Project 3000 Update: Nozzle Perfection

Hello Water Rocket Enthusiasts!

In the above photograph, you can see we have finally perfected the new nozzle construction techniques we first imagined over a year ago. Instead of gluing graphite tubes together to form concentric nozzle shapes and then sanding them smooth, we were able to fashion a single piece nozzle unit from a single block of graphite.

We had been stymied for some time how we would be able to create the internal groove needed by our launcher holding mechanism, but we were able to get some assistance from a local trade school and in the process were invited to make use of the equipment and students to assist in any way they could.

We have one nozzle prepared so far, and another one one the way as a backup/spare. As you can see the nozzle fits perfectly into our FTC and forms the core of our newest rocket which we will be launching this summer. Work has really picked up now that spring is here, and we hope to begin wrapping shortly when the weather warms up a bit more.

We're also looking at making a  new front bulkhead for the FTC which would be more dome shaped, which would eliminate a weak point at the top of the rocket. We will be posting further updates on the rocket as we build, so check back soon for more info!

Thanks for visiting!

Aerial Photograph Panorama Tutorial

Many of you have asked us to describe how we created the amazing panoramic images from our aerial videos which we introduced to the Water Rocket community many years ago, and has since become a staple of water rocket websites worldwide. This update has been created to inform you that we have created a complete step-by-step tutorial discussing how anyone can make similar panoramas with free software that anyone can use!

We will begin with a little background information to preface this tutorial. Think of this as a little history lesson. We think a lot of you are like minded and would enjoy reading a bit of history.
A very large influence on our team and a major reason we got interested in water rockets is due to the fact that we are all huge NASA and ESA fans here at U.S. Water Rockets. We follow every one of their missions with a passion. We also love to imagine what it might be like to work on those missions. Therefore, it should come as no surprise to anyone that we model our organization in ways which emulate the unsung heroes who design these missions, and have inspired us throughout our lives.

 

If you are interested in creating your own similar panoramas, please click this link to check out the complete tutorial on our website!

 

Enjoy!