Get 10% off your order at EstesRockets.com by using my coupon code: AWA10 at checkout! To learn more about model rocketry, check out The Handbook of Model Rocketry by G. Harry Stine and Bill Stine: amzn.to/35XRbCY (affiliate link) Another great book to check out about designing and building your own model rockets is Make: Rockets: Down-To-Earth Rocket Science by Mike Westerfield: amzn.to/3JkOB7z (affiliate link)
I have been playing with model rockets since I was 12 years old, in 1972. I got everything from Estes back then. It didn't take long before I got bored with building kits. So I started designing and building my own rockets. I also build my own launch pads and controllers, out of steel. My current launch pad is an older steel office chair base with the casters removed, a steel drill chuck to hold the launch rod (holds up to a 1/4" rod) and a steel turntable from an old phonograph as a blast deflector. It is heavy, solid, and well built. I had everything powder coated to make it look good. It does not come apart, except for the rod, but is small enough that it doesn't need to. It has 4 steel "legs" with a vertical tube at the end of each one, where the casters used to go. For a heavy rocket, I can put 8" spikes through those tubes and drive them into the ground to hold it securely in place. For a controller, I used an old steel cased computer network controller. I use a 50' orange outdoor extension cord from the controller to the pad. Despite being built out of various bits and pieces of a lot of different things, it looks much better and is much stronger than anything I have seen available commercially. I got into mid power rocketry for a while, but it just got too expensive. I recently retired, and went back to low power, D engines or smaller. I design and build my own rockets. I still do it the old fashioned way, with no computers. My goal is to get as much altitude as possible using engines no larger than a D. I've mostly used clustered and multistaged rockets. I've passed 3200 feet with nothing larger than a D engine. I have an agreement with a local farmer in central AZ to use his property as a launch site, as long as I don't let anybody else know about it. I used to be a member of the Superstition Spacemodeling Society, but they lost their launch site many years ago, and are now using a place over 100 miles away from where I live, which is just too far for me to go. I always launch my rockets out in the middle of nowhere the first time, just in case something goes wrong. I have never launched an unproven design with anyone else around. I make my own parachutes out of nylon. I sprinkle baby powder on them before packing them. I learned that when still using plastic chutes that tended to stick together after being folded. If you coat plastic parachutes with baby powder, they will still work after being stored for a while. I do use a snap swivel to attach the parachute lines to the nose cone, so if the rocket spins coming down, it won't twist up the lines. I also tend to use a single stage/upper stage engine with a slightly longer delay, to allow the rocket to fall a little more before the chute is ejected, and I do use a hole in the center of the chutes. I've had a few rockets float away and get lost. At 3000+ feet, the air current can carry a rocket for miles. I paint all my rockets gloss white and fluorescent orange to make them easier to see.
@@geraldscott4302 My six year old loves balloons, so I have a stock of old mylar birthday balloons and I make chutes out of those. Your launch setup sounds amazing.
Great video Dan! I’m not quite sure why the snap swivel hasn’t become the industry standard yet…….. I don’t know anyone that actually attaches permanently to the NC anymore. Very well produced tutorial! Thank you for sharing!
Nicely done. I also like to attach my parachutes with the colored side down. It makes the chute a little more visible when it comes out. But not a big deal at all.
Then you'll need some kind of attachment point for the shock cord and parachute. You could use a screw eye, or you can attach a loop of Kevlar line. With a plastic nose cone, for example, you can drill a couple of holes in the base of the cone, pass a bit of line through, and then tie it into a loop. But in order to safely recover all parts of your rocket, you'll need some way to keep the nose cone attached to the body of the rocket.
Get 10% off your order at EstesRockets.com by using my coupon code: AWA10 at checkout!
To learn more about model rocketry, check out The Handbook of Model Rocketry by G. Harry Stine and Bill Stine: amzn.to/35XRbCY (affiliate link)
Another great book to check out about designing and building your own model rockets is Make: Rockets: Down-To-Earth Rocket Science by Mike Westerfield: amzn.to/3JkOB7z (affiliate link)
This is great, Dan! Parachutes are one of the hardest, most underestimated parts of this stuff, as you know :)
Coming from you, this is high praise. Thanks, Joe!
