How to Build a Model Rocket

You can build, launch, track and take pictures in flight from your own model rocket built from scratch.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Elmer's glue
• Long rubber band
• White computer paper
• brown bag to cut into strips
• round wood stock
• model glue
• Small diameter straw
• Cardboard tube (2)
• Chemical rocket engine - A8-3
• plastic garbage bag
• eyelet stickers
• 22 gauge wire
• Rocket camera (find at local hobby shop)
• Paint (to add your own touch)
• scissors
• wire cutters
• Launch gantry
• 9 volt two terminal battery
• 20 gage electrical wire
• wire strippers
• metal wire clips

1. Using provided materials, create scale plans, design and build a chemical powered rocket capable of 1000 feet of powered

   flight and recoverable via parachute.

2. rocket specifications:

   1. length: 15.1 inches

   2. Diameter: 0.976 inches

   3. Weight: 1.0 ounces

   4. Engine type: A8-3

   5. Parachute attached per instructions

3. Launch day information:

   1. weather condition

   2. barametric pressure

   3. humidity

   4. Wind direction

   5. Wind speed

   6. Time of day/night

   tracking information:

   1. Distance from launch site to recorders

   2. Ballistic angle measurement (use three spotters, take average of 3)

   3. H=Tan x A

   4. H=Ft

   5. Time to max altitude (use three timers and take average of the 3)

   6. Average velocity=H divided by T=ft/secs

4. Assembly instructions: Rocket tube

   1. Use 12inch long cardboard tube as molding tube

   2. Wrape white sheet of paper lengthwise around molding tube and glue paper to paper

   3. Cut three strips of brown paper 1/2 inch wide and lenth of paper

   4. Wrap strips around paper tube starting at top of tube and winding around tube to bottom, gluing each end. Alternate tube ends until all brown paper is used up.

   5. remove mold tube

   Nose Cone:

   1. Use sand paper and wood files to shape round wood stock into nose cone shape making sure the nose cone fits into the

   rocket tube.

   2. Attach eyelet in center of flat end of nose cone

   Engine mount:

   1. Use carboard tube 2 1/2 inch long and 1/16th smaller than rocket tube mold

   2. Fold white paper to 1/4 inch longer than length of tube

   3. Cut 22 gauge wire piece 1/2 inch longer than engine mount tube

   4. Cut small hole in engine mount tube 1/4 inch from one end

   5. Insert 1/4 inch of wire piece into hole and bend flat against engine mount tube

   6. Glue wire to tube (model glue works best)

   7. Place glue around inside of rocket tube bottom and insert engine mount

   Parachute:

   1. Cut piece of plastic 1 foot by 6 inches (garbage bags work best)

   2. Attach eyelet stickers to each corner on both sides

   3. Puncture small hole in center of eyelet

   4. Cut (4) 1 foot pieces of kite string and attach one end to parachute and one end to nose cone

   Shock Cord:

   1. Cut 6 inch piece of white paper

   2. Divide into three sections

   3. Glue rubber band to end section and fold section over

   4. Fold each section over and glue (elmers glue works best)

   5. Glue paper end to inside of rocket tube and attach rubber band to nose cone

   Launch Lug:

   1. Cut 2 inch piece of small diameter straw

   2. Glue vertically to side of rocket tube (model glue works best)

   Rocket camera:

   1. Install rocket camera per instructions with camera

5. After rocket is assembled, prepare a launch site and launch gantry (local hobby store). Get three friends to spot and time rocket launch. Your three friends should be evenly spaced in an arch pattern. Measure distance to each spotter and put number in calculations. Spotters should each time the launch from lift off to beginning of ballistic curve. Add time to provided calculations to establish height and distance of flight. At the launch pad, install the rocket engine and place igniter in depression in rocket engine. Put one electrical wire strand around the negative terminal of the battery. Attach wire clips to opposite end of wire and clip one to each igniter wire. Touch open wire lead to positive battery terminal. Igniter will start the chemical propellant and launch the rocket. Activate camera via remote contro. Use binoculars to track and follow rocket. When parachute deploys have spotters recover the rocket as it comes down.

Tips & Warnings

• Paper windings around rocket tube should leave no openings in the wraps. If openings appear, use Elmer's glue to flatten wraps against the rocket tube. Make sure shock cord is securely glued to the inside of rocket tube or parachute will not deploy properly.

• Rocket engines are extremely dangerous when not used properly. Minors should be supervised when launching the rocket.

• Make sure wire leads extend far enough away from rocket so that you will not be burned by engine burn.

• Please be very careful to make sure kids are not burned by the rocket.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish