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Principal |
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The basic principal of a rocket is that once the combustable pyrotechnic composition is burning huge amounts of pressure are released. Unlike an aerial shell, where the energy is released at once in a boom a rocket keeps pressure throughout the majority of its flight. |
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Pros |
- Rockets can fly huge distances.
- Makes lots of noise.
- Goes extremley fast.
- A compartment at the top of the rocket can be filled with stars and minature salutes......to give a nice effect.
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Cons |
- Very dangerous due to the fact that if a rack of rockets was to fall over and point into the crowd once ignited, it will travell unitll it runs out of fuel serverly injuring people.
- Can be difficult to make.
- Limmited payload.
If all does go well and the rocket fires properly there is still a chance that the stabalising "fin/s" or "tail" may fall into the crowd and poke someones eye out.
Illegal in Australia due to saftety.
A simple Blackpowder rocket is a good beginners project. Although it usually takes some time to make your first rocket that flies it is well worth itThe Materials that you need are:-
casing. this should have a 1/2" ID and should have walls approx 0.5-1cm thick. It should be about 12cm in length
Rammer. The rammer should just nicely slide down the tube that you make.
Former. This is what you roll your casing on. It should be slightly wider in Diameter than your rammer for obvious reasons.
Fuel. The most important part. People often reccomend the typical Sugar/KNO3 mix. However i have never had much success with that so it is perfectly reasonable to move straight into Greenmix/Mealpowder.
Bentonite Clay. This can be obtained from ceramic suppliers. It is used in making your nozzle and endplug.
Drill bit. Use one that you dont want because after you use it a few times it won't be too good for drilling. It should be 1/3 of the ID of your case.
There will be other basic things that you usually dont need to specially get so i will not list themNow, that everything is together we can get to work :-).
OK grab your tube and put it on a sturdy platform. Place approx 1 heaped teaspoon of Bentonite in. Ram this solidly with a mallet or hammer. Test the strength of the plug you just made flicking it as hard as you can, If it seems strong enough then Nozzle blow-outs should not be a problem. The plug should be about 1/2" high.Now slowly pour some greenmix/Mealpowder into your tube and after each portion is added give a few swift knocks on the rammer with your mallet. When your about 1/2" from the top you stop. The powder should be very hard and if you can move it about with your finger RAM HARDER !!
Some bentonite clay should be put into the top and rammed and this repeated until the small cavity is full. It is important to remember which is nozzle ( the plug which you first rammed, the part that will have the hole in it soon) and which is endplug.Now take your drill bit which is 1/3 the ID of the casing and sit it firmly in a vice. Now center the rocket's "nozzle to be" on top of the bit and firmly twist it on...try and make it as straight and central as possible. However as this is just a beginners rocket it shouldn't matter terribly. If you are using meal straight from the mill make the core ( the hole you are making) 1/4 of the length of the tube, if greenmix 3/4. You can always adjust these to suit your needs and problems.
Obtain some BBQ skewers that are 1ft long and tape two to the rocket side by side then one end to end with these two.
Masking tape does a good job of this. Put this rocket in a bottle, insert fuse and of course...retire.
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