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!

 

Water Rocket Launcher Construction Tutorial: Part 14

We're back again this week with another in our launcher design tutorials. We thank you for all the positive emails and encourage you to comment below so that everyone can share in your interesting suggestions! This will be a quick update, as we have been spending a lot of time on the new rockets and training a new team member since the beginning of the month. We apologize for the delay in the updates but we should be back on course now.

Where we left off in our tutorial, we had just painted our wooden launcher base. This has really improved the look and feel of the base and it really turned out well. After we buffed the paint and waxed it with regular auto polish and wax, it really popped! Take a look at the surface in the photo below! Incredible, isn't it?

We've gotten very adept at painting and smoothing out these pieces and the skills will come in handy when we have to make another batch of nosecones or fins. We will also attempt to get our rockets as smooth and shiny as that because we have some test evidence which suggests that there is a performance gain in reducing the small imperfections and seams in our rockets. We have done some testing using a synthetic wax similar to beeswax that can fill seams and voids where our rocket parts join together (such as the joint where the nose separates).

Once we had our finished launcher base buffed out, the only step left would be to put the pieces back together and call it a day. So, we began assembling the parts and mounting the hardware. The rubber feet were installed first, so that the rocket launcher base could be set down without scratching the fresh paint. Paint of this type can take several weeks to fully cure, so be careful with the finish until it has hardened completely.

The next step is to mount the launch tube on the base with the U-Bolts. Be careful not to tighten the u-bolts too much at this point because we just reminded you that the paint takes a long time to cure. You don't want to ruin the paint by tightening too much just yet. Just snug up the nuts and you will have a functional launcher. You can return later and torque them more after the paint cures, if you wish.

The last step of our assembly would be to replace the cable-tie hardware, but we have a problem. It's not a show stopper, and we could have finished the build here by putting the rest of the parts together, but the PVC launcher looks a bit shabby in comparison.

But don't worry, we have a way to really make that hardware sparkle, and we will bring that to you in our next launcher update!

See you all next time!