bugwubber wrote:You didn't say it had a cap firing warhead!
Do they even make/sell "caps" these days???
There was a time when you could drop a rock on a whole roll of caps and get a nice satisfying report.
I've seen plastic caps but I don't think I have seen roll caps in awhile. There's some memories. We have a JMCremps store to ensure our kids have aceess to the childhood we had. They sell those metal cap bombs that you throw.
bugwubber wrote:You didn't say it had a cap firing warhead!
Do they even make/sell "caps" these days???
There was a time when you could drop a rock on a whole roll of caps and get a nice satisfying report.
I've seen plastic caps but I don't think I have seen roll caps in awhile. There's some memories. We have a JMCremps store to ensure our kids have aceess to the childhood we had. They sell those metal cap bombs that you throw.
I had one as a kid. It would go 300+ feet. It was large. Maybe 3 feet total. 2nd stage was about 6 inches, and looked like a Flash Gordon rocket. Had a rubber tip with 2 metal plates to place caps inside, so it banged when it hit. 1st stage was held back by a staked string, that connected to a clip that joined both stages. Once the string was taut, it released the 2nd stage, and the 1st stage fell back down.
Google Patents has some very detailed drawings and info on this toy, for those who were wanting to know how it works.
Seems Mr. John Ryan was involved:
I had a couple of these little pump rockets when I was young, and I *SO* want to find one again. I talked to a guy on YouTube who bought his at Cape Kennedy, and, while I am not going anywhere near there anytime soon, I live near the Strong Museum of Play and hopefully can score one there. (Wonder if they have anything about water rockets there... that'd be a good excuse to motivate me into finally going!)
Why your rocket is unstable = CN⍺1/2⍴v2⍺Ar
Northeast Pataphysical Institute, Aerospace Division
I bought one of those small pump water rocket toys at Cape Canaveral about 2 years ago. It's what got my son interested in building our own water rocket.
I remember a 2-stage version from when I was a kid. I saw it in the stores and always wanted one, but never got one.
The negative reviews agree with my experience. The pump is poorly made. My son can pump it a couple of times but once the pressure increases enough, the internal valve in the pump can't hold it back, and you need to hold the handle in with a lot of force to keep it pressurized. Definitely lower quality than what I had as a kid. That said, the rocket works pretty well, going up pretty high, at least 50 feet or so.
anachronist wrote:The negative reviews agree with my experience. The pump is poorly made. My son can pump it a couple of times but once the pressure increases enough, the internal valve in the pump can't hold it back, and you need to hold the handle in with a lot of force to keep it pressurized. Definitely lower quality than what I had as a kid. That said, the rocket works pretty well, going up pretty high, at least 50 feet or so.
Hm, wonder how hard it would be to either fix the pump, or adapt the similarly-oriented mini bike pump I have. Hmmmm....
Why your rocket is unstable = CN⍺1/2⍴v2⍺Ar
Northeast Pataphysical Institute, Aerospace Division
There was a 10ft. string attached to the metal clip that fit between the booster and 2nd stage. The other end was attached to the launch pad. At 10ft., the clip was pulled and the booster separated from the 2nd stage. The booster flew to about 50ft., and the 2nd stage flew almost out of sight. I was 10 years old, and after several flights with my father's close supervision, I flew that rocket safely many times.