THE FINAL BLOG...

Here's our last video :)

DATA TABLE:

       

Date	Trial #	Elements	Other Factors	Flight Time	Flight Path	Aftermath
2.28.11	------	One 2L Pepsi bottle	Amount of water: ¼ of the way up Weather: sunny No stakes	~ 5 seconds	Went up and arched to the left.	The bottle was fine, but smoke was come out of the top.
3.1.11	1	2L bottle, hot glued on complex cardboard fins, and a duct taped on triangle cardboard “cone”	Amount of water: about 1/5 of the way up. Weather: sunny Stakes used	~ 4 seconds	Went straight up and spiraled with a wobble to the ground.	One of the fins broke off with the glue stuck on it, but everything else was okay.
3.1.11	2	2L bottle, 2 hot glued on complex fins, 1 duct taped complex fin	Amount of water: about 1/5 of the way up Weather: sunny Stakes used	~ 4 seconds	Went up and spiraled with the bottle on its side down to the ground.	We lost another hot-glued fin, but the rest of the elements were fine.
3.3.11	1	2L bottle, 3 duct taped simple right triangle fins, bottle extension, cloth parachute attached by cloth strings, laminated paper cone	Amount of water: 1/5 full Weather: cloudy Stakes used	~ 3 seconds	Shot up, arched, and fell to the ground with a deployed parachute.	Everything was intact, except maybe a little bends in the fins here and there.
3.3.11	2	Same as above	Amount of water: 1/5 full Weather: cloudy Stakes used	10.7 seconds	Flew over 60 feet in the air, arched a little bit, and dove straight down into the pavement.	The top of the bottle was dented (fixable) and the cone was crushed, but the fins and parachute were still in great condition.
3.7.11	1	2L bottle, 3 duct taped simple fins, bottle extension, cloth parachute, bigger laminated cone, Play-Doh weight in the front of the of the cone	Amount of water: 1/6 full Weather: raining, windy No stakes	~ 7 seconds	Flew up into the air and plummeted to the ground with no parachute deployment.	The cone was crushed and the fins were a little wet, but the parachute was fine.
3.7.11	2	Same as above, except plastic grocery bag chute with fish line string to attach	Amount of water: 1/6 full Weather: drizzling, windy No stakes	5.2 seconds	It flew up and backwards and arched all the way to the roof with no parachute deployment.	The rocket was on the roof, but when we got it down the fins were soaked, the cone was gone, and the parachute was ruined. The body was in great condition however.
3.9.11	------	2L bottle, duct-taped covered fins, bottle extension, lighter fruit grocery bag chute, fish line strings, and larger laminated cone	Amount of water:  1/6 full Weather: drizzling, windy We used soapy water	7.6 seconds	It flew up really fast and high. The rocket then arched and headed right for the big tree and landed right in it with an almost parachute deployment.	The rocket ended up stuck on the tree indefinitely, but we were able to salvage the nose cone.

DISCUSSION:
We think that overall our rocket worked pretty well. It wasn't very consistent, but it worked and launched satisfactory every time. We think that in terms of functionality the extended bottle and simpler cardboard fins worked really well for stabilizing the rocket flight. The nose cone really helped in the aerodynamics of the flight and after we enlarged the cone it came off easily and allowed the parachute to come out. The parachute we made didn't really work in either of its forms. We think that it was because of the thin string, which would get entangled with each other and not allow the parachute to fully deploy. The only parachute able the deployed was our cloth one, but it didn't help the flight time at all. We think that if the light plastic chute was able to deploy it would've worked and came safely down instead of stuck in a tree because this chute was the lightest and would have the easiest time catching the wind.

The only things that worked as planned was the simple right triangle cardboard fins, laminated paper nose cone, and using duct tape. The cardboard fins definitely  stabilized the flight because after we put them on the rocket stopped spiraling on its side in flight. the laminated paper cone, although we had to keep making new ones, always popped off when we used them and made the rocket fly really high. Lastly, the duct never failed us. When we first started we used the hot glue gun and found that the glue doesn't help at all and it just comes off. However, when we used the duct tape everything stayed and nothing broke off.

Changes for the future would be to get thicker string and probably find a way to fold the parachute so it deploys better. Other changes might be to launch in the middle of the field and far away from the buildings and trees so it won't get stuck next time. Other than that I think our rocket did quite well :).

