Nose cone and stuff

I finally figured out the nose cone- an oil change funnel. It seems to work pretty well, as I ran a piece of threaded rod down the length of the nose cone to give it some stability and a place to mount the shock cord.

This is what the rocket looks like all pieced together:


I also made a little container for the ejection charge:




I still need to attach the fins, make an engine mount, make a parachute, make engines, and build a launch pad. At this rate, it's looking like I will not be able to launch this weekend, there's just too much to do.

2nd Propellant Test

So I worked out the composition of a new propellant that should preform better and be easier to make. I also tested a propellant with an addition of Iron(III) Oxide, or Fe₂O₃. This propellant did seem to burn a little better, but I'm not sure how significant the difference is. Also, I had an odd thing happen with my no oxide propellant. For some reason, the cylinder stopped burning. Completely. I have no idea why this happened. Anyways, here is the production process:

I measured out:

• 150g of KNO₃


• 75g of Sucrose


• 30ml of Corn Syrup


• 150ml H₂O

I then mixed everything together in a nonstick pan.


I started heating to fully dissolve all of the chemicals.


I then turned up the heat and began boiling off the water.


I eventually had to turn down the heat, as it boiled over and dripped on the heating element. It created a little burst of flame that could have been a big problem.


I turned the heat way down when it got to the crystal mush stage. It is very difficult to find that balance between boiling off the water and not causing caramelization.


I eventually got to the dry paste stage, where it passed the snap test with flying colors. It was ready to shape into the engine casing annd be made into a couple of test pieves.


I kneaded iron oxide into one of the test pieces, and kneaded the other the same ammount to keep things even. I thn inserted fuses to make them easy to light. I then reheated the rest of my paste untill it was very flexable, and filled the engine test casing.


To get the engine casing to light evenly, I filled the rest of the tube with about a 1/2 gram of pyrodex and sealed it with electrical tape. Electrical tape seems to not impede fuses or any pyrotechnics because it melts very readily. The pyrodex igniter certainly did a good job!


And here is the test video: