My Beginning in Whistle Rocketry

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

Try to find some 225grams kraftpaper sheets, that wont shrink at all.

[Stinger]

I just fired a 1/2" ID rocket (4oz?) with the following dimensions:

 

1/2" ID

3 1/2" long

1/8" wall

 

Grain length: 3"

Core length: 1 1/2"

Core diameter: 1/4"

 

It was really loud in person and some guys asked me wether this was Salycilate based fuel, but it was not.

I used really nice spanish perchlorate which is airfloat, about 8µ in particle size and 99,80% pure, flowing like water.

The last rocket I fired was made with my old perchlorate, so it is a really big difference in sound.

 

I took a lot of colemans fuel to wetten down the whistle mix because I wanted to mix the chemicals together very well, it worked really nice and the propellant had a good consistency as well as no white spots left.

20g of KClO4/Na-Benz/Fe2O3 whistle fuel were used.

I should have made the core deeper because the rattling sound was way too short

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQPN3OqJMKs

 

The tube was hand rolled of course

Edited November 23, 2009 by Stinger

[Mumbles]

How exactly did you get 8 micron spanish perc?

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

Clean perc should lump together, if it's airflaoting like water there must be some kind of carb-o-sil in it.

 

Maybe the sound was better because the fuel was mixed so well.

[Zmuro]

How exactly did you get 8 micron spanish perc?

He means that perchlorate is from spanish company, but perchlorate they sell is from china

[Mumbles]

The only Spanish supplier I know is from Nitroparis. Their stuff is indeed quite pure and nice. I've heard it's from Brazil. Given the firework industry within the country, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a large amount of chinese perc around too though. I'm obviously not immersed within the Spanish firework industry, so this is purely speculation.

[Stinger]

I got it from Nitroparis, its sooo fine it flows like water and dusts like hell.

Very nice for whistle mix, the best perchlorate I have so far

[Zmuro]

Sorry my bad, a while ago they had both brazilian and chinese perchlorate, but now they only sell brazilian.

[Stinger]

My latest two rockets using very good NP-Perchlorate and my new shop press

bought from ebay :

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/weetube111#p/a/u/1/-UcBHiq4KOc

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/weetube111#p/a/u/0/kumakWnvTq0

Edited November 29, 2009 by Stinger

[Zmuro]

My latest two rockets using very good NP-Perchlorate and my new shop press

bought from ebay :

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/weetube111#p/a/u/1/-UcBHiq4KOc

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/weetube111#p/a/u/0/kumakWnvTq0

 

Really nice rockets man, but was the first rocket really 3lb and you put only 2in shell at the top? I think a 3lb should go higher. What tubes did you use, plastic or paper. Could you share a pic of your tooling's?

[Stinger]

I wear leather gloves and drill the cores very carefully by hand, not the best but my tubes arrived today,

so I decided to press a 1lb pusher rocket, you can see the motor in the image I added to this post.

 

For the 3lb one it was a 5/8" to 8mm ID core, about 1 1/2" deep.

I used 100g of whistle mix , standard mix.

[Zmuro]

1lb whistle rocket with 3in canister shell:

Edited December 7, 2009 by Zmuro

[psyco_1322]

Shell looked good, a little weak on the break, but still good. I liked the stars and the mini bottom shot in it. Rocket kind of looked like it was a bit underpowered. 1lb whistles should fly 4" ball shells like nothing, which is probably 100-150g more than a 3" canister.

[Zmuro]

The rocket was a little underpowered and it took of at angle because the house was to close that's why launch ramp was of vertically. The shell weigh 300g and wasn't spiked that's why the break wasn't powerful, but there was 12 salutes in it and they all went off at the same time, there was some buell red and willow diadem stars in it. Edited December 8, 2009 by Zmuro

[Stinger]

I just pressed some rockets again and they are really nice and very sturdy, almost cling like china porcelain, here

you go:

 

 

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/355/img5537r.th.jpg

 

 

 

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4553/img5540.th.jpg

 

 

Size is 1lb as usual

[yellowcard]

They look very nice indeed. No doubt they will have quite some power. But why do you use plastic tubing ? Edited December 8, 2009 by yellowcard

[Stinger]

I couldnt get decent Paper tubes here and I will NOT pay almost 100€ for shipping for plain paper tubes

from hobby horse.

Also tubes from other shops ( dutch one) are expensive as well, for me a meter of tubes only costs 2€, thats 20ct for each tube.

[Mumbles]

I'm glad to see you added some chlorate flash on top for extra safety.

 

Seriously, get rid of the plastic.

[Stinger]

I will not start this discussion here again,

the Potassiumchlorate is 99,98% pure and fine, free of any traces of sulfur, chemicals were filled seperately in the tube

and blended together by just rolling the tube.

I just wanted to explain that to you altough I had to laugh really hard about your ironic post.

 

See, I am working safe and I try to get rid of every hazard that might form during the manufacturing process.

[psyco_1322]

Like shaking up titanium tainted chlorate flash?

 

Is that chlorate whistle too?

 

I think the miscellaneous ground salutes in the background really add to the photos.

[dagabu]

Like shaking up titanium tainted chlorate flash?

 

Is that chlorate whistle too?

 

I think the miscellaneous ground salutes in the background really add to the photos.

 

What does it feel like to pick pieces of PVC out of your face when they CATO on the launch pad?

 

A lot like getting shot, at least it was to me. Remember my post back in June? The dogs gone now, the shards easily traveled 50'. The 6# paper uber rockets with the 6" ball shells that CATOed on the rack at PGI didn't hit anyone, the stars were pretty cool blowing out 150' in all directions though.

 

Mumbles is more then a pretty face, please don't post those pictures, noobs (like me) don't need to see that experienced pyros make pipe bombs.

 

Regards,

D

[Ventsi]

Zmuro , that was not a single salute!!!!???

Thats the tightest most perfect timing on salutes I have ever seen in my life, absolutely great job and a *bow* to go with it!

 

 

And to Stinger, not that its going to do much against all that flash and whistle , put those things in an Ammo Can for the least.

I like a bang every now and then but it just looks like you are on your way to war.

 

I see you using plenty of paper tubes for the salute header, why don't you just use those for the motors themselves??

[Stinger]

Awwww of course its not chlorate whistle mix!

I am not this kind of friggin dumb guys, I know what I am doing, I know the risks but I dont exaggerate!

And no, I am not going into a war, as you folks all know its NYE in 22 days

[timberman]

Nice tooling and rockets you have there all , Im quite new to whistle mix rockets and pressed my first ones

last week using a simple 5/8'' tool with a 6mmx40mm core with quite good results so far. I had tested both kclo4/nabenz in 70/30 + 1% Fe203 +4% vaseline and replacing Fe203 by CuO. As last I replaced the kclo4 by some left over kclo3 as oxidizer and tested it expecting the same kind of rocket characteristics.

 

Some how the Kclo4 based went all good, but the kclo3 had instant cato's. I have the idea that the kclo3 version was slighty more powerfull that caused them to cato, I expected the kclo4 version to be a more powerfull one but it looked liked kclo3 had more power. Is there any difference in core nozzle designs when using kclo3?

 

And Im well aware that kclo3 issnt very suited for pressing rockets since it sensitivity, but I was just wondering what difference

it had.

[Stinger]

You should use a different oxi to fuel ratio for chlorate whistle

Eg. 70g KClO3 with 30g Na-Benz +3g Vaseline without

iron/copper oxide catalyst.

 

My last rocket

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLwrjsMlfbc