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T O L L F R E E

MAGAZINE CONTENTS[ march 2002 ]

Featuresfeatured articles in this issue

4 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2002

18 Experimental Rocketry[ by: stan hazlewood ]

Interested in getting started in experimental rock-etry? Stan Hazlewood has written a introductory arti-cle to give you the background you need to get upand going with your next experimental project.

24 Building the Apollo/Saturn 1b[ by: jeff brundt ]

Jeff Brundt provides step-by-step instructions on howhe constructed a scratch built Apollo/Saturn 1b rock-et. The article includes photos of the construction anddetailed text explaining how he created this realisticscale model of the 1b rocket.

33 Dave Triano Interview[ by: brent mcneely ]

Dave Triano has very strong opinions on rocket con-struction and rocket regulatory issues. We suspect youwill either be nodding your head in agreement withwhat he says, or be flaming mad about some of hisopinions. Regardless, you’ll get to read an exclusiveinterview with the founder of Shadow Composites.

About the CoverOne of the biggest experimental launches

each year is held at the Black Rock Desertnorthwest of Reno, NV. The launch is knowas Balls. The cover photo and centerfold thismonth is of the Max-Q project which flew atBalls 2000. This rocket was enormous as youcan see. It took a big team to get the rocketready to fly. Unfortunately the parachutestuck inside the rocket and didn’t deploy.The result was a crushed rocket. ExtremeRocketry was given the nose cone which isnow sitting in our offices.

Correction from Previous IssuesOn p. 46 of the Jan issue we printed incor-

rect information about the PET2 timer.Missile Works informed us that “both timerchannels can be set to either timing range.”

No other typos or corrections were report-ed by our readers! Corrections should beemailed to [email protected] ormailed to Extreme Rocketry, 109 E.Charleston, Ste. 101, Las Vegas, NV 89104.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2002 5

MAGAZINE CONTENTS[ march 2002 ]

Departmentsregular stuff that appears in each issue

6 Editor’s Note[ by: brent mcneely ]What the big man himself has to say.

8 Reader’s Letters[ by: readers, of course! ]Comments and criticism from our favorite people.

10 Reader Photos[ by: reader/photographers ]Hey, I know that guy!

12 Hot Products[ by: manufacturers ]The latest and greatest rocket gear we could find!

14 Tips & Tricks[ by: tim quigg ]Here’s some helpful hints for everyone into rocketry.

16 Rocket Basics[ by: tim quigg ]Choosing a level 1 certification rocket, part two.

42 Odd Projects[ by: bob shultz ]See what happens when you mix strobes and rockets.

44 Product Review[ by: steve ainsworth ]A book review!

48 Launch Calendar[ by: aerotech ]A listing of launches for the month of March.

50 Aft Closure[ by: scott goebel ]A strong opinion from an avid rocket flyer.

EDITOR’S NOTE[ by: brent mcneely ]

I messed up!centerfold controversy influences reconsideration

Iadmit it—I was wrong! Boy, was I wrong! I made many assumptions whenwe published our January 2002 issue of the magazine. Some of them wereright on the money, but my one major mistake appears to have been the

centerfold. When I first started the magazine two years ago, I wanted to do something

different from what the other magazines were doing. I wanted somethingthat was timely and where you got the number of issues you paid for. I alsowanted to publish better articles and add some interviews, so the average Joecould find out more about those who are shaping the future of rocketry. Oneof the ideas I considered early on was doing a swimsuit-type centerfold likethose found in hot rod and sports magazines. I viewed rocketry primarily as aguy’s hobby like the others. But, I didn’t have the photos to use for the cen-terfold, and didn’t want to spend the money to have a photographer takethem for me. As a result, I ran the best photos of rockets I could find in thecenterfold of each issue.

Then in late November 2001, we received the photo that we published forthe centerfold of the January 2002 issue. The photo features a girlfriend of arocket flier and his rocket. I thought the photo was clever and would bring asmile to the face of my readers. However, that was not what happened. Whathappened was the most reader feedback we’ve had to date. About half ofthe email was constructive criticism about why we should reconsider havingbikini girls with rockets for our centerfolds, accompanied by a polite requestthat we reconsider publishing photos like this. Various reasons were given,many of which I had never considered before. At the other extreme, wereceived a good portion of email and letters that could best be described as“flame mail.” This email was not at all constructive, but simply expressed theanger of the magazine reader and how they felt when they saw the photo.Some women wrote in, mostly with constructive input on the issue.

We finally decided to run a poll on our website to see how many peopleliked the new centerfold. We thought there was a chance that many of thosewho liked the new centerfold would fail to write in. However, the results ofthe poll confirmed that a good portion of our readership simply did not likethe content. The final result of the poll was 58% were in favor, 9% undecid-ed, and 33% opposed. Granted, the “majority” liked the centerfold, but itwas nowhere near the percentage needed to make it a regular part of ourmagazine. If we had over 90% favoring the women and rockets centerfoldtheme, then we would continue to run it. But, with 33% opposed, it just was-n’t wise.

One person wrote in stating that they believed we ran the centerfold just tocreate a media spin of debate about the centerfold to draw attention to themagazine. This is simply not true. The thought never entered my mind. I did itjust for fun. I thought the guys would like something to hang in the garageor office.

In the end, I am repenting of my ways and begging for forgiveness. I’msorry and feel really bad I’ve offended so many of my readers. I really do carewhat my readers think. I created the magazine to help rocketry grow andwant to create content to that end. As you may have gathered by the textabove, after reading the many emails and letters, reviewing the polls, andspeaking with everyone on my magazine staff, I have decided to discontinuethe women and rockets centerfold theme in favor of finding the best “G”rated rocket photos we can.


PUBLISHED BYRocketeer Media109 E. Charleston, Blvd.Las Vegas, NV 89104Tel: 702.233.8222Fax: 702.380.0975Email: [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONSPublished nine times a year$39.95 (US bulk rate)$59.95 (US first class)$59.95 (Canadian bulk rate)

For other international sales contact:Pete’s Rockets (United Kingdom)Internet: www.petesrockets.co.ukTel: 01529-460279

DELIVERYPlease allow 4-6 weeks for process-ing and delivery of your first maga-zine.

PUBLISHERBrent McNeely

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFBrent McNeely

PRODUCTION DESIGNERBrian Rosenfield

CREATIVE DIRECTORBrent McNeely

MAGAZINE MANAGERBrian Rosenfield

ASSISTANT EDITORTim Quigg

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSAlan CainScott D. HansenBrian Rosenfield

VENDORSPrinting: Superior LithoMail House: Passkey Systems

DEALERSContact Kalmbach Publishing Co. at1-800-558-1544, ext. 413 if you wishto stock Extreme Rocketry in yourstore.

© 2002, RocketeerMediaAll rights reserved

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Praise & Criticismsend us your comments via email at [email protected]

READER’S LETTERS[ from: our readers ]

A Good Looking LassI opened my ER mag and when I got

to the centerfold “Wow” is all I couldsay. My eyes bugged out, heart ratewent to 300. Mercy! GoodnessGracious! Bodacious! After I poppedmy eyeballs back in their sockets itdowned on me that some fool willwrite in and complain and threatento cancel their subscription. If someone does just tell them to get over itand get a life. I am 56 years old. Theday I don’t appreciate a good lookinglass will be the day you can’t find apulse on me!

--JR Currens

Educational ResourceExtreme Rocketry is an exceptional

magazine that is used in my ExploringTechnology class as a teaching tool.The tech pages are helpful and thearticles help my students understandrocketry better. From clustering tousing trigonometry for finding thealtitude of a rocket, they have gainedinvaluable knowledge from yourmagazine. At our last launch, we hadover one hundred rockets with “F” to“G” motors. There were approximate-ly three hundred students and parentsin attendance.

In your Jan-Feb 2002 periodicalthere was a centerfold that could notbe shown to my students. From mystandpoint this is a rocketry magazinenot a pinup magazine. I am not tryingto be prudish, but I am educatingover one hundred-fifty students persemester in the science of rocketry.My library has all of the ExtremeRocketry magazines except #15. Thepurest rocket enthusiast does not careabout Extreme Women of Rocketry.They care about Extreme Rocketry. Ifthis magazine turns into a pinup mag-azine the school will not re-subscribeor will have to cancel the subscrip-tion. Please take this request underconsideration.

--Jim Schaffer, Exploring TechnologyTeacher

You Made the CenterfoldI got this page over the intercom:

“Larry Taylor line one”. So I answerthe phone. “Hey dude, you made thecenterfold!” Those six words and manit was Christmas all over again! I can’tbelieve it, and my girlfriend Stacefreaked! This mag has kicked ass fromday one, and now it does in a sexyway too! You guys ROCK....HARD.

--Larry Taylor

Equal RepresentationIn your latest issue you asked our

opinion of your new centerfold. I findit detracts from the high quality ofyour magazine. However if this is tobecome a regular part of ExtremeRocketry, I feel that myself and otherfemale rocketry enthusiasts should begiven equal representation. I wouldhope that you would accept and printpictures of our boyfriends and hus-bands posing with our rockets also.

--Debra Koloms

Like the CenterfoldI really like the centerfold concept

BUT Whoever is posing with THE rock-et should be posing with THEIR rocketnow focus on picking between theposer and the rocket.

--Bob Yanecek

Embarrassed and DissapointedI just wanted to say what a great

job you guys have been doing withthe magazine. Up until the January-February issue I didn’t have any com-plaints or problems with ER. When mydad showed me the centerfold of theimmodestly dressed woman besidethe nicely build rocket I was prettyembarrassed and disappointed. I’m a19 year-old young man... I just hopeER leaves the half-dressed women upto all the other magazines out thereand keeps its publication clean andavailable to all age groups.

--James Grover

Keep It Kid SafeWhile Larry’s girlfriend (who is

unnamed, I hope by her own request)makes a great centerfold, I think abetter one exists in the same issue.See the V2 holder and dad on page16. This is what the hobby is allabout. Please don’t go down the roadthat so many other magazines have.Keep it kid safe. I want to continue tobe able to share the magazine withmy son!

--Dave Morey

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!!!!The “most helpful criticism” and

selection of the centerfold has justtaken you guys down a terrific coupleof notches times 1,000. You have real-ly shot yourselves in the foot on thisone... I strongly oppose the use of thistype of suggestive direction in yourmagazine. Leave the scantily cladladies to the many magazines thatalready sponsor this sort of sport; orleave them draped over Harley’s andautomotive mufflers in the speedshop rags; but don’t put this sort ofdribble in what was up until now myfavorite magazine on rocketry.

--Koen O. Loeven, DVM

A Family HobbyI have always enjoyed your maga-

zine with the informative articles andimpressive pictures... However, the lat-est issue had a disturbing qualityabout it. I did not feel that I couldshare this issue with my children dueto the photo of the scantly dressedwoman next to the rocket... If this isthe course your magazine is nowgoing to take, I am highly disappoint-ed and will no longer purchase anyfurther issues. I ...REFUSE to allow mychildren to be exposed to photos suchas the one you published... I will notgive up the hobby, but I will give upyour magazine.

