Me and My Dad Having a Top Laugh
It's not every day you get to have a go at rocketry. We built it, loaded the camera, carried it out onto the common (To a rousing chorus of "It'll Never Work") and set up the ignition system.
How exciting! This rocket is launched electronically, shoots five hundred feet up into the air on a gunpowder engine, then blasts apart to deploy a parachute and take pictures with its nose cone camera.
At least that's the theory.
You can't exactly see it on the photo, but the rocket is about twelve feet in front of Chris. The Official Photographer was finding it difficult to get to grips with the technology, but at least Chris managed to count backwards from ten, even if I wasn't able to get the key fitted in time for the launch. Oh well. It wouldn't be a rocket launch without a few last minute hitches, would it?
Anyway. Guess what? It actually worked!
And five hundred feet up is a bloody long way!
I can't recommend these things enough. Next time we launch I'll leave the mechanics to Chris and try to take some decent snaps, and if the aerial photos develop I'll be sure to post them.
Awesome. Snapshot rockets are available from Estes. You KNOW you want one!
(Photography by David Bailey)
posted by David at 20:28
3 Comments:
Being a fan of budget terroristical toys like custard bombs, water rockets and tatty bazookas I was recently thrilled to be offered the chance to do launch controller duty with one of these. Highly recommended.
1:36 pm
Got a tip for you, which I tried at a launch this weekend. Put a teaspoon of chalk dust into the rocket on top of the parachute. When seperation occurs you get a nice big cloud, shows you just how high the rocket goes. It works really well. If chalk dust isn't available flour works too, but is NOT recommended. The ejection charge could ignite the flour/air mixture (just like the above mentioned custard bomb, or indeed a FAE*) which 1) contravenes the rocketry code of practice (don't launch explosive payloads) and 2) could damage the rocket. Chalk dust is available in red and blue from Screwfix direct, £1.89 for loads. Red's prolly best.
* FAE = Fuel Air Explosive, a very powerful military weapon. Co-incidentally, the letters of this acronym all appear in today's verification word. In correct order.
10:39 pm
Woo Hoo! Thanks for the tip. Chris is working out how to get his hamster in on the act.
3:56 pm
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