product Number: 1295

The Mean Machine is back and now it's meaner than ever! Now you can fly it on Estes E engines and soar over 900 feet (274m) high!

Length: 79.0" (200.6 cm)
Diameter: 1.64" (41.7 mm)
Weight: 5.8 oz (164 g)
Recovery: 24" (61 cm) parachute
Fins: Laser Cut Fins
Recommended Engines: D12-3, D12-5, E9-4, E9-6

Orange Twist 2nd Flight

The pictures below are a grim reminder to repack your chutes before flying your rockets. We went out to fly on a windy day with our chutes already packed one morning. The wind was too strong and we delayed our launch by a week. Unfortunately, we did not repack the chute the next week on the Orange Twist. The chute did not open fully.

Repack every time and even use a little baby powder on your plastic chutes...

Viper Robot

2008-01-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Santa delivered a very nice present this year!

It was a Viper robot!

We looked at many robots and robotics kits before deciding which one to ask Santa for.

We have not been disappointed at all!

Microbic Viper

http://www.microbric.com/page.php?sId=17

Great demo video at: http://www.i-bot.com.au/ibot/sitefiles/Media/VIPERPromo.wmv

The best store for US buyers is actually in Canada, RobotShop. They are very helpful and when we had an issue with a push button switch and a motherboard, they immediately sent us replacements.

Great customer support!

They also have other cool stuff at their site, too! http://robotshop.ca/

The best thing about this kit so far, is that Alan, who is now 7 years old, is learning to program and really enjoying it.

The kit comes with the easy to use BASIC Micro Atom IDE Version 2.2 (Integrated Development Environment) that allows for programming the robots controller using an easy to learn BASIC programming language.

Below, are some pictures of the kit and Alan working on it.

The larger box above contains the main kit and the three other boxes contain the three add-on kits. You can read about those on the Microbric or RobotShop sites.

Eventually, some form of robot built with this will be flying on one of our rockets!

Executioner XL ready for launch

2008-01-01T13:26:00.003-07:00

We just completed the addition of a payload bay to our Estes Executioner rocket. The new section is a 14.2" long BT80 tube (about 2.6" diameter). The payload bay is coupled to the main body tube by a 3" x 2.6" solid balsa bulkhead. Both the body tube for the payload bay and balsa bulkhead were purchased from http://semroc.com/. They now give us an effective payload capacity of about 12" x 2.6" in diameter of free space.

The entire original rocket descended on one parachute, but we will be adding a second chute, so that the lower stage and payload bay return on separate chutes.

We have renamed, our now 52.75" rocket, the "Executioner XL."

We will fly the first test on an Estes D12-3 which, in RockSim simulations, provided an almost apogee perfect ejection and reached a height of 277.77 ft.

After a live test with a D12-3, we will run some more simulations once we have decided on the first payload.

The Executioner XL should be one of our main rockets for carrying robotic payloads over the next year. I will keep this site updated as to out progress

March 28, 2009 Launch:
Not the clearest picture of a launch, but the last launch for the Executioner XL out at Desert Heat 2009. It had a terrific flight on an E9-6 motor. The 24 inch parachute on the payload worked much too well... We ended up losing the payload bay after it drifted way out into the desert... Bye Bye...

First Blog

2007-12-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well finally I set up my account here after reading many others.

Mostly inspired by John's posts at http://johnsjavapda.blogspot.com/

Hopefully, I will be posting here as often as he does...

Wish me luck.