--Jennifer


Level 3 Certification

We only had one readerphoto this month (below).So, the photo to the rightis of the editor-in-chiefprior to his level three cer-tification. Brent McNeelywas the first individual tocertify on an AeroTech75mm M class motor.Certification took place atEl Dorado Dry Lake Bedjust south of Las Vegas sev-eral years ago.

READER PHOTOS[ from: reader photographers ]

Rocket News

Doug Gerard’s Super Scale

Doug stands next to hissuper scale Estes MarsSnooper II. Doug informedus that his version is ascratch built 400% upscalerocket which he called theMars Snooper III. The rock-et is made entirely fromG10 fiberglass tubing andfin stock. Doug’s Snooperweighs 35 pounds and flewat Springfest 2001 on anL850.


SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS!Have a great rocketry photo? Each month we choose one photo for our centerfold,and we put a couple other ones in here. If you would like to see your photo pub-lished please send a good quality print of the actual photo as well as a descriptionof each photo to 109 E. Charleston Blvd., Ste. 101, Las Vegas, NV 89104.

Giant Leap Rocketry ReleasesPre-sewn Shockcords

Giant Leap Rocketry, Inc. hasreleased shockcords that comewith pre-sewn loops at both ends.These come in both tubular Kevlarand tubular nylon. The pre-sewnends of these cords have beenpull-tested using equipment at aparachute manufacturer. "In allcases, results of the tests revealedthat the sewn loops have a higherbreaking strength than the corditself", according to Ed Shihadehof Giant Leap Rocketry. These pre-sewn shockcords, called SHOCK-LOOPS, come in a variety oflengths (12 to 25 feet) and widthsfrom 9/16" to 1" wide. TheKevlar(TM) shockloops are pre-sewn with Nomex thread in orderto preserve the fire resistance ofthe material.

Giant Leap also releases theSUPERLOOP. This is a pre-sewnshockcord based in 2" wide seat-belt webbing (red). This is intend-ed for the very large projects. Theadvantage of such wide webbing,according to Ed, is not only itstremendous strength, but uponhard contact with the bodytube,its width distributes the load thusreducing the chances of a zipper.Ed further maintains that "similarpull tests reveal that the pre-sewnends of the SUPERLOOPS outlastthe webbing itself."

www.giantleaprocketry.com

Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe Re-Opens

Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe has re-opened at a brand new site. Aftersitting dormant for almost twoyears, YORS has been re-tooledfrom the ground up. Gone is theold auction system that was runmanually by the webmaster. In itsplace is a new auction programthat is fully automated. It hasmost of the features of main-stream auction sites such as eBay,but there is no cost to the sellers!

Along with the rocketry auc-tions, people can now get theirown free [email protected] WebMail address. TheWebMail system is similar toanother rocket related WebMailsite that many people are familiarwith.

www.rocketshoppe.com

SpaceCAD softwareSpaceCAD, with more than 3500 downloads world-

wide, is the award-winning model rocket softwarefor Microsoft Windows. SpaceCAD calculates the sta-bility of model rockets by automatically determiningthe stability of model rockets (the center of gravityand center of pressure). It also predicts the flight ofmodel rockets, to find out how high it will fly.SpaceCAD supports model rockets with multiplestages. It gives recommendations on parachute sizeand best delay times for self-built model rockets.SpaceCAD looks back on a successful history inEurope where it has been available since 1997. Itsoon became the market-leading software to designmodel rockets. SpaceCAD has been available interna-tionally since December 2000 and has been ratedfive out of five cows by Tucows.com. Visit the web-site for more details at www.spacecad.com.

HOT PRODUCTS[ new rocket stuff ]

Rocket NewsMostly Missiles GrandOpening

Mostly Missiles, located inOklahoma City, Oklahoma, isproud to announce its grandopening! The company producesexperimental motor casings andparts, markets experimental pro-pellant mix kits, and conductspropellant safety classes.Currently available are motor cas-ings sized for motor mount tubesfrom 38mm to 76mm, with 98mmcasings in development.

Current propellants availableinclude low smoke types withflame colors of red, yellow,orange, and blue. Development isunderway for a whitesmoke/bright flame propellant,and a black smoke/yellow flamepropellant.

Attending a propellant safetyclass is mandatory to being ableto purchase propellant mixes. Aprerequisite to attending class isthat you must be level 2 certifiedfrom Tripoli Rocketry Association.

www.mostlymissiles.com

Public Missiles Has Moved!Public Missiles recently moved

to a new address and has newcontact information:

Public Missiles Ltd. 25140 Terra Industrial Dr. Chesterfield Twp., MI 48051 Phone: 1-586-421-1422 Toll free: 1-888-PUBLIC-M (sales)Fax: 1-586-421-1419

Ellis Mountain Rocket Works Ellis Mountain Rocket Works

announces that with recentlicensing agreements it plans toprovide tracking smoke anddelay/ejection charge forwardclosures for its line of reloadablemotors. A limited number oftracking charge forward closuresfor the 38mm line is now avail-able and announcements will bemade as further items come online. Odyssey Productions, TrailingEdge Technologies and Magnumare current Distributors.

www.EllisMountain.com


HAVE NEWS TO SUBMIT?Send all submissions to that youwould like to have posted [email protected] alongwith contact information.

DG&A Defender RocketDefender rocket kit has three fins with a futuristic look (as well as a

nozzle finned area). The rocket accepts motors ranging from 54mm to38mm in diameter (with use of a 38mm adapter). The followingmotors are recommended: 38mm: I211W, I284W, J350W; 54mm:J275W, K185W, K550W.

Length: 87" Diam.: 4" Body tube: Kraft paper Fins: 1/4" 5-ply birch (thru the wall fins) Engine mount:54mm. Launch lug 7/16" Weight: 4-5 lb. Recovery: 48" ripstop nylon chute LIST PRICE: $140.00; SALE PRICE: $129.99

$12.00 S/H within the U.S. Call for info. on shipping internationalparcel post. See www.dgarockets.com for details.

TIPS & TRICKS[ by: tim quigg ]

Words of Wisdomaddressing commonly asked questions in rocketry

“Gloving Up”One of the first things I

was told by my mentorupon my entry into highpower rocketry was that Ineeded to wear some typeof protective barrier on myhands when working withepoxy resins. For years now,I’ve been using those “onesize fits all” exam glovesone can purchase by thebox at their local drugstore. So imagine my shockwhen I found out apparent-ly there is a particular typeof gloves one should use!Here for years I thought Ihad been protected. Itwould appear that this wasnot the case.

One should not wearlatex gloves when workingwith epoxy. Latex is thewidely accepted barrierused by emergency servicespersonnel for protectionfrom biological hazards.However, some of the haz-ardous chemicals in epoxywill diffuse right throughlatex. I learned long agothat barrier creams bythemselves also do not pro-vide adequate protection.

Here’s what I just recentlylearned. Several years ago,a technical/safety expert atthe Hexcel Corporation(makers of epoxy resins andlaminate components)strongly recommendedvinyl gloves. Vinyl exhibitssufficient resistance to thechemicals found in epoxy.Another factor often over-looked by beginning rocke-teers is proper ventilationwhile using epoxy resins.Even though epoxy doesn’tsmell as bad as some otherresins, some of the relative-ly odorless components can

be hazardous in vaporform.

The bottom line folks isthat EVERYONE will eventu-ally develop an allergicreaction to epoxy, overtime and with sufficientexposure. Some peoplehave experienced this afteronly just a few exposures.With other folks, it maytake years. The frequencyand amount of each expo-sure seems to have a lot todo with it, and the effectsare cumulative. So far, Ihave not developed anyreactions to epoxy resins,perhaps I’m “living on bor-rowed time” as it were.Please folks, don’t makethe mistake I did. Makesure the next box of glovesyou purchase are VINYLgloves, and that you usethem every time you workwith epoxy. We all want tosee you enjoy this hobbyfor many years to come!

Fiberglassing Fins forBeginners

Stanley Plummer ofNovato, CA sent me an e-mail back in January, askingfor help on fiberglassingfins. As a beginner, he washaving problems under-standing the basic concepts.Well Stanley, let’s see if Ican help you and otherbeginners out there.

First of all, let me saythere are many differentfiberglassing techniquesout there. I’m not sayingthe method I use is thebest, just that it’s the onethat works best for me. Thetopic of fiberglassing canbe the subject of a ratherlengthy, in-depth article ofitself, but I’ll try to simplify

it here. The technique youuse to fiberglass finsdepends upon the materialsinvolved. I prefer G-10 asopposed to plywood, onlybecause I’m inherently lazyand don’t like sandingwooden fins! When dealingwith G-10 fin material, Ilike to first rough up thefins and the body tube withat least 80-grit sandpaper.My own personal prefer-ence is to use 1.5 or 2-ounce cloth. I cut the clothso that it will be wideenough to go up the sideof each fin about one totwo inches, down acrossthe body tube and acrossthe next fin to the samelength. Mixing up a batchof 30-minute epoxy, I applya thin, even layer of resinto this area with an oldcredit card, driver’s licenseor similar tool. I then placethe pre-cut and sized pieceof fiberglass over this area,pushing down on it with agloved hand ensuring all ofit is wet. Again, taking theimprovised resin tool, I“squeegee” as much excessresin as I can out of thefiberglass cloth. When thisstep is completed, I let thisdry before moving on tothe next set of fins. Unlessyou are pretty good withone of those little electricpower sanders, I’d blendthe seams to the fins andbody tube by hand. Yes, itis time consuming, but ifyou aren’t skilled with thepower sander, you can ruinyour rocket project in veryshort order. Once you aresatisfied with the looks ofthe joint during sanding,you can prime, sand andpaint as usual. That’s it

Stanley, a very simplifiedexample of basic fiberglass-ing. If you need furtherhelp, you can always post aquestion on RocketryOnline’s discussion forum atwww.rocketryonline.com.

A “New” Power Source forthe Range

When I first saw thePrestone “Jump It” comeon the market, I knew I hadfound an alternate powersource for the range. Overthe past year, I’ve found agreat many uses for thisneat little portable powerpack besides jump-startingcars. On a full charge, it canpower our club’s 12-volt PAsystem all day with noproblem. It can also beadapted to power a launchcontrol panel and pads. Gota laptop computer? Thisbaby will power your lap-top all day long at therange, allowing you to runcomputer simulations onsite. The “Jump It” comesequipped with a built inhigh-intensity flashlightunit that really helps tolight up the area whenloading up the rangeequipment in the evenings.Recharging is accomplishedvia a wall-charging unitincluded with the system.The Prestone “Jump It” andother generic spin-offs sellfor around $70.00, but Ihave seen them on sale instores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart for as low as $59.00. Ifyour club is in need of agood, inexpensive and reli-able power source for itsground support equipment,you might want to considerone of these little gems.


ROCKET BASICS[ by: tim quigg ]

Choosing A Level 1 Certification Rocketpart two of a multi-part series

In the first part of thistwo-part series, variousaspects to consider in the

choosing of your level onecertification rocket werediscussed. Why you shouldavoid kits with “bells andwhistles”, the concept ofthe multi-role rocket vehi-cle, and the pro’s and con’sof 29mm motor mountscompared to 38mm motormounts were discussed. Inthis issue, let’s take a lookat several other topics ofinterest to consider.

