Best launcher for FTC?

[Asupremeflight]

I am looking to build an FTC rocket and was wondering what type of launcher would be best suited for the job? (Clark, gardina, pull pin type?) which is the preferred method of the pros? Btw. Happy New Year. May your new year bring lots of success and recoveries.

[Asupremeflight]

Okay. I am thinking to just build a launcher to accommodate all types of rockets. It will be modular so I can fly all of my rockets off of one launcher. I will modify my current launcher to accept gardena nozzles and full throat nozzles. I will just have 3 launch tube configurations. 1 gardina type one Clark type and another Clark type with a long launch tube for FTC and larger rockets. I'll just have to unscrew the tubes and /or gardina quick connect and put on a different one.

[Yossarian]

I have fitted a 9 mm Gardena Nozzle to my FTC. Took some practice to get it airtight, but now its rather reliable. Later i enlarged the nozzle to 10 mm and used a fitting launchtube. Problem is the high acceleration with 10 mm, so the rocketbody suffers from strong bending during the acceleration phase.

You can see it well in my Video here:



The launcher is really easy to build: A small piece of wood, a bent metal part with a hole, where the Gardena-coupler fits in. Pressure Hose attached like a normal water hose, and the release line fixed with some cable ties. I usually bolt the launcher to the ground with some tent hooks or large Nails, so it cant tip over.

All the equipment fits in a large bag and i can carry it on my bike, if necessary.
See here:




regards

Yossarian

[Asupremeflight]

Nice rocket. Have you ever tried to launch that full throat, ( with no nozzle ) and a 1/2 inch PVC pipe for a launch tube?

[Asupremeflight]

Also, how did you mold your bulkheads? Any reinforcements?

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

I am looking to build an FTC rocket and was wondering what type of launcher would be best suited for the job? (Clark, gardina, pull pin type?) which is the preferred method of the pros? Btw. Happy New Year. May your new year bring lots of success and recoveries.

We use full throat nozzles made from bottles. The bulkheads are simple to make using long neck soda bottles which can be shrunk over a wooden form which was custom made from a large dowel. The launcher for these rockets is the same sort of cable tie launcher that you would build to launch full bore water bottle rockets. You don't need to modify anything to launch these rockets, unless you start to reinforce them for really high pressures.

[Asupremeflight]

Is it just PL premium only then to bond the 2 together or do you have to reinforce the splice like when splicing the 2 ltr bottles together? Do you have to/can you curl the FTC to form a seal?

[Yossarian]

Also, how did you mold your bulkheads? Any reinforcements?

Actually, the nozzle is gardena, firstly, because i like the reliability of their hose couplings (pressure tested to 21 bar ~ 300 psi) and i prefer smaller nozzles, giving it more a rocket flight behaviour instead of a cannon shooting off a bullet.

The nozzle fits in the T-8 FTC with some grinding work. A good epoxy resin holds the pressure, although i ´ve reinforced it with a ring of PET-material on the outside, glued on with PUR-Glue.

The upper bulkhead consist of a normal bottle tap, glued in and another cap, which i found to be fitting around. both glued in with PUR.

Keep in mind, that FTC-material is polycarbonate, which has a tendency to develop fissures or cracks, something hardly occuring with PET. So no drilling holes in the rocket body.

regards

Yossarian

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

Is it just PL premium only then to bond the 2 together or do you have to reinforce the splice like when splicing the 2 ltr bottles together? Do you have to/can you curl the FTC to form a seal?

The only real reason to reinforce an FTC would be to get more than about 160PSI in it. At any greater pressure, the tube itself will shatter.