Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

This forum is for new members to introduce themselves and tell us how they got started in water rocketry.
Andrewlee
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Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Andrewlee »

Hey there,
My name is Andrew (Jason, you'll see me go by both) Harwood. I am from Tulsa, Ok USA. I have been building water rockets/water jets now for 11 years. My unofficial personal height record is just short of 1100 feet. But that rocket has long since bit the dust (blew up on the stand at 115 PSI, there was a crick in the plastic, and it ruptured there).
My goal is to eventually build a water rocket that has the ability to reach heights of 5280 feet. As of now I intend to do this using a 3 stage system. But, that is still a fair number years away from me.
I am currently in college seeking a double major in History and Aviation, with a minor in meteorology. I eventually plan to finish, and get an Aeronautical Engineering degree while I work on my PHD in History.
Between the violin, motorcycles, Sailing, Backpacking, and college, this is one of my favorite hobbies.

Nice to meet you All
The Rocket Man
-Andrew Lee Harwood
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick"
-Andrew Lee

http://thruststormrockets.blogspot.com/
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rockets-in-brighton
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by rockets-in-brighton »

Welcome to the forum, Andrew! I can't fault your ambition, and we all look forward to seeing your ideas.

There are some interesting discussions going on at the moment, about high performance rockets and very ambitious height targets - including the world record holders and what we are assuming is a shot at 3000 feet.
Cheers
Steve
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by WRA2 »

Andrewlee wrote:Hey there,
My name is Andrew (Jason, you'll see me go by both) Harwood. I am from Tulsa, Ok USA. I have been building water rockets/water jets now for 11 years. My unofficial personal height record is just short of 1100 feet. But that rocket has long since bit the dust (blew up on the stand at 115 PSI, there was a crick in the plastic, and it ruptured there).
My goal is to eventually build a water rocket that has the ability to reach heights of 5280 feet. As of now I intend to do this using a 3 stage system. But, that is still a fair number years away from me.
I am currently in college seeking a double major in History and Aviation, with a minor in meteorology. I eventually plan to finish, and get an Aeronautical Engineering degree while I work on my PHD in History.
Between the violin, motorcycles, Sailing, Backpacking, and college, this is one of my favorite hobbies.

Nice to meet you All
The Rocket Man
-Andrew Lee Harwood
Welcome to the forum and to the WRA2 Andrew, Since you are planning on competing with a multi-stage rocket which will be classified as a WRA2 Class B rocket. The Class B rules can be found at:

:WRA2: http://www.wra2.org/WRA2_Class_B_Rules.php :WRA2:

:W
Lisa Walker,
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:WRA2:The Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association :WRA2:
Andrewlee
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Andrewlee »

Correction, single stage hieght was in the 950 feet area, double was 1000-1100, using the same design as the Millinuim. No, i actually plan to do both. My ultimate goal is to have a record in either, but the mile high goal is with a multi stage design. Btw, I am a huge fan of your rocket, congrats on getting onto Mythbusters, all though I still think the jet pack could've worked
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick"
-Andrew Lee

http://thruststormrockets.blogspot.com/
Andrewlee
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Andrewlee »

Sorry, i misread, Im a little dislexic, I thought it said US WR on the thing. Thanks for the welcome admin.
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick"
-Andrew Lee

http://thruststormrockets.blogspot.com/
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by WRA2 »

Andrewlee wrote:Correction, single stage hieght was in the 950 feet area, double was 1000-1100, using the same design as the Millinuim. No, i actually plan to do both. My ultimate goal is to have a record in either, but the mile high goal is with a multi stage design.
The single stage is classified as a WRA2 class A rocket. The class A competition rules are found at:

:WRA2: http://www.wra2.org/WRA2_Class_A_Rules.php :WRA2:

The class A world record is currently 2044 Feet. (623m) and is held by the Team U.S. Water Rockets

The Class B record is currently 1060 Feet.(323m) which was set by Bruce Berggren with a non compliant rocket and is grandfathered as the record as it was set prior to the formation of the WRA2.

Keep watching our 1000 foot challenge page for details on the 2009 WRA2 1000 foot challenge.

If you have any questions or need clarification on any of the rules please post them in our rules discussion forum:

:WRA2: http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=32 :WRA2:

Good Luck!
Lisa Walker,
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:WRA2:The Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association :WRA2:
Andrewlee
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Andrewlee »

Thanks again. I read all the rules for AB and C this morning. I look forward to future attemps at 1000 feet, and the record
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick"
-Andrew Lee

http://thruststormrockets.blogspot.com/
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Tim Chen
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Tim Chen »

Andrewlee wrote:Hey there,
My name is Andrew (Jason, you'll see me go by both) Harwood. I am from Tulsa, Ok USA. I have been building water rockets/water jets now for 11 years. My unofficial personal height record is just short of 1100 feet. But that rocket has long since bit the dust (blew up on the stand at 115 PSI, there was a crick in the plastic, and it ruptured there).
My goal is to eventually build a water rocket that has the ability to reach heights of 5280 feet. As of now I intend to do this using a 3 stage system. But, that is still a fair number years away from me.
I am currently in college seeking a double major in History and Aviation, with a minor in meteorology. I eventually plan to finish, and get an Aeronautical Engineering degree while I work on my PHD in History.
Between the violin, motorcycles, Sailing, Backpacking, and college, this is one of my favorite hobbies.