Thanks for the tips, great ideas and information!
I have been playing with model rockets since I was 12 years old, in 1972. I got everything from Estes back then. It didn't take long before I got bored with building kits. So I started designing and building my own rockets. I also build my own launch pads and controllers, out of steel. My current launch pad is an older steel office chair base with the casters removed, a steel drill chuck to hold the launch rod (holds up to a 1/4" rod) and a steel turntable from an old phonograph as a blast deflector. It is heavy, solid, and well built. I had everything powder coated to make it look good. It does not come apart, except for the rod, but is small enough that it doesn't need to. It has 4 steel "legs" with a vertical tube at the end of each one, where the casters used to go. For a heavy rocket, I can put 8" spikes through those tubes and drive them into the ground to hold it securely in place. For a controller, I used an old steel cased computer network controller. I use a 50' orange outdoor extension cord from the controller to the pad. Despite being built out of various bits and pieces of a lot of different things, it looks much better and is much stronger than anything I have seen available commercially.
I got into mid power rocketry for a while, but it just got too expensive. I recently retired, and went back to low power, D engines or smaller. I design and build my own rockets. I still do it the old fashioned way, with no computers. My goal is to get as much altitude as possible using engines no larger than a D. I've mostly used clustered and multistaged rockets. I've passed 3200 feet with nothing larger than a D engine. I have an agreement with a local farmer in central AZ to use his property as a launch site, as long as I don't let anybody else know about it. I used to be a member of the Superstition Spacemodeling Society, but they lost their launch site many years ago, and are now using a place over 100 miles away from where I live, which is just too far for me to go. I always launch my rockets out in the middle of nowhere the first time, just in case something goes wrong. I have never launched an unproven design with anyone else around.
I make my own parachutes out of nylon. I sprinkle baby powder on them before packing them. I learned that when still using plastic chutes that tended to stick together after being folded. If you coat plastic parachutes with baby powder, they will still work after being stored for a while. I do use a snap swivel to attach the parachute lines to the nose cone, so if the rocket spins coming down, it won't twist up the lines. I also tend to use a single stage/upper stage engine with a slightly longer delay, to allow the rocket to fall a little more before the chute is ejected, and I do use a hole in the center of the chutes. I've had a few rockets float away and get lost. At 3000+ feet, the air current can carry a rocket for miles. I paint all my rockets gloss white and fluorescent orange to make them easier to see.
@@geraldscott4302 My six year old loves balloons, so I have a stock of old mylar birthday balloons and I make chutes out of those. Your launch setup sounds amazing.
Hey Buddy great video informative and very well produced learnt somethibg new about folding too love that sprint !!!
This was very informative, thank you.
Great video Dan! I’m not quite sure why the snap swivel hasn’t become the industry standard yet…….. I don’t know anyone that actually attaches permanently to the NC anymore.
Very well produced tutorial! Thank you for sharing!
@@KevinsModels Some small model rocket companies include a snap swivel with kits. I love 'em!
Nice camera work and editing!
Thanks! I had a lot of fun editing this one.
Nicely done!
Thanks, Tyler! I enjoyed making this one.
Excellent video.
Thank you! I worked hard to make it as good and clear as I could!
Nicely done. I also like to attach my parachutes with the colored side down. It makes the chute a little more visible when it comes out. But not a big deal at all.
That's a cool tip!
Rocket Noob, great video! What is a better chute PINK or YELLOW!!!!
@@StuartGreenley Depends on the weather - yellow during sunny skies, pink if it's overcast.
Back in the day, I would use baby powder on the plastic chutes to break any tension. Also adds a puff during deployment that can be seen.
I do the same!
5:05 never cook again 🔥🔥
Okie dokie.
What if you don’t have a loop on the nose cone
Then you'll need some kind of attachment point for the shock cord and parachute. You could use a screw eye, or you can attach a loop of Kevlar line.
With a plastic nose cone, for example, you can drill a couple of holes in the base of the cone, pass a bit of line through, and then tie it into a loop.
But in order to safely recover all parts of your rocket, you'll need some way to keep the nose cone attached to the body of the rocket.