Water Rocket Forum

Can someone give me an idea of how to get video facing the ground on take off. Will it affect the way the rocket flys if i put a mirror sticking out of the rocket?

dwrrule wrote:Can someone give me an idea of how to get video facing the ground on take off. Will it affect the way the rocket flys if i put a mirror sticking out of the rocket?

Go to the supermarket or drugstore and pick up one of those little dental mirrors in the toothpaste aisle. You need to stick it on the camera as close to the lens as possible. The farther the mirror is from the lens then the bigger it has to be to fill the scene. If you get it right up next to the lens then it can be small. I made a bracket from a chunk of basswood and It holds it in place. I filed a nice aerodynamic shape to the bracket. I would think the mirror adds drag but I have not noticed any measurable change in flights with such a small mirror. I guess if you had an FTC rocket it might be worse because the mirror would add so much more area relative to a bottle.

dwrrule wrote:Can someone give me an idea of how to get video facing the ground on take off. Will it affect the way the rocket flys if i put a mirror sticking out of the rocket?

I think it would be ok to put a mirror sticking out the side. The rocket may not go as high but you will get the video or photos you want looking down. I think that if you take an old plastic "easter egg" and make a cover for it it will help with the areo problems. I hope that this helps.

hey thanks for the ideas I like them!!!

dwrrule wrote:hey thanks for the ideas I like them!!!

I made a mirror out of a PVC pipe 90 degree elbow joint and it just fits over our camera lens. It has not been tested but it was real quick to make and when painted it's going to be colored to look like part of the camera. Speaking of color, is that green electrical tape you use on your rockets? If you do that to make the color match then that's a really nice touch! Where do you get it in colors?

yep thats green electrical tape but its hard to find

dwrrule wrote:yep thats green electrical tape but its hard to find

Heheh color matched trim? You guys are SERIOUS!

Yep got that right!!!! lol

Mark Chen wrote:

dwrrule wrote:hey thanks for the ideas I like them!!!

I made a mirror out of a PVC pipe 90 degree elbow joint and it just fits over our camera lens. It has not been tested but it was real quick to make and when painted it's going to be colored to look like part of the camera. Speaking of color, is that green electrical tape you use on your rockets? If you do that to make the color match then that's a really nice touch! Where do you get it in colors?

We haven't decided to fly Mark's idea yet. It's still too heavy. He needs to make it lighter before the captain of the team signs off on it! :P