So I've been interested in taking up model rockets as a hobby, but so many people are about building bigger rockets that fly higher and so on and so forth. I've decided to take a different approach - make the smallest functioning rockets we can. The idea is that we meet in a room with an eight-foot ceiling, and compete to see who can build rockets that fly the highest *without* hitting the ceiling. Other conceivable contests are possible - rockets that fly a figure-8, or launch straight up and then curve over and aim for a dartboard, or multi-stage rockets, etc. I figure rockets would be made from soda and cocktail straws and wouldn't need pesky things like parachutes.
Goggles and nose-plugs are mandatory during launches (nobody wants a rocket up their left nostril).
I haven't tried any of this. Just another of my hare-brained schemes.
Who here is crazy enough to join me in this disaster?
Getting a functional rocket to that scale sounds like an interesting challenge. Have you looked into what it would take to engineer something like that?
No, I haven't looked into it yet. It's the sort of thing that I'd prefer to do as a social activity. A coctail straw with a layer of solid propellent on the inside should work in principal, provided the top of the straw is sealed. Getting the thing to fly straight would be the biggest challenge.
I figure we would start off with a plywood and plexiglass "flight chamber" to keep the rocket from flying all over the room. Three sides plywood, one side plexiglass, about 2 feet square and about 8 feet tall. Figure out a way to "light the candle," and experiment for awhile. After we get some idea of what we're doing, then we figure out how to measure how high the rocket went.
Hi-speed photography would be a fun aspect of the sport.
I see all sorts of potential projects in the "simple" idea. For example, eventually (when we do competitions
) we'd need a device that would dectect when the rocket exceeded the maximum allowed height. We need a way of measuring the height that the rocket actually reaches (nobody will be able to eyeball something that small moving that fast). We'd need a reliable launch platform. And, of course, there's the challenge of building the rockets themselves. First, get them to fly. Second, get them to fy straight. Third, get them to fly to a specific altitude, but no higher.
Rocket parts will be measured in micrograms.
Once everything is figured out, then we move on to aesthetic challenges - making a rocket that looks like a Saturn V, etc.
There's definitely a lot of room for experimentation there. Another fun aspect would be half social in nature: How can you obtain or create your propellent without making it onto a list? I know you'd only need micrograms per launch but would the small quantities be enough to avoid issue?
It would also be interesting to see how reusable the rockets were. During one of the very early sqwr meetings we played around with rockets made by wrapping matches with aluminum foil, with limited success. Those were entirely disposable rockets. It sounds like you want to bring better engineering standards to that project. (-:
I'm assuming disposable rockets, at least for the beginning. I was actually thinking about starting with scaled-down bottle rockets, keeping track of sizes and weights of the various parts, as well as design and "performance." Only later would we move on to more modern designs. A simple plastic tube four inches in diameter and four feet tall would make a reasonable desktop "workstation." Cover the top of the tube with thick paper, and if the rocket hits it you know it was too powerful.
A matchhead probably would contain all the fuel we'd need for a rocket or ten, and wouldn't get us onto any lists. There are also propellents that use sugar as a majority component, although I think Potassium Nitrate is the other component. Probably just Googling rocket propellents would get you on a list these days.
I see ignition as being on of the tricker problems - the fuse might be bigger than the rocket motor!
As for better engineering - I think that would be what sustains the project, but mainly I see it as a social and competitive activity. I've wanted to form the "Hudson Valley Indoor Rocketry Club" for a few years now, but never thought I'd find crazy like-minded enough people to get it going.
I wonder if you could get a technique down for creating tiny rockets from aluminum foil and match heads. Not exactly the pinnacle of engineering, per se, but a skilled craftsmen could probably make that pretty repeatable.
http://www.matchstickrockets.com/howto.html
That's almost exactly what we were doing at the meeting. There's apparently some technique to the process because we were nowhere near 100% successful launches. Somebody with the patience to sit andpractice, though, could probably make reliable rockets that even look like rockets instead of looking like matches wrapped in foil.
I'll give it a shot this weekend. Outdoors, though.
Let me know how that goes. I bet one could have fun arming an r/c vehicle with matchstick missiles.
It's all fun and games until someone gets a lit match up their left nostril!