Smallest class to date. Not a bad thing as it provided ample opportunity to go deeper into the function and science behind rocketry. Here the kids are busy constructing the Thing-a-ma-Jig kit.
I have discovered that two of the most difficult parts of assembly are knot tying and properly reading a ruler. Something I will incorporate into future classes. Here the Kevlar cord is tied to the engine mount.
Proud of a job well done!
These kids really appreciate the skill they are learning, not to mention the fun they are having!
Cutting the parachute is never that difficult, however the assembly requires 6 knots! (12 if you double knot, as you should) so it is a chore.
Here is a close up of the finished fin unit and engine mount. We stop here at the end of our first week (parachute is also assembled). next we we will install all of these sub assemblies and finish the kit.
The following week we got right back into building, only this time the Triskelion kit!
Glue fillets are OH so important. I stress the importance and, when I can, show pictures of the results of poorly applied glue fillets...
The kids learn and work to get the job done right.
UGH! Another parachute! (that's why I assemble all of my parachutes in the winter and carry a bag of them around with me at the field when I fly LOL)
Here a broken fin tip is being repaired. You can see that this is a much longer than normal Triskelion. This one is made from a single 18" tube instead of the 8.5" tube provided with the kit.
Here you can see the Triskelion with the stock body tube. However, this won't stay "stock". A tube coupler and another 18" tube will make this model have an overall length of over 31" (nose cone and all)
Here 3 of the 5 students show off their handiwork with the payload Triseklion, 23" Triskelion and 31" Triskelion.
Holding them upright you can get a better view of their relative sizes. All in all a fun and easy to implement modification to a great kit.
On flight day he wanted to loft a payload full of candy and then share it with his classmates. The added weight of all that candy meant that we needed to tape the nose cone in place to avoid in-flight spillage...
As frustrating as building the parachute can be, prepping it for flight can present a new set of challenges until you get used to the methods.
Taking my advice, a knee is used as a "surface" to aid in folding the parachute.
The days are VERY short and it is hard to take good launch pictures. At the start of the launch I launched my Mini-Starlight model on a B6-4 only to have it land, literally, against the launch pad it left from!
This is the mark of a good day of rocket flying!
We began the launch with the Thing-a-ma-Jig models first. Only two were brought to the launch, so that's what we launched!
Good ignition shot but even then it was blurry with the longer exposure time needed at this hour. (it's about 3:45pm and the sun sets at around 4:20)...
And the other Thing-a-ma-Jig takes to the air! Perfect flights for both.
Class photo! 4 of the 5 students were able to attend and two of them forgot their models. However they all had fun. I let the two missing their models to launch mine, cuz I'm a softie.
Here we have the 18" Triskelion and the payload Triskelion ready to go. At this point I was unable to get any decent pictures so you'll just have to imagine how cool they looked going up!
Here is a picture of me giving direction to a number of students from this and other classes. Photo by Bill Roy
A dark but effective launch photo (photo by Bill Roy)