This Blog documents the various activities of the world record holding water rocket team known as U.S. Water Rockets.
Using media aggregation technologies, we will be including videos and photos taken by the team and spectators of their water rocket launches as well as tutorials and instructions for building and flying water rockets safely.
Additional information on where to find competitions and rules regarding our water rocket world records will also be discussed.
Hey, everyone! Today is International Star Wars Day! To celebrate, we have released the complete file set for our 3D Printed Star Wars R2 Unit! This nearly 1/4 Scale robot replica has been a long term project for us, as we perfected our 3D modeling skills and learned the techniques needed to be able to make highly detailed prints on a small 3D printer!
Since we're known more for our Water Rockets than our 3D modelling skills, regulars to this Blog will be pleased to discover that there is a definite Water Rocket related tie-in for this project. But we're not going to spoil the surprise. You will just have to watch the video we created to announce this project to find out what the secret is! Check out the video below, and let us know in the video comments what you think!
If you're interested in making your own print of our model, you can find the complete instructions for how to download the files from Thingiverse, print them, and assemble them, all on our build tutorial on our website. The following link will take you right to the instructions:
We recently discovered a way to easily adapt our Radial Parachute Recovery System so that it can be used to release a payload module carried along the side of the Water Rocket Airframe. Our first thought was to use this as a way to take a Paper Glider to a very high altitude, and then release it.
We improved further on this concept when we realized that a rubber band could be used to forcefully fire the Paper Glider away from the Water Rocket when it is released.
We took this concept and mocked it up and performed a number of ground tests on it to see how well it would work, before we did an actual test flight. With a number of really promising tests conducted, we then decided to perform a test flight.
We added several cameras to the rocket so we could see the plane from different angles, and with any luck some dramatic footage of the plane in flight. Then we armed the system and prepared for launch.
In this video, we show the concept in more detail, and then we want to hear your opinion. Do you think it will Fail or Fly? Post your ideas in the comments section of this video, and we may use your comments in the results video, which will be published at the end of the week.
Get your comments in now, and let us know. Will it Fail or Fly!
Our team was recently asked to assist some students participating in a water rocket distance competition held by their school. We had never done any experiments in achieving maximum distance, so we were excited by the prospect of applying our experience in setting world records for altitude, as well as the chance to work with students in the STEM field.
We have published the first episode of our documentary series that covers our experience in this project. In this introductory episode, we jump right into analysis of the competition rules and our thoughts on designing the perfect water rocket for this competition.
The video begins with a history of our involvement in the competition, and how we became involved, and then outlines all of the rules for the competition which we had to comply with. The video concludes with a rough design for the ideal rocket, and a test plan for the design which will fine tune the rocket to maximize the performance.
Check out the video, and let us know what you think in the comments section of the video.