Design ParameterConsiderations

If you plan to take myadvice and go with a multi-role rocket kit design foruse with level one and laterlevel two certification, here

are a few design parame-ters that I recommend foryour consideration. Try tochoose a rocket kit that isfour-inches in diameter. Thereason for this is simplybecause body tubes of thisdiameter are easier to getadult size hands down intofor maintenance, repairwork and flight prepara-tion. Secondly, try to find akit that is an easily work-able length. The flight sta-bility of some short, stubbyrockets currently on themarket can often times bequestionable. For this rea-son, I would avoid them forcertification flights. Toolong of a rocket can alsocomplicate things, addingunnecessary weight, andthey are also sometimes dif-

ficult to work with as wellas transport to and fromthe launch site. For this rea-son, I recommend a happymedium between 48 to 60inches in length, with amoderately sized payloadsection. You can fly such arocket vehicle with anempty payload for your cer-tification flight. Later, thepayload section can beadapted to the electronicsyou will undoubtedly wantto dabble with later ondown the road. The ques-tion of three fins versusfour fins is somewhat of amoot point in my opinion.Four fins add more stability,but also add increasedweight and drag duringflight. Three-finned rocketdesigns have proven theyare more than stable,reduce the vehicle weight,and overall drag coeffi-cient. Finally, as I recom-mended earlier, go with a38mm motor mount andpurchase an adapter so youcan fly the rocket on a widerange of 29mm and 38mmH and I motors. Dependingupon your constructiontechniques and skill, a rock-et vehicle outfitted in themanner I have describedhere will also allow you toattempt level two certifica-tion with a 38mm J350.When completed, (anddepending upon how lightyou build) such a rocketvehicle as I have outlinedhere will weigh in atapproximately threepounds—well within thelifting capacity of the29mm H128.

Component MaterialsAnother point to consider

is the type of materials therocket kit is composed of.Some manufacturers kitcomponents consist of Kraftcardboard airframe andmotor tubing, aircraftgrade plywood fins andcentering rings and plasticnosecones. Others supplytheir kits with standard orflexible Phenolic tubing,fiberglass fins andnosecones. The most com-plex rocket kits consist ofcomponents made upentirely of fiberglass.Adhering to my philosophyof “keeping it simple,” Irecommend a kit consistingof Kraft cardboard airframeand motor tubing, with ply-wood fins, centering ringsand an inexpensive plasticnosecone. Using standardconstruction techniques, Ihave seen many rocketsbuilt of these materials suc-cessfully and repeatedlyhandle a wide range ofrocket motors from lowend H impulse motors upthrough J350’s, without thefiberglassing techniques sooften considered a require-ment by many. StandardPhenolic tubing tends to bebrittle and will crack orfracture easily. In my opin-ion, flexible Phenolic tub-ing is a better choice. Mostrecently, Public Missiles, Ltd.introduced a new airframetubing. Called “QuantumTube,” this gray, seamlessplastic tubing is re-writingthe book on rocketry mate-rials. Time will tell if thisnew product will changethe way in which rockets


Range Safety Booth at LDRS 20 (2001)

have been traditionally constructed.Given the choice between aircraft ply-wood fins and fiberglass fin material, Iwill go with fiberglass every time. This ismore out of my own laziness than any-thing else. There is very little sandingand preparation needed, and unlike ply-wood fins, there is no need to seal themwith several coats of epoxy sealer.

Keep in mind that by using such mate-rials as Phenolic tubing, fiberglass finsand nosecones, you will also be increas-ing the overall total weight of yourvehicle. I tend to build light, but strong.These may appear to be a contradictionin terms at first. However, once youhave a few high power rocket designsunder your belt, you will begin to learnhow much epoxy to use, and where tosafely shave off weight without compro-mising stability or structural integrity. Iconsistently build anywhere from one-half to one pound less than the manu-facturer’s estimated finished weight oftheir rocket kits. In all instances howev-er, before you begin to build any rocketkit, be sure to first read the manufactur-er’s supplied instructions completely.Make sure you understand each step indetail first. These instructions shouldalso outline what construction materialsyou will need, including what cure ofepoxy to use, and any other specialtools or materials that will be required.

Motor RetentionI might also interject here that you

strongly consider the introduction ofsome form of motor retention systeminto the design of your rocket. Foryears, high power rocketry enthusiasts

have used nothing more than a fewwraps of masking tape to friction fitrocket motors into the motor mounttube. This technique has served manypeople well for years. However, a sim-ple motor retention system with ahard point built into the rocket vehi-cle will virtually ensure that you won’tloose a motor casing at ejection. Suchan event would spell a certain anddecisive end to the life of your certifi-cation vehicle and flight. There aremany different types and designs ofmotor retention out there. Some arecommercially manufactured, some arehand made. Many of these techniquesare available for study through therocketry-based Internet website“INFOcentral” at http://www.info-cen-tral.org.

The typical price range for a rocketof the design and materials I have out-lined here will be between $60.00 to$100.00. Depending upon how muchtime you wish to devote to construc-tion, you can plan on spending as lit-tle as one week to upwards of onemonth for assembly.

Painting of your rocket vehicle canbe accomplished with as little as acouple of coats of a good qualitysandable primer, and a couple of coatsof compatible spray paint. I use Krylonbrand sandable primer and paints, buthave also used the bargain brandswith equally successful results.

Level one certification will open awhole world of possibilities in therocketry hobby for you. The easiestway to open this door of opportunityfor you is to keep it simple and easy.

After you have achieved level one cer-tification, the sky is the limit.However, getting that certification,and doing it safely and correctly thefirst time out should be the ultimategoal of every beginning rocketeerwith HPR aspirations.


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EXPERIGETTING STARTED IN

Experimenting in rocketry is what thepioneers of this hobby relied on. It wasa necessary step in getting our hobbywhere it is today, and is still necessary

to keep it growing. By Stan HazlewoodPHOTOGRAPHY BRENT McNEELY


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The word “experimental” is a term thatwhen used in rocketry, projects an imageof danger and the unknown. When you

speak of experimental rocketry, you will get var-ied responses from those of us involved in thehobby. Some avoid even speaking of it. There areothers who try to wish it away as a threat to ourexistence. Then there are those of us who, havingtaken the time to study and learn about experi-mental rocketry, are excited about the prospectof taking our hobby one-step further on a per-sonal basis. There are valid reasons for all theabove perceptions, but as in most things in life,the more you learn about a subject the less theterms “danger” and “unknown” apply. I hope theinformation I impart to you will enlighten you asto the advantages and disadvantages of recogniz-

ing the experimental phase of our hobby. It maynot be for everyone, but I believe that it doesdeserve a place that receives recognition, andtherefore a set of rules and regulations that gov-ern the safe and enjoyable use of the technologythat is now available to us.

I think the term “experimental rocketry” is amisnomer. While participation in this sector ofthe rocketry hobby does require a certain amountof experimenting, mixing your own propellant isfar from being an “on the edge” venture. Thereare volumes of information on how to safely mixpropellants that are equal to, in fact superior to,commercially made propellants. I think the firstorder of business in validating the enjoyable taskof designing and mixing your own propellant isto change the descriptive terminology of this

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activity from “experimental,” to anoth-er more acceptable title such as “LevelFour Rocketry.” This would, in my opin-ion, accurately describe the giant stepfrom our current method of certifica-tion into a new, exciting level of enjoy-ment of our hobby. It also would haveanother effect. My history is one ofbeing involved in the insurance industryand I can tell you firsthand that there isa definite perception on the insurancecompany’s part in the descriptive termi-nology used in applications for cover-age. I can practically guarantee you of adeclination if the word “experimental”is used in any part of the application.However, if the terminology used in anyapplication projects a higher level ofknowledge and ability, it stands to rea-son that the coverage will be looked atin a more favorable light. Therefore,you will not see the word “experimen-tal” used again in this article except toindicate activities that will in fact per-tain to experimenting. Our subject isnow: Level Four Rocketry!

It is ironic that Level Four Rocketrywas the level that was first used byrocketry pioneers. They were the trueexperimenters, as they had no manualsto follow, and no trial and error experi-ences to call on. Each and every step thepioneers took was truly experimental,and I might add, dangerous. This corre-lation between Level Four Rocketrythen and now is truly a paradox. Theirvision and persistence is amazing, espe-cially when you consider their activitieswere viewed by most scientists at thetime to be frivolous and had no imme-diate practical application to the scien-tific community. We, in the hobby, owemuch to these individuals, and carryingon the legacy they started by recogniz-ing Level Four Rocketry as a viable andneeded part of expanding our hobby isto be commended and encouraged. Toillustrate the needed challenges offeredby our hobby I will relate to you theterm BAR (born again rocketeers). Inmost interviews I’ve read, a lot of theprominent individuals in our hobby

today are BAR’s. The reason they give isone of newly found discovery of techno-logical advances that offered excite-ment, opportunities and challenges.With the proper recognition of LevelFour Rocketry, I feel that I can guaran-tee you an increase in participation inour hobby. This is a very real and excit-ing probability. As our hobby grows, sogrows our opportunities and perceivedlegitimacy.

Building rockets and safetyBuilding rockets with the ability to use

self-made motors can be divided intotwo distinct categories:1.Using standard rocket kits or scratch

built projects that use the normal24mm thru 98mm motor mounts.

2.Using rockets designed with the pur-pose of using motors constructed withPVC products.The first category allows you the use

of re-loadable motors made and sold bymajor manufacturers, but only with cer-tain modifications that will be requiredfor safety reasons. The second categoryusing PVC products requires careful con-trol of pressures in order to ensure sta-bility and containment of the thrustgenerated by high power propellants.

This brings us to the exciting part ofLevel Four Rocketry, the actual design-ing and building of a motor. I hope thatyou will find this as fascinating as wewho are already constructing rocketsand motors do. You should realize thatthere are practically no limits as to whatyou can achieve when you have controlover the pressures, thrust, and durationof burn of a motor. The first step ofLevel Four Rocketry is getting applicablematerial and learning all about the sub-ject. Fortunately, there is an abundanceof material available to you that youshould read and study before embark-ing on this type of activity. The mostdangerous part of the activity is notknowing what you are doing and whatparameters you must stay within.Learning this is not difficult. I’m 61years old and not especially smart, as I

The first rule of safety... ...is knowledge.


