Model Forum / General / Rockets / June 2006

Most available oxidizer for beginners is probably KNO3, but it  is hard
to make composite propellant from it. Is it wrong to think that
components used for composite (epoxide resin etc) are inferior to sugar
as fuels - and "candy propellant" or even black powder with ammonium

I picked up an Estes Big Daddy today with the 40% off coupon from Hobby
Lobby and just spent an enjoyable late evening setting up the motor
mount.
However, their directions miss a few opportunities to be better.  I've

We've just started out with model rockets. Cardboard / plastic home brew
rockets with Estes A/B/C engines.
We've been using nylon builders chalk line cord to tie the nose cone, body
and streamer together and have had a couple of the cords burn through - it

What do you guys and gals do to protect the aft end of your rockets (mostly
mid and high power) from the heat and flame of motor exhaust? I'm tired of
taking the time to put a really good finish on my rockets only to have the
rear end look like it has gone through WW3 after a ...

We had perfect rocket flying weather in Kansas last night (6/27), flat
calm and partly cloudy skies so we decided to give our new launch pad
and rocket a try.  Lately we've been using an Estes Porta Pad that came
with one of the ready to fly kits, but last weekend we bought a Mantis

How long has the BATFE been after Performance Hobbies?
This sounds serious.
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20060625-114725-9396r.htm
Harold Bradtke

If it goes well, at 8:14pm PDT a Delta 4 HLV will launch from VB, anyone in
S.Cail should be out watching for it.

A couple of months ago I took the instructions out of the kit to preview
them.  Now that I am ready to build it, they seem to have been vaporized or
filed in such a good spot that I can't find them.  The assembly, as I
recall, was somewhat different than the model rockets I have ...

Has anyone tried to make a wrap-around antenna for 2.4 GHz?
That is, an antenna that looks like a cylinder on the surface
of the rocket body?
These antennas appear to be widely used for sounding rockets,

They have come out with a new odd rocket.
it is a 18 inch diameter device with a slit up the side, they call the mini
skirt rocket.
It is supported by a bi-pod structure where the motor receptacle is

The current debate on the vaguries of the certification process
wouldn't even exist if the NAR and the TRA weren't acting as if they
were a regulatory agency.  The original concept was for the NAR to test
motors so as to assure <i>the consumer</i> that they were getting what

Check out the final price for this Cox rocket (and from the best I can
see, one of the sides of the SI-C is missing from the kit):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6064279459
David Erbas-White

AeroTech Information Release
6/13/06
Full Line of AeroTech Model Rocket and High-Power Motors and Reload Kits Now
Authorized in Canada

Is there anywhere I can find a list of CG locations for Estes engines both
loaded and at burnout? I can't spot this information in the Estes engine
tables (or have I missed it?).
Or will I just need to start measuring?

I'm thinking of upgrading my old Bushnell cheapies for a off brand
called Military Zoom Binoculars.See here,
http://www.gadgetuniverse.com/product_detail.asp?SKU=TC+243
Will these be useful for High Powered Rocket recovery ?