The Third Rocket

Monday May 28th 2007
6:00p.m.

Well this afternoon I finished off my launch pad with two launch rods and a temporary tin foil heat shield. I glued the final touch, the engine mount, onto my new rocket. I had two engines left from my 5th batch of fuel, so I took one and loaded it in.

I should probably mention I've devised an Estes-like ignition system. It consists of a drill battery, a double wired cable with alligator clips, and a thin copper wire bent into an Estes fuse shape. My first attempt at the fuse was the full 8 strands of copper or however many were in the cable. That only managed to heat up the cable a lot. The next test was only a single strand of copper. This was too little as the electricity melted the wire apart and didn't ignite the engine. I finally settled on a double strand of copper wire which worked fine.

I set up the rocket, loaded the fuse into the hole and jammed some Japanese Knotweed in to hold the fuse in place. After attaching the alligators I ignited the engine. There was a spray of white smoke, but not enough to get the rocket off the ground. The smoke seemed rather weak. This was possibly due to the motors being a day old. I guess the shelf life of rocket candy isn't very long. I loaded the second motor and had the same result, so I'm more certain of the fact that the fuel was old.

Coming soon: Engines with nozzles! I've taped some washers on the end of the three newest engines in hopes that the washers will constrict the end of the engines enough to get something off the ground!