Model Rocketry

16 August 2014 (SpaceX Falcon 9 model rocket design in OpenRocket)

Since my goal is to put extra stuff in the rocket, it's a good idea to find out how it might fly before I try to launch it. Some friends told me about OpenRocket design and simulation software and that it happens to be free to download! :-) I got a hold of a scale and calipers to weigh and measure all the parts to make the design and simulation as accurate as possible. In some cases, the software wouldn't allow me to duplicate the design exactly. In those cases, I made sure to at least get the weight right. Below is a view of the design along with mass components in the nose representing the altimeter and two cameras. Double-click on the picture to see a larger view.

13 July 2014 (SpaceX Falcon 9 model rocket kit)

My Falcon 9 arrived last Wednesday! I'm going to install a payload on this one. At least one camera and a Jolly Logic altimeter.

28 June 2014

One of the first model rockets I've experimented with recently is the Estes "Hi-Flier". It is supposed to go around 1500 ft high. Mine never went that high and that's good because it was often hard to find being so small. I launched this thing probably more than a dozen times before I retired it. This is some of the flight data that I recorded using a Jolly Logic AltimeterTwo (pre-2014 version). 24 May 2014 was the last day I flew it. It was getting really beat up by that point.