Nice to meet you All
The Rocket Man
-Andrew Lee Harwood
Welcome to the forum!

It seems like there's more and more really experienced water rocket flyers coming out and about once again. I guess everyone has been hibernating for the winter! I can't wait to see you reproduce and beat your personal best!
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by U.S. Water Rockets1 »

Andrewlee wrote:Correction, single stage hieght was in the 950 feet area, double was 1000-1100, using the same design as the Millinuim. No, i actually plan to do both. My ultimate goal is to have a record in either, but the mile high goal is with a multi stage design. Btw, I am a huge fan of your rocket, congrats on getting onto Mythbusters, all though I still think the jet pack could've worked
Thanks! It was great fun working with the Mythbusters people. Unfortunately, they had done their work on the jetpack long before they contacted us, so there was nothing we could have done at that time to get them to improve the jetpack test.
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Cloud Dancers »

Andrewlee wrote:Hey there,
My name is Andrew (Jason, you'll see me go by both) Harwood. I am from Tulsa, Ok USA. I have been building water rockets/water jets now for 11 years. My unofficial personal height record is just short of 1100 feet. But that rocket has long since bit the dust (blew up on the stand at 115 PSI, there was a crick in the plastic, and it ruptured there).
My goal is to eventually build a water rocket that has the ability to reach heights of 5280 feet. As of now I intend to do this using a 3 stage system. But, that is still a fair number years away from me.
I am currently in college seeking a double major in History and Aviation, with a minor in meteorology. I eventually plan to finish, and get an Aeronautical Engineering degree while I work on my PHD in History.
Between the violin, motorcycles, Sailing, Backpacking, and college, this is one of my favorite hobbies.

Nice to meet you All
The Rocket Man
-Andrew Lee Harwood

Welcome to the forum :W

Can you tell us more about your rocket that flew to 1100 feet?
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Andrewlee
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Andrewlee »

It was a two stage, bottom stage was made of 3-2 liters joined together, with a second stage of of a rocket made of the old Sam's choice water bottles, 5 stacked on top of one another. We guesstimated on the altitude. using a compass, and Pythagorean theorem So its more like 1100 +/- 150 feet. The staging mechanism was a like the crushing tube one. The Launch pressure was at or around 130PSI.
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick"
-Andrew Lee

http://thruststormrockets.blogspot.com/
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Cloud Dancers »

Andrewlee wrote:It was a two stage, bottom stage was made of 3-2 liters joined together, with a second stage of of a rocket made of the old Sam's choice water bottles, 5 stacked on top of one another. We guesstimated on the altitude. using a compass, and Pythagorean theorem So its more like 1100 +/- 150 feet. The staging mechanism was a like the crushing tube one. The Launch pressure was at or around 130PSI.
Those Sam's choice bottles are probably the closest thing to "hard bottles" we have in the U.S.A. Thanks for the info.
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Andrewlee
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Andrewlee »

Yeah, the only problem is that they went to making these flimsy bottle now..... now I have to buy Club Soda to get the good bottles again
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick"
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Tim Chen
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by Tim Chen »

Andrewlee wrote:Yeah, the only problem is that they went to making these flimsy bottle now..... now I have to buy Club Soda to get the good bottles again
I found some hard bottles after a concert not too long ago. They don't want people getting into fights or throwing glass bottles around, so all beverages come in plastic bottles. I got some Coors beet bottles made from PET, and they are a lot sturdier than soda bottles! The main problem is the shape. They have the long skinny necks typical of glass beer bottles. They are brown too, which is a little ugly.

But, Batkiter's method of shaping bottles may help fix the shape. There could be some promise in these bottles after all.
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Re: Hello from Tulsa Oklahoma

Post by rockets-in-brighton »

Tim Chen wrote:
Andrewlee wrote:Yeah, the only problem is that they went to making these flimsy bottle now..... now I have to buy Club Soda to get the good bottles again
I found some hard bottles after a concert not too long ago. They don't want people getting into fights or throwing glass bottles around, so all beverages come in plastic bottles. I got some Coors beet bottles made from PET, and they are a lot sturdier than soda bottles! The main problem is the shape. They have the long skinny necks typical of glass beer bottles. They are brown too, which is a little ugly.

But, Batkiter's method of shaping bottles may help fix the shape. There could be some promise in these bottles after all.
The thicker bottles I have used are the same shape, with long narrow necks. I think that shape makes for a good flow to the nozzle, but I have no experimental evidence for that.

I don't know if the neck region would stretch to the same width as the body using hot water alone, maybe it could be encouraged with extra heat?
Cheers
Steve
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