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have absolutely no back-ground in any technical area.I’ve constructed many rocketmotors and tested each suc-cessfully, although some havebeen more successful thanothers. I exercise great cau-tion in working with materi-als that are required to pro-duce that wonderful burst ofthrust that propels our vehi-cles high in the sky. This cau-tion is a requirement, as safe-ty is a basic rule of all formsof model rocketry

The first rule of safety isknowledge. As I mentionedabove, there are volumes ofinformation available to youto introduce safe and effec-tive propellant mixing activi-ties. One of the best I’ve seenis the CP Technologies pack-age, which includes a verycomprehensive book alongwith software to assist inyour successfulness of design-ing and mixing propellants.CP also includes a catalog ofmaterials and chemicals thatyou will be using, as well assources of where these maybe acquired. As you alreadyhave realized, our hobby hassome of the most unselfishpeople in any hobby.Information is freely sharedamong all in our hobby. Youmay find that some are reluc-tant to share their “pet”recipes since they have spentconsiderable time in arrivingat the formula and mixingtechnique, but there are a lotformulas that are available ifyou will just use the effort toask. I personally have stuckwith one formula and haveperfected it to my satisfac-tion. It is a very “hot” propel-lant and can be used as an“end burner” as well as a“core burner.” I have friendshowever, who are always tin-kering with formulas toachieve certain effects suchas color or smoke, etc. This

may be in my future also.That is one of the most fasci-nating aspects of Level FourRocketry. There are practical-ly no limitations as to whatyou can achieve. It is veryimportant to point out thatbefore I attempted my firstpropellant batch, I spent con-siderable time reading andstudying the hows, whys, dosand don’ts of propellant mix-ing. I also sought out peoplewho had experience in mix-ing and asked for theiradvice and assistance. Iobtained a wealth of infor-mation and first mixed inertingredients to become famil-iar with working with theequipment and chemicalsbefore I attempted to mixthe actual ingredients. Thisway I built confidence in pro-cedures that I would need touse precisely. Read, learn andask. It will pay off in safetyand effectiveness.

Safety ProceduresStarting from the top

down, the first things youshould protect are your eyes.As with any activity thatrequires use of equipment ormaterials that could pose athreat to your eyes, youshould wear eye protection.The use of a face shield ispreferred, but at the least,you should wear safety gog-gles. Since you will be work-ing with chemicals, it wouldbe recommended that youwear a dust mask. Othersafety material shouldinclude protective gloves. Imake it a practice to wear ashop apron when I am con-structing motors. This maysound like overkill, but eachitem mentioned has a pur-pose and it is always betterto be prepared for an unlike-ly event than to leave you inpotential harms way. Also, afire extinguisher should be

on hand with sufficientcapacity and proper ratingfor effective use.

All activities involved withrocketry can be as safe or asdangerous as you will allow.This certainly includes con-structing rocket motors. So, ifyou elect to mix your ownpropellant, stay on the safeside.

EquipmentThe second requirement of

mixing propellants is theavailability and use of theproper equipment. I will list afew items that are necessaryfor the proper formulation ofa good and safe propellant.The first item you will need isan accurate triple beam labo-ratory balance that measuresin the tenths of grams. Ifound a good one on e-bayand won it in an auction at areasonable price. Waxedpaper cups are required aschemicals used in formula-tions can attack plastic ones.You will need a mixing bowl(glass or other material thatwill not be subject to chemi-cal corrosion) and a stirringrod. I use a wooden rod thatI coated with a few coats ofpolyurethane. I have seen alot of things used for mixingincluding spatulas. Whateveryou use, make sure it’sstrong. The propellant, in itslatter stages of mixing, willbe of a very coarse consisten-cy. Always keep the equip-ment clean! Propellant canstick to anything and itremains highly flammable forits lifetime. Cleanliness in thework area is a necessity. Abucket filled with waternearby is advisable, but ONLYif magnesium is NOT used inyour formula. All propellantmust be accounted for, andwhile assembled motors maybe difficult to ignite, theshavings and residue are

extremely easy to ignite andare volatile. This of coursemeans you must have a safeand secure place to put yourtailings of propellant. AZiploc bag is a good place toput the propellant bits andshavings you will encounterwhile mixing. The trash bin isnot a good idea so save thetailings for proper disposal atintervals during the process.Plastic spoons and knives arehelpful when packing yourcasting tube with propellant.You should have duct tapeand masking tape on hand. Adrill is sometimes used whenno mandrel is inserted intothe casting tube to form thecore of the propellant. It ismandatory that this drill becapable of SLOW rpm’s inorder to not generate heatwhen the core is drilled. Youcan even use a hand drill forthis purpose. I use my drillpress but open the top of itand let my wife or friendhand turn the spindle to drillthe cores. This should giveyou an idea of just how slow-ly the drill should be turned!A notebook with carefullyplanned instructions shouldbe at your disposal. There areother types of supplies andmaterial that can be usedduring the mixing processbut only in more advancedmixing than we are going totalk about in this article.

PreparationIt is a requirement that

adequate preparation shouldbe made before the actualmixing process. I have a note-book that I write the entireprocess that I plan on follow-ing. I break the percentagesof each chemical down andlist them next to the chemi-cal name. I list these in theorder they will be added tothe mixture and I also makenotes as to mixing require-


ments, etc. and put thisunder the chemical to keepmyself aware of any specialprocedures I need to takewhen adding that particularelement to the mix. I takenothing for granted and I DONOT rely on memory whenmixing. If it isn’t writtendown, I don’t do it. Writingall names, amounts, and mix-ing instructions down elimi-nates all reference to memo-ry and ensures proper stepswill be taken on each ingre-dient that is to be used. I alsomake sure I am mixing nearan item that I can groundmyself to on a regular basisto eliminate static electricity.This step should not be dis-carded; especially in the win-ter but also in all other sea-sons. You don’t want a sparkto ignite the propellant mixuntil it is safely in a rocket ona launch pad. The mixturewill become subject to igni-tion when fuel and oxidizerare mixed together. This willbe a “wet” mix, but don’t befooled. It will burn with anintense flame.

Also in the preparation,you will need to have thecasting tubes ready so you

can pack them with the pro-pellant. You should havemade a decision as towhether you want to use amandrel for the core andthen cut the grains into theproper length later (not myfavorite method). Or, youshould have the casting tubesalready cut and ready topack so you can drill the corelater after the mix has cured.If you use this latter methodof casting propellant, there is

one preparation to the tubesthat should be made. A shortlength of duct tape shouldbe placed and stretched overthe bottom of each castingtube. This will allow you topack the propellant and haveit even with the bottom ofthe tube.

You should have the plasticspoons, knives, mixing con-tainer (cleaned, of course)and the mixing rod handy. Infact, the mixing containerand stirring rod should be onthe triple beam scale in orderto determine the tareweight. The balance indica-tor should be on the neutralline of the indicator. All cal-culated weights should thenbe added to this number inorder to add the properamount. You will be usingtenths of grams to determinethe proper amounts to addso establishing the tareweight is mandatory foraccuracy.

I make a list of all equip-ment in my notebook inorder to be prepared to com-plete the mixing processfrom start to finish. I want toemphasize, there should benothing left to memory or

chance. You also should mixonly when there will be nophone calls or distractions.You want nothing electricalin your hands or near themixture.

The mention of all theabove listed recommenda-tions may make mixing seempotentially dangerous. Youshould know that it is poten-tially dangerous if you don’tset and follow proper guide-lines. If you prepare properly

All activities involved with rocketry can beas safe or as dangerous as you will allow.

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and follow your preset guidelines,you only have to be careful in yourprocedures. This is why I practicedwith inert ingredients before embark-ing on the use of actual chemicals (aprocess I recommend for you also).

ChemicalsThere are many chemicals that can

be used in formulating high powerpropellants. I have stuck with one for-mula because I like to keep thingssimple. The two most popular oxidiz-ers are Ammonium Nitrate (AN) andAmmonium Perchlorate (AP). Eachwill produce a very high power pro-pellant. Ammonium Nitrate is the pre-ferred choice of CP Technologies andit produces a very effective propel-lant. Its only drawback is the availabil-ity of powdered magnesium that isused in the mix. Since the events ofthe terror attack on the World TradeCenter, magnesium, in a powderedform has been regulated by the BATF.I do not know if this is permanent ornot. I am hoping that its use in modelrocketry will be de-regulated soon.So, with this in mind, I chose to useAmmonium Perchlorate since the useof aluminum is used in conjunctionwith it instead of magnesium.Ammonium Perchlorate must be usedwith caution since it can, under cer-tain conditions, auto-ignite. It isimperative that you not allow it tobecome a dust cloud. If and when theregulations governing magnesium arelifted, I would recommendAmmonium Nitrate as an oxidizerbecause of the simplicity of the for-mula in comparison to that requiredwhen you use AmmoniumPerchlorate.

A good formula using AmmoniumNitrate only involves three ingredi-ents: Ammonium Nitrate, powderedmagnesium and a binder (HTPB R-45).The use of my formula withAmmonium Perchlorate requires sev-eral more ingredients. But, I believemy formula produces a greateramount of thrust based on compar-isons made with my mixing buddieswho use Ammonium Nitrate,although they may disagree. My for-mula requires that I use a binding

24 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 200224 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2002

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Win Cash! Enter the Centerfold Contest

Write for Extreme Rocketry and Get PaidSince the very first issue of Extreme

Rocketry magazine we have paid forarticles. Granted, what we pay isn’tmuch, not like the big magazines outthere. However, we feel the effort putin by the writer is worth somethingmore than just a pat on the back.

Submission GuidelinesWe publish a large percentage of the

articles submitted, but not all of them.And, there may be significant delaybefore the article is actually printed—sometimes months may go by before anarticle is printed. Articles which are timesensitive like launch reports are includedin the next issue or two or not at all. Ifthere is a significant delay after alaunch the article is never published. So,if you are writing a launch report orarticle get it in quickly along with somegood photos or slides (no digital cameraphotos please!). If your local invitationallaunch has never been covered byExtreme Rocketry, chances are verygood that if you write something that itwill get published.

Construction articles, how-to guides,and other non-time sensitive articles arepublished as we can work them in.

Typically we publish more of these kindsof articles in the winter when there arenot so many launch reports.

Interviews are typically done by BrentMcNeely. However, if you want to inter-view someone and type it up, we wouldlove to have you send it in. If your sub-mission is interesting and still contains ainformal style it may be publishable.

Submissions should be sent in elec-tronic form on disk, CD or by email. Ahardcopy should also be mailed alongwith photos to 109 E. Charleston, Ste.101, Las Vegas, NV 89104. Photo printsor slides are great, but please do notsend digital camera photo files or printsfrom digital cameras (they will not beaccepted).

Ideas for ArticlesHave an idea for an article? Email us

at [email protected] with youridea and we’ll help you get your submis-sion headed in the right directionbefore we begin. Currently we are seek-ing launch reports for launches neverbefore covered by the magazine, how-to articles, and technical pieces.

PaymentCurrently Extreme Rocketry is paying

2.5¢ per word. Typically we can getabout 800 words on a page with one ortwo smaller photos. For a single 800word article we would pay $20 which isenough to buy a pizza or a rocketmotor or two (well the smaller motorsanyway!). Checks are cut after the mag-azine comes off the press. We typicallysend the writer a copy of the magazinecontaining the article along with pay-ment based on the number of wordswritten.

Questions?The best way to contact us is by email

at [email protected].

Win $100 for Rocket Photo ContestWe want more photos like this one to the left and we are willing to

pay the big bucks for them (well $100 was the best we could do on ourlimited budget!). Take a photo of your rocket and send it to us at theaddress below. Make sure to follow our requirements listed here!

