upgraded launcher with guide rails

[liftoff]

Hi everyone

I finally got tired of launching rockets horizontally so I added guide rails (still to be tested this weekend) I’ve done some dry launches in the back garden and it all seems to moving freely.

I have also been experimenting with glues (being in the UK and the wondrous PL Premium not available here) for splicing bottles and found the polyurthane glue (that is very runny and looks like honey)
I mixed it with some Easyfill (powdered form filler) at 2 parts filler with 1 part glue as advised on other websites (aircomandrockets) and it all bonds really well to the PET and other plastic components.

Here are some photos

Thanks

Dieter

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

Have you considered making a rocket with an internal launch tube instead of using guide rails? Just a thought because any time you have guide rails you have to use a certain diameter rocket or else you have to do a lot of over engineering to make the guide rails articulated. A lot of extra work can be eliminated if you use a launch tube because nothing needs to be adjusted when you switch to a different rocket.

[liftoff]

I have thought of launch tubes but havnt yet looked into the construction of it. have ordered some syringes to try and work on the parashute release and timing mechanism as used by the world record holders and surely many other. here is the link to the video of the launcher in use.

[Tim Chen]

I have thought of launch tubes but havnt yet looked into the construction of it. have ordered some syringes to try and work on the parashute release and timing mechanism as used by the world record holders and surely many other. here is the link to the video of the launcher in use.

I picked up about 20 feet of teflon "C" channel from a shipping company that went out of business near the park I play basketball. These workers had stripped out all the packaging equipment and were taking them for scrap metal. I asked the guy there if I could take the plastic and he said I could. It's teflon they use to make the packages slide easier and there were 2 pieces about 10 feet long I got. It just clips over the end of a sheetmetal piece but I could use a piece of thin bar stock or an I-beam as a rail and slide it over for a low friction guide.

[Andromeda]

I have thought of launch tubes but havnt yet looked into the construction of it. have ordered some syringes to try and work on the parashute release and timing mechanism as used by the world record holders and surely many other. here is the link to the video of the launcher in use.

I picked up about 20 feet of teflon "C" channel from a shipping company that went out of business near the park I play basketball. These workers had stripped out all the packaging equipment and were taking them for scrap metal. I asked the guy there if I could take the plastic and he said I could. It's teflon they use to make the packages slide easier and there were 2 pieces about 10 feet long I got. It just clips over the end of a sheetmetal piece but I could use a piece of thin bar stock or an I-beam as a rail and slide it over for a low friction guide.

Can you get this in a tube? It could slide over a pipe or rod for a launch rail or tube.

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

I have thought of launch tubes but havnt yet looked into the construction of it. have ordered some syringes to try and work on the parashute release and timing mechanism as used by the world record holders and surely many other. here is the link to the video of the launcher in use.

It's not clear where some of these rumors start, but we do not use syringes on our rockets and have not for many years.

[Brian]

AntiGravity Research used syringes for their recovery during their record flight.