Rocketry, Common Sense, and You

Common Sense in Rocketry

1. Don't try to use parachutes in any tubes smaller than an Estes BT-50 (0.976"). I've done that one before; barely anything was salvagable.

2. Don't use more recovery wadding than you need to. For most rockets, 2-3 sheets is enough; for models with a larger-diameter tube, you'll want to use 4-7, depending on the size.

3. Unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing, never attempt clustering motors. A crayon-shaped piggy bank was destroyed due to poor clustering methods. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Biggest fireball I've ever witnessed in rocketry.

4. Oh, yeah -- don't launch piggy banks, either. Always use balsa, cardboard, and light plastic for rockets, and NEVER anything else.

5. Don't launch near power lines, parked cars, or private estates. Always launch in a big, wide-open field, sometimes as big as multiple football fields stacked together.

6. Always use an audible 5-second countdown, especially if there are people passing by who are close to the launch pad.

7. During organized launches, never go to retrieve your rocket until the last person in the group has fired theirs. The launch personnel will tell you when it is all right to do so.

8. Don't put drag streamers in large or delicate models. Streamers are used for recovering small or lightweight rockets, or rockets that fly in excess of 1000 feet.

9. Don't paint your rockets with brush paint. They won't fly too well, seeing as though they gain a significant amount of weight from a coat of paint that's too thick.

10. If you have a rocket with a payload capsule, never use anything potentially dangerous as the cargo (i.e. rocks, nuts, bolts, etc.). If the payload capsule should open in midflight, it's not going to be pleasant when it's raining grapeshot on your launch site.

11. Don't fly any model with glide recovery unless it's balanced perfectly. On May 5, at an organized launch, some kid built one like this and it nearly took out a nearby jogger.

12. Always come to the launch site expecting the unexpected. Be sure to bring the following items: spare parts, glue, a plastic bag, steel wool (to polish launch rods), extra batteries for your launcher, a pocket knife, a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, water, and something to eat.

13. If the motor doesn't ignite the first time, TAKE THE SAFETY KEY OUT OF THE LAUNCHER. It could go off even if you don't press the button. Trust me, I know.

14. After every single launch, be sure to dispose of EVERY PIECE of garbage that came from your flight. This includes spent motors, burned igniters, and recovery wadding. (And the rocket, too, if you didn't follow steps 1 and/or 2.)

15. As fun -- and as funny -- as it is, don't glue cardboard fins and a launch lug directly to a motor and launch it. Those little suckers can go real fast and far without the REAL model rocket. This can cause a lot of problems with your neighbors.

16. Don't launch rockets powered by "D" motors in a small launch field. You'll never see them again. (That's why Maniac, after I found it for the second time, was scrapped for parts. It ended up in a neighbors yard and was found after a heavy rainstorm.)

17. When someone says to you, "I wouldn't launch that if I were you. You'll never see it again," take their advice. I shouldn't have launched my Estes Wizard in high wind, and that guy at the May 5 organized launch shouldn't have launched his three-staged Estes Comanche-3 that ended up on the mountain. Bummer.

18. Don't try to sythesize your own rocket propellant. Somewhere I read that, statistically, you have a one-in-seven chance of killing yourself on the first try. Really, I don't care if your a chemistry genius -- DON'T DO IT.