Wonder rocket :O

The video goes on a bit, but his launch is flawless :O

This would've been a very ideal launch,

but this is just for kicks because everyone's rockets and launches were amazing :)

SOURCE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn90FYp7YiM

pretty sweet :]

Gotta Hate Them Rocket Eating Trees :/

Our LAST attempt

with hopes of a ten second, cone staying on, parachute deploying, not getting on the roof rocket launch.

So, we were only able to do one launch because our rocket got stuck in the tree right in front of Midkiff... We started with a rocket with no parachute, water ruined fins, and lost nose cone. So, we made new fins and covered them with tape for reinforcement, we made a slightly large nose cone, and a new parachute out of a thinner plastic bag. We kept the six fish line strings for the parachute and the small piece of Play-Doh for the nose cone for a weight to help the cone to fall off. We used a larger nose cone in and Play-Doh in hopes that the nose cone would fall off easier when in the air for the parachute to deploy. We then used a lighter parachute to make it easier to catch the wind and open up. With this, we got a flight of about 7.6 seconds, which is pretty good for having remade everything in about 30 minutes. However, the fact it landed in the tree didn't help for our hopes of making the 10 seconds. If we did get another chance we would've found a more fitting way of folding the parachute so that the strings didn't tangle and so the bag would open up easily. Everything else seemed great because the aerodynamics of the rocket allowed it to shoot up high, the nose cone came off and stayed attached, and the rocket arched. Nevertheless, our parachute came out, but it didn't deploy fully probably because of the strings becoming entangled. Although we made 10 seconds once, it was too bad we weren't able to make it this time. Our rocket was still able to make it till the final launch, which was pretty awesome and we definitely had a fun time getting it this far :).

Repairs Needed :/

Not so good ending :/

up on the rooftop...

This launch did not go so well. Although, we got a 7 second launch on the first one, we ended up losing our rocket the second time around to the Midkiff roof. We added a small weight of Play-Doh to the tip of the cone. We enlarged the cone a little bit and reinforced the fins. In the first trial we kept our cloth parachute. However, it didn't deploy and we got our cone crushed. In our second trial we took off the cloth parachute and tried a plastic bag parachute attached by about six 7 inch fish line string. We only got 5.2 seconds though and plus our rocket got stuck on the roof and eventually the gutter. In terms of improvement, well we need new fins because they are soaked, a new cone because it's destroyed, and a new parachute because it didn't really work. BUT, we do have a usable body that Matt saved for us from the gutter :D. So, we have a lot to do to make our 10 seconds, but I'm positive we can do it! We just need to repair the rocket and hopefully get a descent time and hopefully our parachute to deploy!

SUCCESS! SUCCESS! :)

 Launch Day 3

In this past launch we added new fins, a new cone, a parachute, and extended the bottle. We decided to tape on the cardboard fins because the hot glue just came off on the last launch. Our new cone was made of laminated construction paper and we used duct tape to put the cone together in order to hold down our parachute. Our parachute was made of thin cloth. We made a circle chute and attached it to the bottle with 6 thick strings of cloth and duct tape. We also cute the top half of our Coke 2L bottle off and taped it to the bottom of our bottle to increase the aerodynamic stability. In our first launch it lasted 3 seconds in the air, but the parachute deployed and the cone popped off. In our second launch it blasted over 50 feet in the air and lasted about 10.7 seconds, but the parachute didn't really work. We think that our rocket worked because of the firm planted fins and the nose cone and extension for better aerodynamics. Next, we hope to make a more efficient parachute with longer strings to connect to the bottle and a lighter parachute materal. We also want to add a weight to the cone in order to help it fall off mid-air. Overall, it was a good launch and we hope to keep on getting better. 

Launch day 2... 3/1/11

Launch numba 2

can also be found at *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpdjwyOo_AA*

Today we added some modifications onto our bottle rocket. We attempted to add on fins, and a ghetto nose cone. We found out that our nose cone was not too great. When we make another one, we found out that we need to make it more aerodynamic for it to work. The fins that we added on helped a little. But we didnʻt get the angles and shape of the fins right. And also next time, we need secure the fins on better. Another modification we need to add on, is some weight. That will help the rocket fly straighter and hopefully better.