Requirements: • Non-digital, color photo or slide (prints can be any size up to 8x10)• Photos will not be returned• Send to: 109 E. Charleston, Ste. 101, Las Vegas, NV 89104

About this Month’s CenterfoldThe Max-Q rocket featured in the centerfold was created by the Max-Q

team of Mike Hobbs, Greg Davis, Brian Liggett, and Gary Silvers. Thishuge rocket stood over 24 feet tall and was 16 inches in diameter. Therocket weighed in at over 500 lbs on the pad. The big rocket was pow-ered by a custom Q15,000 rocket motor with a nine second burn time.The motor by itself was six inches in diameter and almost eight feet long.The rocket performed perfectly with only one problem, the chutes didnot fully deploy. As a result the rocket fell from apogee flat on its side.The rocket was unable to fly again.

Note: the Balls 2000 rocket launch was covered in Issue #7 of ExtremeRocketry (March 2001).


agent whose purpose is to bind the drychemicals together. I also use a bondingagent to ensure that the propellant’singredients do not separate from oneanother. My formula also requires a useof a plasticizer to thin the mixture so

the viscosity is such that I can pack itinto a casting tube. Finally, I use a cur-ing agent whose purpose is to cure thepropellant ideally into a rubbery textureafter it is packed into the casting tubes.There are catalysts that can be used toincrease burn rates and thrust and thereare ingredients that can be used to pro-duce colored flames. I would advise youto stick to the basics until you learnmore about basic formulas. There areseveral companies who sell chemicals.Their primary business is the pyrotech-nics industry, but several chemicals theymarket are used in model rocketry pro-pellant formulas.

TestingOne of most enjoyable activities of

making your own motors is that of test-ing. It is with testing that you perfectthe delay times, the nozzle size, thechemical formulation and the burntimes. It is helpful to use a video camerato record the tests as it will give you theburn time and allow you to see howlong it takes from the first smoke you

see to pressurize into an effectivethrust. You can realistically put yourselfin the shoes of Dr. Goddard when hewas perfecting and testing his rocketryskills. You can identify any problems andapply remedies to the next batch. Youcan identify what improvements shouldor can be made. You can adjust burntimes by using different core patterns toattain desired thrust curves. And yes,you can design propellants with superi-or performance to commercial products!

I have only been formulating propel-lants for a short time. I am thoroughlyenjoying the experience. It has come inhandy since the Aerotech accident. Iplan on using commercially mademotors for the most part but will con-tinue my venture into “Level FourRocketry” with excitement.

Rocket Motor Parachutes Resource CD-ROM

The RCS Resource Library CD-ROM contains hundreds of files that are useful for the experimental rocket enthusiast. Included on the CD are NASA technical reports, material safety data sheets (MSDS) for popular propellant chemicals, internal ballistics software, helpful RCS motor design spreadsheets and much more!

RCS parachutes are fabricated from high-quality chute stock, hand made in the USA. They are produced in a variety of sizes to fit a wide range of rocketry applications. Volume discounts available.

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Part 1


Admittedly, I wasinspired by AndrewWaddell’s big Saturn Vconstruction article onRocketry Online. While

the Saturn V is impressive, Iam much more interested inthe smaller Saturn 1b. In thepast, both Estes and Centurikitted model rocket versionsof this NASA launcher. Ofthe two, the Centuri versionwas much easier to buildand fly. Estes had re-issuedCenturi’s 1/100 version of theSaturn 1b in 1992 but it sincehas gone out of production.These two past versions wereto be the basis for myupscale project.

One of the most troublingfeatures in doing this modelis the first stage booster

tank tubes. There are veryfew commercially availablebody tubes that are sizedcorrectly to evenly space andget a proper circumferencefor the first stage booster. Iresearched and listed allcommercially available bodytube diameters then satdown at the UniGraphics ter-minal and built some CADmodels. I eventually foundout that a 2x upscale of the1/100 Estes kit would fitwhat was available withouthaving to resort to customordering. I ended up usingEstes BT-56 body tubes forthe first stage tanks sur-rounding a 54mm core tube.The second stage or morecorrectly the SIV-B stagewould be a LOC 5.68 diame-

building the

Apollo/Saturn 1b1/50 scale

by: jeff brundt


ter body tube cut down to4.75”. (a5a Andrews methodfor the Saturn V) The base ofthe first stage would be thestock diameter 5.68” bodytube.

The hard part was now outof the way. I downloaded theplans for Estes 1/70 version ofthe Saturn 1b from JimZsweb site. These plans wereinvaluable for making thecommand module capsule,LES (launch escape tower)and the fin assemblies. I plot-ted the shroud for the LEMon the UG and printed it outfull size. The pattern wastransferred to poster boardand cut out. All of the parts Iused to construct the Saturn1b are available through anysupplier of high power andmodel rocket components. (Iordered everything throughMagnum.)

The kit was constructedvery similarly to theCenturi/Estes version where-by the rocket is built-up andpainted in various sub-assem-blies, then final assembled,detailed, and decals applied.I will list each major compo-nent and the build process Iused.

First Stage Fin/Tank Base:For me, this was probably

the second most complicateditem to do. If you notice onthe Saturn 1b, there is ashroud ring on the lower sec-tion of the first stage boosterthat surrounds the first stagefuel tanks. This shroud hasscalloped cutouts to accom-modate the booster tanks. Iused the pattern from theEstes 1/70 plans and enlargedit to the size I thought Iwould need. I then made aposter board pattern andtried it out. It didn’t worktoo well. The reason was thelower body tube of the first

stage booster needed to besmaller in diameter than the5.68” one I was using. Since Ididn’t want to cut this tubedown and make more center-

ing rings I needed to usesomething else. I finally hiton using thin 1/64” veneerply. I cut out a single sectionneeded to fair to the boostertank. I then split this in half,made a mirror pattern thenglued a rib to the backsidethat would set the properangle and setback from thecore tube to the edge of thelower body tube. What I hadnow was one section oflower fairing that would go

around one-half of a boostertank tube on either side.Now I had to make eight ofthese.

Veneer ply is very easy to

work with and cut. You canuse scissors or score with aknife and break it similar tosheet styrene. It is availableat most hobby stores. Its a lit-tle pricey per sheet since it isso thin. I made my eight sec-tions one at a time. First, Icut the lower body tube tothe right length, glued in thecentering rings, and markedout my eight equal sections.Then I started gluing the fair-ing pieces down using CA. I

had little short sections of BT-56 left over from cutting thebooster tubes to length andused these for spacing and fitchecks. I did each section oneat a time checking the fit andtrimming where necessary.The total job took about twonights to do. But, it was wellworth it.

After the unit was filledand sanded, I glassed it using3/4 oz glass cloth and epoxyfinishing resin. The weavewas then filled and sandedsmooth.

Main Body Tube:Next up was the main body

tube. This started out as a5.68” diameter LOC payloadsection. It was cut to lengththen run on a table sawlengthwise to removeenough material to reducethe diameter to 4.75”. Isaved the section I removedto use as a splice joiner later.To get the tube to hold a cir-cular shape I took the LOC5.68”/54mm centering ringsand cut the diameter downto 4.75”. I did this by tapingthe rings together, markingthe new circumference andtrimming them on the bandsaw. These centering ringsare what were used to keepcircularity and diameter onthe tube. The centering ringswere inserted and the splicewas epoxied in place with 30-minute epoxy then tapedand left to dry. After thesplice joint cured, the center-ing rings were glued in place

Part 1


with 30-minute epoxy. Thereended up being a gapbetween sides of the longitu-dinal cut in the tube. I filledthis with scrap balsa andsanded it smooth. I thenmarked the upper end of thetube to trim off about a 1section to be used as thebase for the LEMShroud/Command ModuleStack.

Now it was time to applythe body wraps. I wanted tohave the body corrugationson my model just like the fullsize Saturn 1b. I usedEvergreen Styrene sheetswith .10 ribbed spacing onthem. These can be found inmost hobby shops that sellmodel railroad supplies.There are many differentsizes and styles. The sheets Ibought were 6”x12” andcome three to a pack. I usedthree packs for the bodywraps. I measured off my1/100 model and cut thesheets to strips of properwidth. Since the sheets areonly 6” wide, they needed tobe put on in sections to dothe entire circumference. Theonly drawback to this wholeprocess was the need for agood seam between joints. Itturned out rather well. Imasked off three or four ribspacings on either side of a

joint, filled it, and then sand-ed smooth. From three feetaway you cant even tell.Painting made it even less

noticeable. The overall effectwith the corrugations is wellworth any minor cosmeticissues.

LEM Shroud/CommandModule Stack:

For this assembly I used thering previously cut from themain body tube, a cut down5.68” tube coupler, a 3” LOCbody tube, a 1/8” thick ply5.68”/3.00” centering ring

reduced to 4.75” diameter, aposter board LEM shroud, apaper nose cone and a 3”tube coupler as a nose conebase.

I epoxied the cut downcentering ring into one endof the main body tube ring. Ileft about 1/8” exposed atthe top for the LEM shroudto attach to. I then cut downthe 5.68” tube coupler so itwould fit in the main bodytube. I left about an inch anda half shoulder to seat intothe main body tube. The cou-

pler also has a slot or keywaythat fits the doubler in themain body tube. This featureprevents the nose sectionfrom rotating on the mainbody. After the couple tubeis set and a good fitachieved, I epoxied a solidply bulkhead at the bottomof the couple ring. The screweye of the recovery systemwill pass through here and itmakes a nice solid base.

Next, I epoxied in the serv-ice module body tube.Alignment was an importantissue here so I took my timeand made careful measure-ments. This was to make surethat the completed assemblywouldn’t look crooked whenthe whole rocket was togeth-er. After the epoxy cured, I

installed the paper LEMshroud. I had drawn out andcut this pattern earlier thenput it together using supertacky glue and an iron.Basically, you attach the gluetab to one edge of the seam,let it dry then apply the sameglue to the other half of thetab and let it partially dry.Let your iron heat up while

you do this, not too hotthough, about 300 degreesshould be fine (I use aMonokote iron for my modelairplanes). You will also needa dowel of some sort to backup the joint when you iron it.I use a scrap piece of closethanger dowel rod. Let theend of the dowel rod hangover the end of your work-bench and support it so itwill take some pressure whenyou iron. Then take yourshroud, align and join at theseam, slip over the dowel rodand iron the seam. You won’thave to hold the iron therelong. Move it up and downthe length of the seam for afew seconds. The glue will re-activate from the heat andproduce a strong bond.

I then fit checked andaligned the shroud to thebody tube and base. Wheneverything was where itneeded to be I epoxied theassembly together. To makethe shroud more durable Iglassed it with 3/4 oz. glasscloth and Z-Poxy finishingresin. After sanding toremove excess cloth, I filledthe weave with lightweightspackle and sanded smooth.

