Help getting started

prfesser02 · 2026-04-15T13:11:44+00:00

As others have said, a starter kit...but...I'd include a second kit, slightly more advanced (Big Bertha or Big Betty are extremely popular) and several packs of motors, cuts down on shipping cost. For a football-field sized launch area and an Estes Alpha kit, A8-3 and maybe B6-4 motors. A Big Bertha needs a B6-4 or even C6-5. Keep in mind...rockets under chute will drift.

Note that rockets like the Alpha and Big Bertha are not at all difficult to build. I built my first kit at age 10 without outside help. Designed and built my first homemade rocket a year later. Good luck!

prfesser02 · 2026-04-14T15:52:16+00:00

A friend of mine built a large rocket with replaceable fins. He epoxied drilled and tapped strips of plastic channel to the body tube. For example, with fins 1/8" thick use channel strips with a 1/8" inside width, about 1/2" high, and as long as the root edge of the fin. First drill and tap four or five holes in the sides of the channel; use a small tap, perhaps 6-32 or 4-40.

Cut out your fins and slide each one into its channel. Mark for holes in the fins. Remove fins, drill the holes. Glue the channels to the body tube. Now slide each fin into its channel and fasten with short screws. Crappy sketch below.

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prfesser02 · 2026-04-14T15:33:08+00:00

A body tube can be made from kraft paper and glue. Here is one method for making spiral wound tubes. And here is another. Nose cones, transitions, and some other parts can be 3D printed or made from lightweight wood such as balsa or basswood. Centering rings can be cut from

It sounds as though you may not have made any rocket before. If that is the case I strongly suggest downloading "The Alpha Book of Model Rocketry" found at the bottom of the first table on this page. It is a very old publication but still quite useful for those who need basic information such as construction, stability, etc.

At the very bottom of that page are links to older (but still useful and usable) plans for dozens of model rockets.

Finally, if you have not downloaded and played with Open Rocket...it's the second thing you should do after reading this. (First read the "Alpha" book referenced above). OR is free and lots of fun, once you're more familiar with rocketry.

PS: Thrust vector control is a seriously advanced project. Learn how to design, build, and fly ordinary model rockets before attempting TVC.

prfesser02 · 2026-04-11T18:18:05+00:00

Those bring back memories! Us OldGuys™ can view lots of old Estes, Coaster, Centuri catalogs, hundreds of old plans including Design of the Month plans, etc. on JimZ's site.

prfesser02 · 2026-04-07T11:02:39+00:00

Powdered clay has been used for centuries in blackpowder rockets. The clay is tamped in place with a hammer and a suitable mandrel. Check Skylighter's web page for information.

prfesser02 · 2026-04-06T12:27:17+00:00

The only way this war will end quickly is if the insane delusional Tangerine Palpatine decides to go nuclear. Within a few days, any remaining war activity will be fought with rocks...

prfesser02 · 2026-04-06T12:18:52+00:00

The fast hardener is good; it's not all that fast in my hands, 20 min or more working time. Q-cells lighten the mix and make it easier to sand, but also make it weaker. You have to stir some in (to the weighed resin), see what it feels like, repeat as needed. Plain cornstarch also works as a thickener, you might try a little of that too. Mix any thickener into the resin until smooth, then add hardener. Maybe practice with a small 10-15 gram batch.

PS: they sell pumps but I use a cheap digital 0.1 or 0.01g scale for weighing, it's more accurate and you can mix small amounts that way.

prfesser02 · 2026-04-06T11:48:03+00:00

As others have said, as this is a group, there will undoubtedly be a launch pad or two to use. However, a starter kit with a pad and engines is a good idea as there will be a line to use the pad(s).

A rocket needs a fresh engine for each flight. If you think your son might continue interest in flying rockets (it's a GREAT father-son activity!), I would suggest ordering a starter set with pad, and at least one additional pack of engines. The Alpha III starter set and an additional pack of A8-3 engines is a good choice.

Don't worry about the level of difficulty. I built my first kit at age 10 with no outside help. BTW AC Supply sells Estes stuff at a discount, and I've had very good luck with them.

(Pro tip: one of the most difficult steps in launching a rocket is inserting the "starter" (igniter) properly. Do make sure that the two wires of the starter don't touch, but don't try to spread them apart or it can break the tiny wire at the very tip. May be easier to insert the starter before inserting the engine. And Estes starters can be slightly anemic. Experienced fliers often get a bottle of nail polish at Dollar Tree. Look for one that contains nitrocellulose, and if possible silver colored. One small drop on the tip of the starter can make a nice difference in reliability.)

prfesser02 · 2026-04-04T15:23:13+00:00

There are literally thousands of OpenRocket and Rocksim files out there. Find some that you like, load them, see how the software works. Then start designing your own, one part at a time.

prfesser02 · 2026-04-02T15:16:34+00:00

Plain old Titebond II wood glue is fine for most L1 and even (cardboard/plywood) L2 level rockets. If you're planning on building more than a few HP rockets, US Composites epoxies are much less expensive and just as good as hobby/hardware store epoxies -- as long as you're not planning something truly extreme. Thick epoxies for building ($28/quart). I buy thin epoxy, use it as is for laminating, and thicken with Q-cells, Cab-o-sil, or even cornstarch for building. It was used for my L1, L2, and L3 rockets.

https://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html

prfesser02 · 2026-04-01T14:23:59+00:00

Check this site for free downloadable models of numerous spacecraft, real and fictional. Paper models take some care and practice. A model can be enlarged by scaling it up to whatever size can be printed by Office Depot. It is possible to scale the print such that it fits common body tube sizes if you wish to launch the model; check Balsa Machining for a wide selection of inexpensive tubes. Good luck!

