How can I make a real miniature rocketship??

Question

My friend and I are going to make a real rocketship, but we don't know how to make it at all.. we don't know what materials we need or how to put it together or anything, but my dad and her dad are going to help us... please help we want to make a real one that can launch into the air... lol thx <3

10 points to the BEST answer!!!

Answer 1

I have some amount of personal experience with model rockets. For amateurs, it is best to start with commercially available kit, so that you can see how the whole system works. One fairly reliable company that builds model rockets is Estes, you can see their website here:

http://www.estesrockets.com/

Rocket kits of various sorts should be available at local hobbyist shops, basically any places that deal in models (usually they make most of their money off model trains and airplanes, but many of them stock a few rockets and rocket engines). If you can&#039;t find a shop that stocks them, you can probably order one online. You should start with a fairly simple, cheap kit, so that it&#039;s easy to put together and so that you won&#039;t be risking too much when you launch it. In fact, I advise getting two separate kits of similar types of rockets, so that if you lose one in an accident you don&#039;t have to go get a new one. The kits come with instructions on how to assemble the rocket, how to insert the motor and set it up for launch, and how to reassemble it after separation (most model rockets separate at the top of their flight and use a parachute to make a safe recovery). Many kits will come with a few engines of appropriate types, but if yours doesn&#039;t then you should look up what type of engine the rocket takes (engines are signified by letters, with B being more powerful than A, C being more powerful than B and so on) and then get a few of that type (the engines are disposable, you only use them once each). If your kit doesn&#039;t come with a launching system, you will need that as well; a person running a model shop can probably give you advice on what you&#039;re looking for here.

To launch a model rocket, ideally you will want to go to some very large, very flat area. Having a few hills can be okay, but you do NOT want to have any water, trees, buildings or other large objects within about a hundred meters of your launch site, and ideally there shouldn&#039;t be very many people around either. You also want the weather to be friendly, which means a clear day with essentially zero wind (even a small breeze can cause you to lose your rocket). Overcast or sunny are both fine, and any temperature is fine (I&#039;ve launched rockets in freezing temperatures before), but wind, rain, snow and fog are all strictly out. Keep in mind too that the wind a few hundred meters up (and model rockets do definitely go that high; in some places you even need to contact the local air traffic authorities in order to get permission to launch more powerful rockets) is probably stronger than the wind down at ground level, so keeping an eye on any trees, birds or low-flying clouds can give you a better idea what the wind is like in your rocket&#039;s target zone. After these conditions are all satisfied, a kit will probably come with instructions on how to go about launching the rocket. It is a good idea to wear eye protection (even glasses are much safer than nothing at all, but work goggles are ideal) when launching, just in case something goes wrong. After launching, you will want to keep an eye on the rocket during its flight, so that you can see when it deploys its recovery system (usually a parachute) and where it drifts while falling back to the ground. This can take most of a minute, depending on the type of rocket, type of recovery system and height attained (which is usually based on the weight of the rocket and the type of engine). Some small rockets may be invisible to the naked eye during the highest part of their flight, but should become visible again after they deploy their parachute and begin to descend. Preferably the rocket will land on open ground, but you should still be prepared to climb some trees if that becomes necessary. A model can be flown multiple times, although it will need its engine replaced for each flight. And in the meantime, there are many things that can go wrong, including:

- The ignition fails. This is usually due to a faulty igniter, in which case all you have to do is be sure to disarm the ignition switch before attempting to replace the igniter. Occasionally it is due to the engine, in which case you will have to replace the engine which is a somewhat more laborious process.

- The rocket gets stuck on the launch wire. This isn&#039;t a big deal in safety terms, but a powerful enough engine can damage the metal plate on the launch system, so serious model rocketers often keep an extra plate or two around just in case.

- The rocket launches properly, but fails to separate at apogee. This means that the rocket, being relatively streamlined, is going to come back to the ground very quickly. Someone should shout &#039;Heads up!&#039; and everyone on the ground should keep their eyes on the rocket to make sure they can step out of the way. The good news is, the rocket will probably land fairly close to the launch site, so finding it afterwards will be rather easy. The bad news is, the rocket may not survive the impact or be in any condition to fly again.

- The rocket is destroyed during the flight. This is known among model rocket enthusiasts as &#039;rapid disassembly&#039;. Note that it is normal on most rockets for the nose cone to come off during the flight in order for the recovery system to be deployed. Rapid disassembly is when the rocket is for some reason damaged to a greater extent, which can mean the loss of some parts of the rocket or the total destruction of the rocket. This can result from either too much aerodynamic stress (which is a good reason to make sure your rocket is built properly and is carrying an appropriate engine) or a malfunction of the engine fuel.

- The rocket lands in a bad place. Sometimes this means being unable to find the rocket, sometimes it means the rocket landing somewhere you can&#039;t get it back from (like on a telephone pole or in a high tree), and sometimes it means landing on a surface that harms the rocket such as water or a busy road.

- The rocket loses stability on launch. This is an uncommon but rather dangerous situation, as the rocket will then fly around more or less randomly until it either deploys its recovery system or, more often, impacts some solid surface. If this solid surface happens to be part of your body, be prepared for a trip to the hospital. This is also the reason why wearing safety goggles is recommended. I&#039;ve only seen this happen once, but it is rather spectacular.

- The rocket is destroyed on the launch pad. Also somewhat uncommon, this is only really dangerous if one, you&#039;re using a very powerful engine, or two, you&#039;re doing something stupid. The results are pretty much the same as if the rocket is destroyed during flight, save that in this case you don&#039;t really have to go find where the rocket or its pieces landed because they&#039;ll be confined to a relatively small area around the launch system.

So, that&#039;s the basics. Once you&#039;ve done several launches, and preferably tried at least two or three types of rocket models with different characteristics (trying at least one parachute rocket and at least one streamer rocket is a good idea to see how the two recovery systems work, trying a double-staged rocket can also be interesting), you can look towards building your own rockets. Making your own engines is very difficult and requires a knowledge of chemistry, but building a vehicle to use with commercially available engines is not all that difficult. Learn whatever you can from the construction of the commercial kits, and apply that to your own designs. Cardboard and plastic tubes make a good main body, fins can be built from either cardboard, hard plastic or light wood, and an engine restrainer can be made by bending some heavy wire. Be sure that any cardboard and plastic you use is sufficiently strong and stiff; cardboard paper towel rolls are too flimsy, but often you can find other kinds of paper rolls which are thicker and stronger. Metal, despite being fairly strong, is generally too heavy to make anything large out of, so only use it for the engine restrainer. You can sometimes tape pieces together with scotch tape or masking tape, but usually epoxy is a better alternative (you&#039;ll probably need it to build the commercial kits anyawy). One excellent source of materials to make homemade rockets out of is, yep, you guessed it, the salvaged remains of any commercial models that failed to make it back in one piece (I&#039;ve seen a perfectly usable single-stage rocket built out of pieces from a partially destroyed two-stage rocket). Before actually flying any homemade rocket, tie a string around it about where its center of gravity is and pull it so that it flies in a circle around yourself, to make sure the fins are properly aligned and the whole rocket is stable. After that, you can fly it just as you would a commercial rocket (be sure to have a recovery system in your rocket, and don&#039;t put too powerful an engine in too small a rocket).

Answer 2

Be careful, rocket motors are dangerous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_rocke...

Answer 3

Try the site in the provided link.

http://www.estesrockets.com/index.php

Some of these items may be also available at the local hobby center.  You can get kits of all sorts at all skill levels, or you can buy some pretty much ready to launch.

Model rockets are a fun and safe hobby.