john4117@yahoo.com Posted May 30, 2006 Posted May 30, 2006 Hey guys, I wasnt sure if I should have posted this here or in rocketry.. I've never made this so, I need some input here.. I plan on using an Estes rocket as the engine. Now which rocket to get, im not sure which will be the best, when factoring in the impulse (A, B, C, or D sizes), amount of thrust, and then ejection charge.. As for the salute, I was thinking a 1 1/2" - 2" paper shell from cannonfuse, but was also considering trying plastic shells, or tubes also. This is what I'm using as a reference and tutorial.http://krimzonpyro.com.ve.carpathiahost.ne.../skyrocket.html
dragonman586 Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 If you're just starting out a salute that size is something that you shouldn't be screwing with. Why not use a piece of paper twisted into a cone as your rocket header. They worked great for me when I started out. As for your rocket start small and then go big.
john4117@yahoo.com Posted May 31, 2006 Author Posted May 31, 2006 No, I'm not a complete beginner. I meant I'm new to rockets. I've made salutes, shells, and etc, just never made a skyrocket with a salute payload before.
psymon Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 Wouldnt this be a very expensive way to make a rocket? I can make a BP rocket with header for around 5p (10cents). They take me about 10 mins to make that is if i already have the case made and all the chemicals ready. From start to finish though including ball milling etc. I would expect to be able to make a rocket in an hour. 100 gramm batch of powder will be enough for at least 5- 10 rockets depending on size.
joker5 Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 i made some estes salute rockets yesterday. i use A8-3 engines, hot glue them to a 1/8 inch dowel 18 inches long. A8-3 engines have enough room in the top for 2 to 3 grams of flash. they go quite high and make a respectable boom. i just put the flash in the top and seal with 2 layers of masking tape. what kind of aluminum do you use for your flash? i use the stuff from pyroaluminum .com and it works excellently.
john4117@yahoo.com Posted May 31, 2006 Author Posted May 31, 2006 Yea pyroaluminum, good quality stuff. Hey joker, have you ever just added a shell to the rocket? By scraping off the top clay part, so the ejection charge is exposed, which would ignite the shell?
ewest Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 We did something like that last weekend. My brother took an Estes rocket engine, used an 1/8" drill bit to hand drill a hole through the clay close to the inside edge of the tube (not the center) jammed some BP in the hole and put a little more on top of the clay plug. Then he took a small commercial shell about 1 1/2" sphere, we cut off the lift cup and just taped the shell to the top of the rocket. Stuck a stick on it and lit it. Worked great, not as nice as my 1lb rockets, but not bad for him.
Karl Posted May 31, 2006 Posted May 31, 2006 Yea pyroaluminum, good quality stuff. Hey joker, have you ever just added a shell to the rocket? By scraping off the top clay part, so the ejection charge is exposed, which would ignite the shell? I would be careful with relying on the ejection charge to light your shells. From someone who uses these rocket engines for their intended purpose, I know how powerful the Estes ejection charges can be sometimes. Personally I would remove the ejection charge too, and use the slow burning delay element to light your shell’s time fuse. Please note that the shortest delay of rocket motors is usually 3 seconds. Then on top of that is your time fuse. You could even remove the delay element and use the bare BP slug to light your shell. With payloads, you can use the ejection charge to ignite the burst charge. Even with the clay plug in the way, it will build it slightly more pressure and act as a burst booster in smaller headers. If you want to see it for yourself, put a motor in a vice outside somewhere. Don’t over tighten it and static fire it. Watch the amount of flame what pours out of the ejection charge!!
FrKoNaLeaSh1010 Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Dont they make some zero second delay motors for the two and three stage rocket motors?
Karl Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Yes they do but they do not come with a 'Ejection Charge'. If you put this motor in a single stage rocket, straight after burnout the parachute will eject. The burning pieces of propellent that flake off at motor burnout is enough to eject the 'chute. D12-0 and C6-0 are the most comonly used ones.
Mr.Dan Posted June 2, 2006 Posted June 2, 2006 I have only done air salutes using eastes rockets a few times but I used a ping pong ball with 10 grams of flash powder using dark pyro aluminum. I then put a peice of visco fuse so it was sticking out about 1cm then just have the fuse at the ejection charge so when it sets off it will light the fuse and blow the ping pong ball off the rocket. I attached the ping pong ball to the rocket using a piece of duck tape. The rocket would normally only travel up 100ft or so.
john4117@yahoo.com Posted June 2, 2006 Author Posted June 2, 2006 Yeah thats similar to what I'm gonna do.. Which rocket size did you use Dan?
joker5 Posted June 2, 2006 Posted June 2, 2006 i have never put a shell on top but i have done stuff like glue firecrackers around the top or crackling balls. i have put stars in them also. onr time me and my buddy made some that were either top heavy or short sticked, they flew parallel to the ground and the charge went off on the ground. it was an instant brush fire, i blistered up my shins and ankles fighting the fire in shorts. the fire dept and police came but we managed to get it out with out there help. lucky we didnt get into any trouble with the law. so, just be careful with these rockets, they are a bit of fun.
Mr.Dan Posted June 3, 2006 Posted June 3, 2006 I believe it was either a C6-5 or a B6-4. I think it was a B6-4 the more I think about it. I also used a stick for stability.
john4117@yahoo.com Posted June 3, 2006 Author Posted June 3, 2006 Isn't it kind of a given that you used a stick for stability? Yea i'm prolly gonna go buy a few different kinds/sizes of wooden dowels, and experiment with those.
Mephistos Minion Posted June 4, 2006 Posted June 4, 2006 Woah, I got flood controlled for the first time just now. Bamboo garden sticks, the thin ones, make good rocket sticks and are cheaper than dowel.
derekroolz Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 If you're just starting out a salute that size is something that you shouldn't be screwing with. Why not use a piece of paper twisted into a cone as your rocket header. They worked great for me when I started out. As for your rocket start small and then go big. sooooo true
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