Hello from North Carolina

[MikeS]

Hi, I'm new to the world of water rockets. I've spent several years building model rockets, and was asked to help my daughter's school entry to the science olympics, which is a one liter water rocket. Since these critters are a lot different than the Estes kits that I usually build, I've joined to check out what makes an effective design (scoring is done on time aloft, not altitude, and no recovery devices are allowed). I'm also building a launcher, and looking for ideas for release mechanisms (the standard pull pin seems a bit simple).

Thanks in advance from a real noobie!

MikeS in Charlotte, NC

[air.command]

Hi Mike, does the competition have any specific requirements for the launcher or the type of nozzle you can use? Here is an article that covers some of the aspects of a launcher's design: http://www.aircommandrockets.com/rocket_launcher.htm and also gives you examples of different release mechanisms you can use.

One of the easier launchers to construct is the Clark cable-tie launcher. This gives you a lot of acceleration as it uses the largest nozzle possible with standard bottles.

Here are some examples:
http://wrockets.trib-design.com/index.p ... e_launcher
http://cullytechnologies.com/demo/h2oro ... kcable.php
http://polyplex.org/rockets/launcher/cable2.htm
http://www.et.byu.edu/~wheeler/benchtop/clark.php
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/telescope/ ... uncher.htm

- George

[Tim Chen]

Hi, I'm new to the world of water rockets. I've spent several years building model rockets, and was asked to help my daughter's school entry to the science olympics, which is a one liter water rocket. Since these critters are a lot different than the Estes kits that I usually build, I've joined to check out what makes an effective design (scoring is done on time aloft, not altitude, and no recovery devices are allowed). I'm also building a launcher, and looking for ideas for release mechanisms (the standard pull pin seems a bit simple).

Thanks in advance from a real noobie!

MikeS in Charlotte, NC

Hi Mike and Welcome to the Forum!

You've come to the right place if you want to make a splash (pun intended) at your daughter's science olympics. The rocket that stays in the air the longest wins? Well, the answer to that is easy. You want a rocket that goes as high as possible and comes down as slow as possible.

If your rules limit you to 1 liter in size, then you will probably want the biggest nozzle bore you can get. You need to get going as fast as possible to get altitude with such a small vesssel. The biggest bore nozzle would best use a cable tie launcher. There is a really good thread on the forum about cable tie launchers if you want to make one. http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... 0&start=30 The design being discussed was documented by U.S. Water Rockets. They're the guys who have the world record for water rocket altitude, so they pretty much wrote the book on water rocketry.

I can give you a trick that could help you win the competition, but it depends on the rules of your contest. If you can add a tube to make your rocket really long, or if you can make your rocket out of a tube like a plastic mailing tube or Flourescent Light Bulb cover, you can create a rocket with stability in both forward and sideways flight.

The trick is to fire the rocket straight up and it will lay over on the side and fall down in a stable sideways position. Since the rocket is presenting the long side to the air it comes down very slowly and lands gently. You can get them to stay up for a really LONG time this way. It's slower coming down than a streamer and a bit faster than a typical parachute.

Terms to research for this type of rocket are:

Backglider
Backslider
Side Glider

Some topics to check out are:
http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... 88&p=11100
http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... 65&p=10149
http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... 943&p=7590

If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask.

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

Thanks for plugging our launcher design, Tim!