Keys to Successful Rocket building

  1. Add Mass

Use just about anything you have around to add weight to the front of the rocket. Playground rocks, sand, or large washers work particularly well. You will need about 4 oz of weight. Just make sure it is centered on the top of the bottle. The better the balance of the rocket the farther it will fly.

  1. Attach Fins

You can use just about any type of paper or plastic to make the fins. The fins are placed to keep the rocket flying straight and true. Three fins place at equal distances around the rocket on the nozzle end work very well. Materials we have used are old cut up file folders, index cards, card stock, construction paper, and old CDs cut in Half. For Multiple launches the CDs work well because they are not damaged by water.

Paper fins are made in a series of steps shown in the photo above. Begin with a piece of paper 4”x6”, fold it in half long ways so that you have a 4”x3” rectangle. Now fold a half inch from each end up to form a “T” This gives a flat edge to tape the fins to the rocket with. Next trim the leading and trailing edge of the fin to make a more aerodynamic shape. Tape the front and back edge of the fin to reduce drag and attach them to the rocket using tape.

  1. Add Water

Let the kids experiment with the amount of water that they add to the rocket. About 32 oz or half full of water works very well.

  1. Put the completed rocket on the launcher
  2. Build Pressure

You can pressurize the rockets using many different types of air compressors and your selection depends mainly on what you have available and how many rockets you plan to launch. A few rockets and a bicycle pump may work great. Launch 20 or 30 rocket in 20 minutes and you are going to need a large 2 Horsepower compressor to be able to keep up. There are also numerous 12 volt compressors out there that can work off the cigarette lighter in your car. But that is a very slow way to launch numerous rockets.

  1. Launch

Select a safe area clear of objects and people that could be damaged by falling rockets. Learn how far rockets can fly and when in doubt start with low air pressures to make sure you will not shoot rockets past the safe landing area.