Re: A newbie question . . . for the new path I am taking


Cranny Dane wrote:
> Tom the Canuck wrote
> > I want to get away from that. I plan on rolling my own rocket
> > engines and using homemade black powder for the propellant.
> >I just need to know the theory and ratios
> > to make a stick stabilized engine fly. You know, take engine, attach
> > stick, light fuse, see rocket fly type of thing. I know the center of
>
>
> Hi Tom,
>
> if you want to make BP stick rocekts that you lite with a fuse, you might
> try rec.pyrotechnics instead.
>
> most of r.m.r is factory built rocket engines.
>
> the skill here in r.m.r is in building the airframes, competition, scale,
> and science payloads.
>

Cranny Dane,
I already read rec.pyrotechnics. Another interesting NG.
There must be science, mathematics, and common sense
behind the design of a new rocket. There are lots of things
to consider, aerodynamics, drag, weight, stability, etc.
I don't want to be spoon fed with kits. I want to start from
scratch and do everything myself. If I can make my own
equivalent of an Estes engine what would be the difference?
Down to the ultimate question, home made or store bought,
if they perform the same what's the difference?
OK, r.m.r has the focus on airframes, scale and payloads.
Can we not share some of that design methodology?
Maybe in five years I will design a scientific payload that
everybody might want to buy. Heck, 26 years of designing
embedded systems and instrumentation and products can be
used to do what I just mentioned above. I designed the
hardware and wrote the firmware. I designed 911 systems.
If you live in the US, your local PSAP probably has our
equipment installed to serve you in case of an emergency.
Does that qualify me to design the payload in the future?

Look, all I asked was to get basic info to design a rocket.
OK, the 'stick' rocket question was a starting point. Can
I not start small and work my way up? Is that not the start
of the path to learn more about rocketry when the goal is
to do everything yourself? Ignorance can be bliss for some,
but my mind keeps looking for new things to do and learn.
Please help me follow my chosen path.

All of you must have started somewhere to get to the point
where you are now. Are you willing to share what you have
learned with others? Simply, all I ask is knowledge, is that
an evil in this NG? None of that 'buy this kit and build it',
assembling pieces was learned when we were young and
had a set of blocks. Designing the set of blocks is my goal,
get the analogy.

Oh, I forgot to mention this, 1/4watt 10ohm metal film resistors
when connected to a battery of 12VDC with 1Ah capacity tend to
smoke, turn red, and burst into flame. And they are cheap, $0.005
each in large volumes. But then again you could use a strand of
wire from a pad of steel wool with maybe a dab of BP and dextrin added
to coat the steel wool. Why buy when you can make your own for less.
There you go, electric ignition, no fuse lighting, are you happy now?
(let's not forget the relay to minimize the IR drop of the wire to
launch
the rocket. Use 16AWG to wire the relay to the battery and igniter. Use
22AWG wire to operate the relay. As Homer Simpson says "Duh!")

Tom the Canuck.


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