Delta twin booster rocket

Post photos and videos of your rocket, launches and your onboard video or photos here. A wide variety of formats supported including attachments and embedded youtube.
danb
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 4:30 am

Delta twin booster rocket

Post by danb »

Over the past three months i have been designing and experimenting constructing a twin boostered rocket ive named it after NASA's Delta rocket as it has the same design the rocket is still under construction im hoping for a launch in August theres only a few bits left to complete i have not measured its total capacity yet but i think it should be around the 7L mark the sustainer and boosters are made from 1L bottles the boosters have a 10mm nozzle and the sustainer has a 7mm nozzle this will be lauched at 120 psi with a water foam mix for the sustainer and water only for boosters i will update over the next month on how the rocket is developing.
Attachments
2011 07 24_0306.jpg
2011 07 24_0306.jpg (1.44 MiB) Viewed 115 times
2011 07 24_0305.jpg
2011 07 24_0305.jpg (1.36 MiB) Viewed 115 times
2011 07 24_0303.jpg
2011 07 24_0303.jpg (1.68 MiB) Viewed 115 times
User avatar
U.S. Water Rockets1
WRA2 Member
WRA2 Member
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:24 pm

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by U.S. Water Rockets1 »

That's a very impressive looking rocket! Please post a report of your launches because you are one of the few people with a dual booster design and there's very little examples available showing how these designs behave. It would be interesting to see how this performs compared to those people using 3 or 4 boosters. Do you think it will spin a lot or what?
Team U.S. Water Rockets
Visit USWaterRockets.com
Visit our Blog
Tune in to our YouTube Channel
Visit our Facebook page
Visit our Twitter Page
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. --Thomas Edison
User avatar
Tim Chen
WRA2 Member
WRA2 Member
Posts: 871
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 1:44 am

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by Tim Chen »

danb wrote:Over the past three months i have been designing and experimenting constructing a twin boostered rocket ive named it after NASA's Delta rocket as it has the same design the rocket is still under construction im hoping for a launch in August theres only a few bits left to complete i have not measured its total capacity yet but i think it should be around the 7L mark the sustainer and boosters are made from 1L bottles the boosters have a 10mm nozzle and the sustainer has a 7mm nozzle this will be lauched at 120 psi with a water foam mix for the sustainer and water only for boosters i will update over the next month on how the rocket is developing.
That's a really cool looking rocket!

Can you explain what you used for the booster connection mechanism? It looks somewhat complicated. Thanks!
Tim Chen
Captain, Team Enterprise
danb
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 4:30 am

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by danb »

many thanks for the encouraging comments i personally think it wont fly as well as a 3 or more booster rocket but we will have to see how i connect the boosters are not complicated i use the same idea as George from air command coat hanger wire and aluminium tubing check out his website it explains it more clearly as the rocket is nearly finished im hoping to launch it in 2 weeks time i will post up any news.
User avatar
WRA2
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 1089
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:30 pm

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by WRA2 »

danb wrote:many thanks for the encouraging comments i personally think it wont fly as well as a 3 or more booster rocket but we will have to see how i connect the boosters are not complicated i use the same idea as George from air command coat hanger wire and aluminium tubing check out his website it explains it more clearly as the rocket is nearly finished im hoping to launch it in 2 weeks time i will post up any news.
Nice job on your rocket but you might want to try and redesign the booster connections using non-metallic parts. Should your rocket explode the metal parts (especially the wire hangers) could become deadly projectiles. Also you could save weight too if you used a lightweight plastic in place of the metal. Metal components are not recommended on the pressurized portions of the rocket. :!:
Lisa Walker,
:WRA2: Forum Administrator. :WRA2:
:WRA2:The Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association :WRA2:
User avatar
Team Seneca
WRA2 Member
WRA2 Member
Posts: 242
Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:40 am

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by Team Seneca »

danb wrote:many thanks for the encouraging comments i personally think it wont fly as well as a 3 or more booster rocket but we will have to see how i connect the boosters are not complicated i use the same idea as George from air command coat hanger wire and aluminium tubing check out his website it explains it more clearly as the rocket is nearly finished im hoping to launch it in 2 weeks time i will post up any news.
Even after his rocket blew up and turned into a fragmentation IED that reduced his launcher to metal confetti, he still encourages people to build rockets using solid steel wire? I hope nobody gets hurt because it will be on his shoulders!

There are plenty of plastic bits that you can use to connect boosters. I urge you to reconsider the use of metal bits.
Bill W.
Team Seneca
User avatar
Brian
WRA2 Member
WRA2 Member
Posts: 496
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:02 am

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by Brian »

How does your bosters recovery rystem work?
How are the parachutes held on?
Ascender Water Rockets
http://ascenderwaterrockets.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2NHXS-VFxEux70DCINR0w
danb
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 4:30 am

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by danb »

The main stage has a side deployment recovery system the parachutes on the boosters are held by 2 strips of pet which have a hinge then wire goes through the hinge which is connected to the main stage, when the boosters stop producing thrust they fall away from the sustainer which pulls the wire out of the hinge which releases the parchutes hope this helps. And to reply about the metallic parts on the booster i fully understand that they can be lethal projectiles but George has proved that plastic can not stand the force that the boosters puts on the sustainer i personally would not blame air command if it caused myself injury. can anyone share any ideas of plastic parts that can be used to connect the boosters?
Dan B
User avatar
U.S. Water Rockets2
WRA2 Member
WRA2 Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:57 pm

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by U.S. Water Rockets2 »

Coat hanger wire (or screws, rivets, brackets, etc.) can become dangerous shrapnel in an explosion. That is why it is against the rules in 99% of all water rocket copmpetitions. You would be hard pressed to find one that allows metal connected to the pressure vessel like this. Independent of that you are free to use anything you want if you are in control of the launch area and are responsible for any accidents. If you are being safe you can experiment with whatever you like.

Based on our own experiments we can assure you that hanger wire is simply too malleable for high pressure water rockets. You need something a lot stiffer. It would pull through the receptacles like taffy during a high pressure launch, unless you doubled or tripled it up or added multiple connection brackets to spread the load. This increases the chances for a snag or malfunction.

For the the size and pressure your rocket appears to be, we suggest using hardwood or fiberglass dowels for hooks and polycarbonate tube receptacles:

http://www.hobbyexpress.com/psearch/svc ... ls&x=0&y=0
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/polyca ... alog/N-aa5

PVC pipe is also very effective for load bearing structures, and is super cheap and easy to work with.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/pvc-an ... a0Z1z13lqv

For a high pressure rocket (or high structural loads on a very large/heavy low-medium pressure rocket) you may decide to use carbon fiber rods and tubes.
http://www.hobbyexpress.com/carbon_fiber_402_ctg.htm

Every rocket is different and what works for one person doesn't make it the only solution (or the best one). We encourage people to take what has been done before and refine and improve it.
User avatar
Team Seneca
WRA2 Member
WRA2 Member
Posts: 242
Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:40 am

Re: Delta twin booster rocket

Post by Team Seneca »

danb wrote:George has proved that plastic can not stand the force that the boosters puts on the sustainer
BO: RO1 EK:
Bill W.
Team Seneca