New Video: Flight to 1374 feet with Onboard HD Camera

We have uploaded a new video to our YouTube Channel which shows the Onboard HD video of one of our test flights which went 1,374 feet high. This flight was a test of the electronics and payload bay which were created for our X-17 water rocket. This particular flight used the pressure vessel from our X-12 water rocket with a diameter reducing fairing to adapt the two sections together, because the X-17 pressure vessel was not completed at the time the payload testing was conducted.

One of our most observant viewers noticed that the spin characteristics of X-12 are vastly improved compared to some of our previous videos. Good eye! The way we accomplished this is very simple: we changed the fin shape on the rocket so that the fin tips were protruding farther away from the main body tube. If you study the air flow over a rocket, the air is turbulent close to the body, and especially where the fins meet the body. By moving the tips of the fins farther away from the body, the air is smoother and allows the fins to function more efficiently. We did debate if the new fins were perhaps aligned better and that explains the imrpovement, so we made the same modification to X-10 and had a similar improvement in spin.

We have cleared the tower!!!

We are very pleased to report that the all new USwaterRockets.com website has launched successfully and we have passed through Max-Q and all engines are at 100% power and are functioning nominally! A special shout-out to the ground crew who made this launch a success (especially with their graphics support and spell checking)

We have a number of completed projects which must be written up, and a number of projects in various stages of completion which we will be documenting in the coming weeks. This journey is only beginning, and would not be possible without the support of our friends and family who put up with stacks of bottles and various electronics projects cluttering up the vehicle assembly building.

We will be posting updates as frequently as life and development schedules permit. You should see the updates appearing on our USwaterRockets.com website mirrored on our blog at http://uswaterrockets.blogspot.com for those of you who would like to subscribe to an RSS feed to keep up with the site. Multiply has changed their company direction and is moving away from supporting groups like our Water Rockets group, so we have transferred all of the content from there onto the blog and expect it to disappear from multiply any day now (it is well past the day they said it would be gone). Members over there can continue to follow us by changing your bookmarks to the http://uswaterrockets.blogspot.com address.

Because you have asked for more frequent updates, and given the amount of time it takes to prepare new articles for the site, we will be using various social media outlets to broadcast micro updates to keep you up to date. During the next few months, we will shape the timing and content of the social media updates based on the number of followers and their feedback.

To connect with USWR on social media, you can easily find the badges to connect with us on the top right corner of our main website located at: USwaterRockets.com as well as individual buttons where you can forward your favoriate articles to your friends on each page.

 If you prefer URLs, you can get in touch and connect with us by clicking any of the following:
http://www.facebook.com/USWaterRockets
https://twitter.com/USWaterRockets
http://www.youtube.com/USWaterRockets

Thanks for the support!!!

Countdown to launch of the all-new USWaterRockets.com

2013 promises to be a great year of huge advancements for U.S. Water Rockets, beginning with the official launch of the all-new USWaterRockets.com website. The new website drops the "Team News" format of the old site, and adopts a innovative new online magazine format that will combine many years of previously unreleased tutorials and experimental data with exciting new content that breaks new ground in the sport of water rockets!

If you think you know water rockets, you will definitely want to watch this space for informative tutorials based on science instead of trial and error, and updated construction techniques that favor technology over tradition.

By presenting our research in such a concise and easy to navigate format (with extensive search capabilities and full indexing), we hope you will be able to construct safer water rockets, and do it faster than ever before!  You will see dramatic results when you see the busted myths of water rockets!

If you're new to water rocketry, you will be able to learn from our decades of experience with water rockets and related fields. We teach you from the ground up how to make your own advanced water rockets by leveraging decades of research into our many extensive tutorials and free downloads such as our popular electronics projects (like the $4.30 servo operated parachute ServoChron 2 assembly instructions and firmware)!

Of course, you will still be able to view our extensive database of WRA2 world record altimeter graphs and videos, as well as team news and updates like we've always done in the past!

The countdown to the official launch of the new USWaterRockets.com has already begun! Liftoff is scheduled for Saturday, January 20, 2013 at 01:20:13AM EST! If you cannot wait that long, you can preview the new site and email us your comments by visiting USWaterRockets.com any time before liftoff! Email us and tell us what you think!

- Team U.S. Water Rockets