The Command Module cap-sule came next. I had sizedthe paper pattern from theEstes 1/70 scale version so itwould fit on the 3” bodytube. I photocopied it ontocardstock. The pattern haspanel lines and details

Part 1 Apollo/Saturn 1b


marked on it. Since mymodel will replicate an actuallaunch condition vehicle,these markings are notrequired. The boost protec-tive shroud is all white. Thepattern on the Estes sheet isbasically an arc and if you cutit out as shown by the lines,you will get a conic sectionwith no tip. That’s becausethe Estes kit used a balsaturning for the top of thecone. I modified the cut byextending the seam edges upto the theoretical center ofthe arc lines. When the pat-tern was folded and readyfor joining I had a cone.There was a small hole at thetip due to the nature of try-ing to make a paper cone. I’lltell how I dealt with thislater. I overlapped and gluedthe seam with my supertacky glue and let it dry. Ithen cut a 3” tube couplersection to about 1” in length.This is the shoulder of thenose cone. Once again, Imeasured carefully to makesure everything was alignedthen temporarily CAed thecoupler in place. I then ran abead of epoxy around theinside joint between thecone and coupler. A paper

cone is a bit flimsy so it need-ed some reinforcing. I invert-ed the cone, mixed up a larg-er than normal amount of15-minute epoxy and pouredit into the inverted coned.This plugged up the smallhole at the tip and addedsome nose weight. I used myheat gun for Monokote toget the epoxy to flow better.Heating epoxy has the addedbenefit of making it curefaster. After the epoxy cured,I sanded the tip to shape andwas ready to glass it. Iglassed the outside of thecone with 3/4 oz. glass clothand Z-poxy finishing resin. Imade sure to put tapearound the coupler so Iwouldn’t mess that up. Afterthe epoxy cured, I removedthe excess cloth, filled theweave with lightweightspackle and sanded smooth.

I now needed to add somebase pieces for the LES tower.These were 3/16” dowel sec-tions cut with a matchingangle to the capsule so thetops would be parallel to theground plane. I held somesandpaper on the cone andsanded the mating surfacesof the LES bases to match thecones contour. After theywere all shaped and correctlysized I CAed them in place. Ifilled any gaps with light-weight spackle and sandedsmooth. Next, I located thecenters on each dowel topand drilled a 1/16” hole forthe support wire I was goingto use to attach the LEStower to the nose cone. Thebasic LEM/ServiceModule/Command Modulestack was now completed.There would be extra detail-ing to come later.

LES Assembly:I wanted on this model a

scale and durable LES (launchescape system) tower. I hadpreviously made one for myBoyce Aerospace Redstoneand modified it for flightuse. That one had sufferedminor damage from time totime but I knew I could builda better one. I decided to usebrass tubing. The Estes 1/70version came to my aidagain. The LES tower for thatversion used wood dowelsglued together. I would sub-stitute brass for wood andsolder for glue. I scaled theEstes plans accordingly andbuilt a jig. All the horizontalcrosspieces fit into the verti-cal legs because I drilledholes to accept them. Thesewould be stronger jointsbecause the parts wouldphysically interlock and besoldered. I built the basictapered box shape adding

one side at a time. When Iwas done, I carefully heatedthe joints and aligned andstraightened where needed. Ithen started to add all thelittle diagonal cross mem-bers. The central ring wasformed around a 3/8” drillbit shank and the ends sol-

dered together. The wholeprocess was not that tediousand took me about two tothree hours over two days.The end result was worth it.

For the top of the towerwhere it attaches to the rock-et motor, I cut out a solidbrass circle and soldered it tothe top. To this circle wouldbe attached the lower shroudof the rocket motor and theLES motor tube andnosecone. The shroud waslaid out and drawn inUnigraphics. The LES rocketbody is a BT-5 body tube cutto length with a balsa nosecone from my Estes DesignersSpecial box. The pieces wereall test fit and then put asidefor assembly later.

Part 1

Part two of this article willapear in next months issue.


TRIANO

DAVEDavid Triano is best known in rocketry as the

founder of Shadow Composites, Inc., a rocketcompany specializing in composite material rock-et kits, advanced materials, and components. Heis an advocate of experimental rocketry. Dave'sprimary occupation is as an Industrial Designerof Automotive, Marine, and Aerospace products.He lives in the Lake Tahoe area of NorthernCalifornia, only a couple of hours drive fromBlack Rock, Nevada. Interview by Brent McNeely.

>>Editors Note: The following rocket personality interview contains

comments and opinions which some may find objectionable or contro-versial. The views, comments and opinions expressed in the followinginterview are solely those of the interviewee, and do no necessarilyreflect the views and opinions of Extreme Rocketry Magazine, its edi-tors or staff.

Where did you grow up?We moved to Lake Tahoe

when I was eight, and I spentmost of my time growing uphere. I'm currently living inSouth Lake Tahoe.

What was your first experi-ence with rockets?

When I was eight years old,I sold greeting cards door-to-door in order to save enoughmoney to get the CenturiScreaming Eagle Starter Kit.After I finally got the kit, Iflew it until it fell to pieces. Igot over twenty flights withthat rocket. From that timeon up until high school, Ithink I flew every Centurirocket kit there was. I didn'tlike Estes products verymuch. I liked the Centuri andFlight Systems stuff, so I builtthose. Eventually I becameinvolved in tennis and thatendedup taking up allmy time. So, that sort oftook away from the rocketsand I quit flying them aboutmy sophomore year of highschool.

What were your career aspi-rations after high school?

At that point, I had dab-bled in professional tennis,but I soon realized I didn'thave the commitment it tookto be a professional tennisplayer. So, I fell back fromthe athletic pursuits to themore intellectual ones. I hada strong love for the ocean,so I went to study marinebiology at Humboldt StateUniversity in NorthernCalifornia. I studied there forawhile, but eventuallybecame disillusioned with itbecause I learned the onlyjobs you could get with thatdegree were working for oilcompanies or writing text-books. Neither of these jobssounded very fun to me.

When did you start yoursnowboard company?

After I left school, Ireturned to Lake Tahoe andstarted my snowboard com-pany called Shadow. This wasin the early 80's, beforesnowboards were popular. Iwas involved in the evolutionof that from the beginning.Back then, there were only afew very small groups of peo-ple involved in snowboard-ing. There was a small groupin Canada, another inColorado, one back east, andour group in Tahoe. Therewere very few people doingit. So, I started my own snow-board company making com-posite snowboards.

When didyou start learningmethods of composite work?

From age 12 or so, myfather and I had built home-built aircraft. However, myfather had developed epoxysensitization early in thebuilding process. Due to this,I became the official lamina-tor for all our aircraft proj-ects. I got to know at a veryyoung age how to workproperly with advanced com-posite projects.

When did you go back toschool?

I went back to school at theArt Center College of Designin 1987 to studyTransportation Design. Wehad a family friend who wasactually a pretty famous cardesigner. He showed mewhat he did and I thought Icould do that as well. Art


I got to know at a very young age how to workproperly with advanced composite projects.

Dave at Delemar, NV

Center is one of the toptwo schools in the worldfor automotive design. Ifinished my degree there ina little over two years withno breaks. I got the highestGPA ever recorded there ina Bachelor's of Science,Engineering inTransportation Designdegree.

Where did you work aftercompleting school at ArtCenter?

I was hired right out ofschool by Toyota. I workedin their facility in NewportBeach called CALTY, whichis an acronym for CaliforniaToyota, and is theiradvanced styling studio inNewport Beach. I workedthere from 1990 to 1995.

While I was there, I did alot of futurist design forcars 10 and 20 years in thefuture. I also designed the1998 Toyota Corolla, andwas heavily involved withthe Lexus RS300, and theToyota Solara.

When did you start design-ing boats?

I moved out to Kansasin late 1995 to work forCobalt Boats. They areknown as the finestrecreational boat com-pany in the world. Iworked for them astheir chief designer for

a couple ofyears.

Eventually I gotreally tired ofKansas. It is a

tough place for someone tolive who grew up aroundmountains.

When did you start yourown design company?

In 1997 I moved out toBig Bear Lake in California(near Lucerne) to start myown design studio. I hadkept the Shadow namefrom earlier when I used itfor my snowboard compa-ny. I reactivated the name,added “Composites” andused it for my marine andaerospace design company.In that capacity we've donea lot of work for companieslike Regal Marine, ToyotaMarine Sports, KawasakiWatercraft, and MalibuBoats, We do all of the con-cept design work all the

way up to the finishedmold. It is a real turnkeyoperation, utilizing themost advanced CAD sys-tems available.

When did you start therocket company?

I started the rocket partof my company in 1998. Igot involved in rocketryagain because I was rightacross the hill from theLucerne Test Range. I hadheard about guys launchingrockets out there, and theywere bigger rockets thanthe little model rockets Iremembered. So, I hoppedover there and saw a cou-ple of launches. At thetime, I thought it was pret-ty interesting, but alsothought I didn't really want

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to get into it because it wasa very expensive pursuit. Ifinally decided to get thebest kit out there, build it,and have a good time withit. I did my research andfound what I thought wasthe best kit. It was all G10fiberglass, which was report-edly the best material. Iordered it, got it, built it,and built it perfectly becauseI knew how to use thesematerials. I flew it a coupletimes and then the thingcame down, hit the only lit-tle rock on the entirelakebed, and shattered topieces. I was really disap-pointed with that. I thoughtto myself, "This is state ofthe art?"

When did you build yourfirst advanced compositematerials rocket?

It just so happened that Ihad a few small projects inthe marine industry whichused rather advanced mate-rials like carbon/epoxy fila-ment wound tubes. I hadsome overage on the partsproduction, which I decidedto use to make a few rock-ets. I was basically trying tojustify a little business thingin the hobby. A lot of guysdo that. My first rocket wasthe Raven. This rocket, to myknowledge, was the first allcarbon fiber kit offered tothe high power hobby (I'mtold that people have adver-tised them before, but I'venever actually seen one ). Onmy first run, I made 20 ofthe kits and hand tooledeverything. I sold all of thoseand people really likedthem. People were askingfor more and more. I grew

this little business slowly andlet it progress as God wills it.Our credo is, "You are whatyou build." We are all aboutmaking a rocket as light,strong, and as high perform-ance as possible. With the40mm Raven EX and 54mmShock, flyers now have twoall carbon fiber extreme per-formance rockets to choosefrom that use real aerospacetechnology in every compo-nent.

What are your goals forShadow Composites?

Right now its fine; it ispretty much where I see it. IfGod wills this business tobecome larger in the indus-try, then that’s fine. I see thecompany just going where itnaturally wants to go. Iwould like to further auto-mate our order and recordkeeping abilities as time andcapitol allows.

What are some of yourother rocket business deal-ings?

I've teamed up with Dr.Frank Kosdon and thedepartment chair of mathe-matics at a school called ETHin Zurich, Switzerland. Thatis the same school thatEinstein taught at. His nameis Dr. Eugene Trubowitz. Weutilize my knowledge ofcomposite engineering withDr. Kosdon's obvious rocketmotor credentials and Dr.Trubowitz’ extreme simula-tions skills on a Cray super-computer to create an ultra-low mass fraction rocketmotor—a motor in whichthe casing is carbon fiber. Inaddition to carbon fiber inthe casing, boron is also

Our credo is, “You are what you build.”


used and other materialsthat make it very special.There are many other car-bon-cased motors out therenow, but they don't reallyoptimize to the point wedo.

What applications are car-bon cased motors used for?