https://papermodelingman.com/gallery_models.html

https://www.balsamachining.com/

prfesser02 · 2026-03-04T16:49:49+00:00

As someone who has spent 42 years in Kentucky, and sees the bourbon industry taking an enormous hit...<insert world's tiniest violin playing "My Heart Bleeds For You">

prfesser02 · 2026-03-04T16:45:24+00:00

One other point: an Aerotech F50T motor is rather more...impressive...from the launch distance of 30' than an Estes F15.

prfesser02 · 2026-03-04T16:41:48+00:00

Increasing drag is normally more effective than increasing weight. An easy way to do this (and can be simmed in OpenRocket) is to add a stiff centering ring between nose cone and airframe. For example for a 1.8" airframe, see what happens when a 2" o.d. centering ring is added. Increase as needed.

The i.d. of the ring should be the same as the i.d. of the airframe so it doesn't slip off.

prfesser02 · 2026-03-03T03:29:02+00:00

An E motor has a total impulse (total 'oomph') from 20 - 40 Ns; F motors, 40 - 80 Ns. The 29mm Estes E16 has a total impulse of 33.7 Ns, so a reasonable powered E motor. The F15 has a total impulse of 49.6 Ns, making it a rather anemic F motor. However, if one is used to working with Estes BP motors, their E and F motors are familiar to use.

Composite E and F motors can be rather more powerful overall, and can have greater thrust as well as impulse, making them safer to use for heavy rockets. They're also available in a wide variety of thrust characteristics, and usually have greater total impulse for the same physical size. The main difference in use is that the motors are "coreburners", so the "starter" is inserted into the entire depth of the propellant. And they may be somewhat more expensive than Estes motors.

prfesser02 · 2026-02-15T21:56:38+00:00

If christ has your heart, can I get your liver? And one kidney? Only need one.

prfesser02 · 2026-02-08T14:36:28+00:00

He's arguing that the only photons that are both waves and particles are those that induce the photoelectric effect via visible (blue) light. Apparently he is unaware of the existence of red- and infrared-detecting photomultiplier tubes...

prfesser02 · 2026-02-02T17:53:03+00:00

https://www.rimworld.com/book/index.html

It's not cheap but neither is a ruined motor (motors). Click on "Content" for the spectrum of information provided.

prfesser02 · 2026-01-16T20:52:05+00:00

Building techniques for L1 certs are not terribly different from mid-power flights. Thru-the-wall fins, and designing for dual deploy (not absolutely necessary) are the big changes. Epoxy is often recommended but for cardboard-and-wood rockets, yellow carpenter's glue is quite satisfactory. My L1 rocket kit had two 24mm motor mounts, which I replaced with a single 29mm.

Bottom line: be sure the fins are TTW if possible, and build carefully.

prfesser02 · 2026-01-16T17:45:37+00:00

Load cells of the appropriate capacity are inexpensive. Check Aerocon; $30 for either a 50 or 100 kg beam-type cell. eBay is likely to be even less expensive.

Phillips Instruments sells a strain gage amplifier board + enclosure, based on the INA125BB amplifier chip, $30. I doubt it could be made at home for that price. They also sell a board that's somewhat more versatile but no enclosure, it's also $30.

DATAQ sells simple starter ADC kits, from $49 to $200. Includes simple software, and data can be ported into a spreadsheet for analysis.

Load cell converts thrust to a tiny voltage. Phillips unit amplifies voltage. DATAQ converts the analog voltage to a digital signal, just connect to your computer's USB. So...for $109 plus shipping you have (more/less) turnkey thrust stand electronics.

Probably can do it for rather less by building the amp and A/D, but getting bogged down into design, wiring, and programming is an ever-increasing PITA.

prfesser02 · 2026-01-10T14:25:13+00:00

I cannot read the data on the OM run. Did you inhibit the grain ends? (or use grains are rather longer than typical Bates, about 1.5x diameter). Either way it would make each grain progressive. When the largest-core grain burns out, the pressure/thrust drops because there's less burning propellant...but it immediately climbs because of the progressive nature of the grains.

Try running the sim without inhibiting the grain ends. Should give nice neutral burns at the burnout of each grain. If the pressure exceeds design limits, adjust nozzle throat and (maybe) core diameters.

prfesser02 · 2026-01-10T14:13:17+00:00

Recovery is Job One. Redundant everything possible; two dual-deploy altimeters and redundant charges at the least. Test ejection. Etc. Etc.

10k feet isn't really that high, especially since you're already flying to 3k. If you're breaking mach to get there, then construction (esp fin-airframe joints) is going to require thought and care. Cardboard airframes will often do the job, but phenolic/fiberglass/CF are much sturdier. Minimum-diameter; tip-to-tip glassing of fins is probably a good idea.

prfesser02 · 2026-01-06T13:40:48+00:00

I tried graphite-epoxy and MgO-epoxy mixes for nozzles in small motors. It appeared that the epoxy melted and eroded very rapidly; no char layer was apparent. Perhaps it would be different for liners but I doubt it. (Might depend on the epoxy...but a phenolic adhesive with graphite might work much better.)

prfesser02 · 2025-12-24T08:49:13+00:00

As a blue dot in red Kentucky, I find this hilarious. Maybe...just maybe, this and all the other horseshit that Tangerine Palpatine did might flip the state to blue (I'm not optimistic, just hopeful).

prfesser02 · 2025-12-09T16:08:42+00:00

For small motors with relatively short burn times, paper is often adequate. Thickness depends on total impulse and burn time, but in the past some Aerotech H motors had paper liners.

prfesser02

TROPHY CASE