< On The Launch Rail ( 81 KB)
Here's the rocket on Kevin's launch rail with Doug and Carl preparing the rocket. Leonora took the picture. This rocket uses larger LOX and fuel tanks than the first one to get more altitude.

< V3 Liftoff ( 8 KB)
This is the photo that Doug took from next to the blockhouse. He was going to take more, but he got blasted by dirt and rocks from the blast deflector.

< At Launch ( 30 KB)
This is a photo that Tony Richards took from the bunkhouse... Nice yellow flame. According to Carl's calculations, the rocket was accelerating at 3.9 gs with 850 lbs of thrust.

< Clears the Tower ( 35 KB)
Here's the next picture that Tony took, he had his camera set on autowind. Right after this, the rocket tilted into the wind as the wind caught the fins.

< In Flight ( 9 KB)
Here's another great picture from Tony. After this, the rocket went so far up and so far downrange that we never saw it again. We even rented a plane to look for it, but by then it was gone.

< Launch 2 ( 11 KB)
This picture is from Dave Griffiths. Notice the clean exhaust not found in solid rockets. The rocket was going too fast for the drogue chute when it deployed and it ripped out the main chute early. The main chute detached from the rocket and the rest of the rocket crashed in the desert near the Honda test track. Next time we will use a smaller drogue so that even if the rocket is traveling at terminal velocity, the drogue will not separate.

< Rocket Kit ( 63 KB)
Here's what the rocket kit looks like, before it is assembled. These are just the mechanical parts, the bulkheads are mode of plywood, the stringers are spruce and the skin is phenolic. Highly stressed areas are reinforced with aluminum.

< Main Assembly (top) ( 15 KB)
This is the same rocket under construction. The first one blew up, but it made the cover of extreme rocketry magazine. The second one worked, but the chutes did not deploy. This latest one had bigger LOX and fuel tanks, and it burned for 30 seconds. The wind was too strong, so it pitched over and only went up about 20,000 ft. It went about 6 miles to the south of the launch site and when we went looking for it, the wind picked up so we could not find it.

< Main Assembly ( 31 KB)
Here's the rocket main assembly in progress. The engine must be absolutely straight with respect to the fuselage.

< Assembly with Fins ( 20 KB)
The complete rocket without the skin. The roast pan underneath is to collect liquid oxygen during the Cryo test. The valves must be tested with liquid nitrogen before the rocket is flown.

< Rocket Schematic ( 16 KB)
Shows how the valves and regulators supply pressurized helium to the fuel and LOX tanks.

< Upper Compartment ( 14 KB)
This contains the high pressure helium bottle and regulators, and the breadbaskets which hold the parachutes. The PVC pipe will contain a charge to deploy the parachutes.

< Main Valve ( 17 KB)
This valve has an air switch set up so that the fuel valve opens after the LOX valve is open. It is better to turn on the LOX about .2 second before the fuel so that a detonable mixture does not form in the combustion chamber. When the LOX is turned on first the combustion chamber is cold at start up so the jet fuel does not vaporize too much. If there is too much well atomized, premixed LOX and Jet A then the chances for a hard start are much greater.