The Orbital Pegasus wasthe first all carbonfiber/epoxy rocket. Some ofthe Lockheed products likethe GEM motor (whichstands for Graphite-EpoxyMotor) are constructed ofsimilar materials, but theyare mainly used as lowmass fraction expendableboosters (strap-ons) forheavy lift capability. We areaiming for the ultra-highspeed research market.There have been somestudies in hypersonicresearch that have recentlytaken a swim in the Pacific.One was on the nose of aPegasus that went out ofcontrol. We want to offer aless expensive way toachieve those same highspeeds for research purpos-es. We have been in anongoing test program forthe last year and a half indeveloping the motordesign for this project Inhobby rocketry terms, the-ses are about an O class ofmotor. These have carboncases along with an awfullot of advanced extremecomposite engineeringgoing on internally as well.We have flown a few andstatic tested a few withgood results (some success,some failure, as is normal inthe rocket motor develop-ment cycle). We are aimingat selling these to educa-tional institutions, andNASA of course is a bigresearch customer. Thereare educational institutesall over the world that are

very interested in high-speed research. Our motorsystem can be configured indifferent ways and is capa-ble of getting speeds of upto mach 8.5, the extremehypersonic realm.

What are your thoughts ofexperimental rocketry'srole in NAR and Tripoli?

My thoughts of experi-mental rocketry in bothTripoli and NAR come frommy interest as a manufac-turer in wanting to see thehobby continue at ANYlevel. Recently, there was afellow back east who tookit upon himself to send theATF in Washington D.C. aletter to inquire aboutspecifics about the "EasyAccess" nature of rocketmotors. As a result, the ATFis changing rules regarding"Easy Access" rocketmotors. We all know that iscoming. The unusual thingabout this is how can oneman mailing a letter to the

ATF jeopardize our entirehobby or at least oneaspect of the hobby? Ibelieve what this shows isthe current illusion of pro-tectiveness created by bothNAR and Tripoli is bogus.The certification process formotors and various levels ofcertification for rocket fliersis all a weak illusion. It is alla house of cards ready tofall over!

In your opinion, how mustrocketry change in order tosurvive?

In the 21st century, ourrocket hobby will have tobe seriously reconfigured inorder to advance even min-imally in freedom. The cur-rent system used by Tripoliand NAR is so poorly man-aged and executed, that itis headed for a wall whichhas intentionally been builtbrick-by-brick, methodicallyover the years, by the TRAand NAR leadership. Overthose years, they havedefaulted freedom-after-freedom to more-and-moreonerous regulation by thegovernment authorities.What these organizationslike NAR and Tripoli havebrought on themselves, inmy opinion, is completelyunnecessary! I can onlythink of a few reasons forit. One is for the personalaggrandizement of peoplein this hobby that want tolook like the big shots.These leaders have actuallygiven over the hobbyorganizations and membersof those organizations toincreasing regulation inorder to increase their sta-tus and feeling of impor-tance in that organization. Ithink it is pathetic. It is notan idealistic rant to sit hereand say these things—thatfreedom has been givenaway. I'm not saying this as

an anarchist. I'm a manu-facturer who wants to seethe hobby continue togrow. If we observe theactivities that have beendone for the last 15 yearsand take it as a given thatthe current course ofaction is not working, andtake it as a given that ourfreedoms are beingchipped away one-by-one,due to this course of action,it is not too difficult to seewhy soon you are left fly-ing only G motors andwondering “What hap-pened?”

This is what is happeningin the high power rocketryhobby today. So whatbright spots can we see onthe horizon? These brightspots are amateurs involvedin experimental rocketry.There is a Tripoli group inMaryland who go out andget their own private land,they get their own privateinsurance, and they flywhatever they darn wellplease. They do it 100%legally, 100% covered byinsurance and with noinvolvement with Tripoliexcept for having the nameand a Prefecture, and theyhave a superior safetyrecord. In my opinion,Tripoli should be only anorganization to call peopletogether in the cama-raderie of flying rockets.Tripoli should not make upsilly little rules they pushdown the member’sthroats, because it justdoesn't work! The wholeprocess of motor certifica-tion, which they say bringsregulatory relief, is chokingthe hobby with regulatoryinvolvement. It is donebecause the leaders ofhobby rocketry organiza-tions choose to have it thatway. There is no one withenough intelligence, know-

TRIANO

DAVE

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how, or street savvy to getout there and pursueanother more effectivedirection. The organizationsout there can't turn backthe clock, but they canchange. They can becomesocial organizations tocoordinate some aspects ofrocket launches and adviseas to safety standards forlaunching rockets. Theyshould advise as to safelaunch distances, equip-ment to be used, and otherlaunch guidelines only.

Should a rocketry organiza-tion get involved in motorcertification?

When an organizationsteps in and starts to ‘regu-late’, and pretend they area government organization,

then the next step downthe line is to get a govern-mental institution involvedto validate their imaginaryregulations. That is whathas been done in the past.These organizations say,"Look we are so safe. Seewhat we do? We evenmake up our own pretendrules!" I don't believe itworks. Once you let thegovernment in the door,they are going to wantmore and more. I think thenotion of organizationsproviding insurance formembers in order to helpsecure a place to fly(because of the wonderfulmotor certification processthat is supposed to makethe insurance company feelwarm and fuzzy) is ridicu-

lous. As a professional busi-nessman, I have a milliondollar liability insurancepolicy that covers all of mydesign and research activi-ties. It is not very expen-sive, and it is not difficultto obtain. Groups likeTripoli Maryland have donejust that. There are insur-ance companies that pro-vide this kind of coverageregularly and you just goout and buy it. I guess itjust comes down to: do themembers want to partici-pate at a local level, or dothey want to send in anever-increasing membershipfee to an organization andtrust that someone is doingit for them? I don't buy it.Regardless, when a rockethits a car at a launch, thefirst insurance policy thatcounts is the individualflier’s. The last one to payoff is the organizationalpolicy. It is really a sham orillusion that organizationalinsurance like Tripoli andNAR trumpet so loudlymeans anything. It could beso much easier if you didn'tneed Tripoli or NAR insur-ance and could just go outand get your own. Anorganization could evenpublish guidelines on howto get your own. If you dothat, it simplifies every-thing. If you do that, thenyou don't need motor certi-fication. Regarding motorcertification, every time itcomes up, Tripoli brings uppast history. They say oneindividual was goingaround selling motors thatweren't up to spec. I'mtired of hearing about thisone individual and the jus-tifications for this entirenightmare of motor certifi-cation being pinned to hisactivities. It’s all a matter of“Pay no attention to the

man behind the curtains, Iam the great Oz!”—a dis-traction technique. I'm allfor the common senseapproach. A customer canask around and find outabout which motors workand which don't. Let thecustomer decide what tobuy through their ownintelligent research. As longas the safe distances arefollowed, a rocket motorcan't hurt you. It is a com-mon sense thing. Withmotor certification, let themarket dictate as it may. Ifthe manufacturer is notobeying laws when hemakes his motors, then letthe legal system deal withit! Let the consumer putthat company out of busi-ness, or keep him in busi-ness as they see fit. All thecurrent activities that aregoing on regarding motorcertification, the insuranceissues, etc. are, in my opin-ion, 150% unnecessary anddestructive.

In your opinion, do youfeel LEUP’s (Low ExplosiveUsers Permit) are neces-sary?

For the average rockethobbyists, LEUP’s are a fool-ish thing to pursue. Peoplethink they have to get onebecause their fellow hobby-ist has one, they get a LEUPand then the ATF hasauthorization to come bustdown your door andinspect your magazine. Youhave to play with your localrules. You need to checkwith your local ordinances.The bottom line is that nohobbyists should have (orwant) to store motors attheir home. Buy them atthe launch from a legallycorrect vendor who has tocomply with the existinglaws of the land. As a larg-

TRIANO

DAVE

er issue, for those in the busi-ness the LEUP is an awfulburden because AP propel-lant (Ammonium Perchlorate)is not a regulated low explo-sive by the ATF's own defini-tion. Eventually, there will besomeone who will have atest case. By chemical defini-tion, AP (in the particle sizesused in our motors) is not anexplosive, it is a Class 5.1Oxidizer. Because it is not anexplosive, the ATF has noauthority to regulate AP pro-pellant. But if you want to belegal and not have any ques-tion of it, how about notkeeping these items in yourhouse? If you want to learnabout making your own pro-pellant, the good team atthe RRS (Reaction ResearchSociety) will be glad to showyou how to do it correctly,without keeping it in yourhome.

Editors Note: The ATF main-tains that it does have regulato-ry powers over storage of APpropellant. The ATF does requireLEUP permits for storage of vari-ous types of rocket motors. Thestatements above are Mr.Triano's opinions and do notnecessarily reflect the views andopinions of this publication orits staff.

What do you see as thefuture of this hobby?

From a professional stand-point, I could not care lessabout Tripoli or NAR. Theymake absolutely no differ-ence and have no effect onmy activities. From a hobbystandpoint, I'd like to see thehobby grow much like thatof another organization I’minvolved with. I've been a

member of the ExperimentalAircraft Association since Iwas 12. In that time, I've seenthe organization grow fromone that was fairly compara-ble to Tripoli or NAR in sizeto one that is vastly largerand more professional in itsdealings with Washington. Itis a good idea to pick a likeorganization and try to emu-late it and make your hobbygrow. They have managed togrow their membershipexponentially while at thesame time decreasing theregulatory involvement intheir activities.

What do you like most aboutrocketry?

I like the calls I get everyday from people who wantto learn better ways to dothings. They want to discovermore efficient ways to makerockets go higher and faster,and I love to see their suc-cesses.

What do you hate mostabout rocketry?

First, I believe the regula-tions are ludicrous. Second,the group of people whodon't want to know anythingmore about rockets or properaerospace engineering andconstruction techniques—they are sure that they knowit all and it can't be done anybetter.

What advice would you givesomeone starting into rock-etry?

Do your research, deter-mine the level of involve-ment you want to get intothe hobby at, and take itslowly. Do it on a budget sothat you don't affect your

family’s lifestyle.

It’s all a matter of “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains, I am the great Oz!”—a distraction technique.



FEATURED PROJECTS[ by: bob shultz ]

Electronic Strobe Module (ESM)bob shultz’s LDRS 20 project

Bob Shultz and his wife holdinga checklist stand next to theESM (Electronic Strobe

Module) at LDRS 20. The strobe is a16 Joule strobe meant for use onemergency vehicles. The unit wasdisassembled, keeping the strobeelement and electronics, etc. Thefinished ESM includes the elementmounted in the clear nose, alongwith a 50-watt halogen “landinglight” (meant for night flying) anda 1-watt cooling fan. The cleardome is a plastic 6” security camerahousing (like you see in publicbuildings and airports). Bob cut thebase off with a Dremel tool. Hethen epoxied the hemisphere to ashort chunk of 6” body tube, whichin turn bolts to the rest of the ESM.Sadly, the dome shattered onimpact. The ESM weighs 8 pounds –5.7 pounds more than the normalPML BullDog nose cone that itreplaces – but some of that is dueto building it tough.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2002 43JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2002 43


PRODUCT REVIEW[ by: steve ainsworth ]

Failure is Not an Optiona book written by gene kranz

This book is more than a bookabout spaceflight. It is a bookabout life. If you read only one

book about spaceflight this year, readthis one. Kranz talks about his child-hood thrill of aircraft model construc-tion and flying rockets. His highschool thesis was entitled, "TheDesign and Possibilities of theInterplanetary Rocket." He explainshow he looked into the eye of thetiger (fear) and overcame it in flightschool. The tools learned early flyingfighters proved invaluable at his jobin mission control. He also tells ushow he discovered "that for much ofmy life I had just been coastingalong". The space program gave himdirection as it did the entire countryin the tumultuous 1960's.

NASA hired Gene Kranz in Octoberof 1960 sight unseen. Working underChris Kraft, he assembled a team offlight controllers and outlined a jobthat had never been done before.That team invented every aspect ofthe job they were to do. The earlyunmanned and manned flightsdemonstrated a need for knowledgeof the complete rocket and spacecraftsystem, so Kranz had each member ofthe team learn the details on onearea of technology used in a flight.Then they got together and taughtwhat they had learned to each other.His crews were defining the roles theywould each play in spaceflight. Kranz

captures the rocketeers' spirit in hisbook, and I felt like I shared a com-mon bond with them. In reading hisbook, I realized that rocketeers arecut from the same cloth.

The early US Space program wasrestricted by budgetary constraintsand got off to a slow start. The firstlaunch of a Redstone with a capsuleon board flew to an altitude of fourinches, shut down and fell back ontothe launch cradle. With no umbilicallines attached and the booster shut-down, there was no telemetry on therocket condition and controllers wereconfused as to what should be done.They had a fully fueled Redstone onthe pad, loosely resting on its launchcradle but otherwise unsupported.Minutes later the events timer ejectedthe chute from the capsule. Thechute was caught in the breeze andthreatened to pull the rocket over.The rocket was not safe to approach,as it could tip over or just explode atany moment. Suggestions of what todo next included shooting holes inthe propellant tanks with a rifle tode-pressurize them. No one had

thought about what should be doneif this happened. The German scien-tists in the blockhouse were stuckthere until a solution was found.Cooler heads suggested that if thebreeze did not pick up, the rocketwas stable, and could be leftovernight allowing the propellant toboil off and trip the pressure reliefvalves. Also, by morning, the batter-ies would be dead, and there wouldbe no danger of a spurious commanddetonating the rocket.

Kranz often comments on the risklevel that was accepted in the spaceprogram to get an American on themoon. He states that they wererolling the dice in a way that wouldnot be allowed in today's space pro-gram (the first EVA was done withoutany training). The controllers fullyexpected to loose two astronauts inthe Mercury program. Quite oftenthey had to make decisions wherethere was no right decision to bemade; nothing was black and white.He gives several detailed examples ofthe high-gain high-risk leadership atNASA in the 1960's without which theUS would not have gone to the moonby the end of the decade. Thehuman factor was the key to our suc-cess in Gemini and Apollo. Kranzstates, “Suddenly and unexpectedlywe may find ourselves in a role whereour performance has ultimate conse-quences. Knowing what we didn't

Join the NAR Today! Mail to: NAR, 1311 Edgewood Drive, Altoona,

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know was how we kept people fromgetting killed."

And yet three were killed. Kranztakes us into the depths of the emo-tion surrounding the deaths ofGrissom, White and Chaffee on thepad in Apollo 1. This accidentchanged the space program andchanged the men who were MissionControl.

When Apollo 8 was launched on thefirst visit to the moon, CharlesLindbergh was present at MissionControl. The control team felt thathis presence was, “Kind of laying onof hands for the mission, and a han-dover of the stick and rudder to theastronauts."

When Apollo 13 was in trouble,there were many questions to be

answered, and a correct answer toolate was worthless. "How cold canthe thrusters get and still fire? Howmany amp hours are really in the bat-tery beyond spec values? How criticalis the reentry angle?" What materialhelped save the day for Apollo 13?Duct tape!

ConclusionFor space buffs (like me), it is a hard

to put down book, and complimentsthe NASA Mission Reports for eachmission by telling some of the sameevents (and much more) but from theFlight Controller's perspective. Inaddition, there are details of theunmanned Mercury, Gemini andApollo missions.

PRODUCT REVIEW[ continued ]

Failure is Not an Option... Continueda book written by gene kranz Pro’s

Gene Kranz captures the spiritthat we all feel when we flyrockets. He has some greatinsight that we can learn from asamateur rocketry enters a newlevel. The lessons learned by thepeople that invented spaceflightcan be invaluable to the newbreed of amateur rocket scien-tists. This book offers us aglimpse at many of those les-sons.

Con'sThe book is about the personalexperiences of Gene Kranz andas such does not provide detailson flights for which he was not acontroller.

Available at most bookstores.

LAUNCH CALENDAR[ march launches ]

March 2-3Three Oaks, MISponsor: Tripoli Michiana (78)Contact: Roger CoatesPhone: [email protected]://www.geocities.com/ruthieq99/tripolimichiana.html

March 3Monroe, WAWaiver: 5,000 ft AGLContacts: Prefect: Dave DavisPhone: [email protected]

March 3Indianola Baloon FieldJust East of Indianola IowaTim [email protected]://www.isoar.org/

March 9ROC LaunchLucerne Valley Dry Lake,CAContact: Rick O'[email protected]://www.rocstock.org

March 9Kansas City Association ofRocketryKansas City, MOSponsor: Kansas CityAssociation of [email protected]/mo2/kcar

March 9Blue Mountain RocketeersNAR # 615Dayton, WashingtonContact: Tim Quigg; SectionAdvisorPhone: (509) [email protected]://communities.msn.com/BlueMountainRocketeers

March 9Tripoli Quad Cities SportLaunchVan Orin, IllinoisContact: Tim Lehr http://www.tripoliquadcities.com

March 9Swan Falls, IDContacts: Vern KnowlesPhone: [email protected]

March 9Clegg Sod FarmBunnell FloridaContact: Greg [email protected]

March 16 Space Port Cape CanaveralRange: SRA Rocket RanchPalm Bay FloridaWaiver: 10,000 ft AGLPrefect: Kirk BairdPhone: [email protected]://home.cfl.rr.com/sra/

March 16Thunder in the DesertAlamogordo, New MexicoWaiver: 10,000'Contact: Bob Turner (TRA#647)Phone: 1-877-333-6589 [email protected]

March 16-17SPRINGFESTRange: El Dorado Dry LakeBedBoulder City, NV20 minutes from Las VegasDave PachecoPhone: [email protected]

March 16-17Williams FarmMidland, NCWaiver: 5000 feet aglContact: Ralph RobertsPhone: [email protected]

March 17JMRC in the fieldLocation: Gumbert's fieldin Jackson, MISponsor: JMRCContact: Scott [email protected]

March 17ESAC St. Patrick's Day BlarneyRocket LaunchDaphne, ALContact: Chad [email protected]/clubs/

March 23Battle ParkCulpeper, VaSponsor: Tripoli Central &East VirginiaContact: Ed Rowe Phone: [email protected]

March 23Rainbow Valley, AZWaiver: 9500' MSL Contacts: Mark ClarkPhone: [email protected]

March 23Rebel FieldMercedes, TexasWaiver: 9,900' AGLContact: Randy AshleyPhone: [email protected]/rgvrc/

March 23Swan Falls, IDContacts: Vern KnowlesPhone: [email protected]

March 24CATO 58Sterling, CTSponsor: CATO (NAR 581 /TRA 27)Contact: Jay [email protected]

March 24Tuscola AirportWaiver: 10,000 ft AGLContacts:Don ReasorPhone: [email protected]

March 30West Palm Beach SiteEX LaunchRange: Roth FarmsBellglade, FlaWaiver: 10,000 ftContacts: Bruce Kilby -PrefectPhone: [email protected] community.gopbi.com/FSA-TWP

For more information and details on these launches, aswell as active links to all the websites listed, please visitAeroTech’s website and view the launch calendar page.www.aerotech-rocketry.com


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AFT CLOSURE[ by: scott goebel ]

Slow Down, Take It EasyThere is no need to do all three certification attempts in one day

If you have attended more than justa few high power events, youknow that some certification

attempts fail, and again many are suc-cessful. Preparing to advance to ahigher level in the certificationprocess can be as easy or as difficultas you make it. Some people simplytake the test and fly a J-350 in thesame bird they used for their success-ful level one certification. Othersdecide to do their homework, read,study, gain advice, use a computerdesign and simulation program, andthen build a rocket to suit their goals.Using electronics to ensure a saferecovery is also an option many flyersadd to their agenda when planningtheir level two attempt.

The three-step certification processdoes provide some measure of ensur-ing that flyers are competent to move

up to using higher power motors.There is however, a large loopholethat allows flyers the opportunity toadvance certification levels fasterthan what could be termed prudent.There is no provision to measure theexperience of the flyer between thecertification levels. Flyers should berequired to log an appropriate num-ber of flights in their current certifica-tion level before being allowed toadvance. The skills required toattempt a level two flight alreadymake the project a difficult challenge.The simple requirement of perhapsten flights before attempting thatimportant flight would not discour-age anyone from attempting to com-plete the task. I am positive that any-one considering their level two flightwill agree that the additional experi-ence gained by flying those ten birds

will be an asset to their rock-etry portfolio. You can read allthe books, buy and project allthe computer simulations, useall the fancy adhesives, epox-ies, and composite construc-tion techniques. When pushcomes to shove, experiencewill give you the confidence toplan a project that will suc-ceed.

I received some advice justafter my successful level twoflight. My friend told me to beextra careful in my prepara-

tions for my second flight. It is easy tomake a mistake on that next flight. Itwas good advice, there is alwayspotential to forget something in yourpreparations. The knowledge to begained in making future flights makeseach ensuing one safer and moreenjoyable.

I would also like to recommendadding a step to the certification sys-tem. You are not currently required touse electronics to achieve level two. Iwas surprised to learn this when I wasplanning my project. I learned byexperience that motor delays are notgoing to provide the perfect timingfor a successful deployment. You doneed to know your electronic recov-ery devices backwards and forwardsbefore undertaking any current levelthree attempt. This new third levelwould be ten flights on any bird using

an electronic device for recovery.Mastery of this level would give youthe confidence to plan, build yourrocket, and attempt your level fourflight.

Some people can be in too much ofa hurry to move up the certificationlevel ladder.

There is no race to see who can getto the top the fastest, and certainlyno need to do all three certificationattempts in one day. The satisfactionof achieving a goal is not the con-quest of the feat, but in the journey.Enjoy the hobby, fly some rockets!


Scott got involved in rocketrywhen his son's Boy Scout troopbuilt Estes Fat Boys and flewthem at a Tripoli WisconsinAssociation launch. When Scottsaw that there were big rocketsfor big boys he was hooked.Scott enjoys the hobby almost as

much as the friends he hasmade while involved in it. Heenjoys camping and working oncars. Scott is a union construc-tion electrician. Currently he isserving a term as President forWOOSH, NAR section #558.

About Scott Goebel

When push comes to shove, experience will give you the confidence to plan a project that will succeed.


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experimental rocketry • 1/50 scale appolo/saturn 1b • …€¦ · experimental rocketry •...

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