New to the forum and just wanted to share my first failed attempts with KNO3 and sugar rockets. Have been reading a lot of the information on here and think that I can hopefully make some successful rockets soon. Many thanks for all the information on the forum.

For my propellant I used a 60:40 ratio for the mix on a grill outside which worked great. Tested the mix outside on the driveway and it seemed to burn great so I put the rest of the mix into two PVC pipes about three inches long. I had secured the top and bottom with aluminum foil and duct tape while still leaving a small hole on the bottom for the fuse to go into. Finally secured the PVC pipe to a light wooden stick with electrical tape.

For the first launch attempt the PVC pipe in the ground fell over and the rocket went skidding across the driveway and into the neighbors yard but overall it seemed to work great. Second attempt the rocket seemed to have enough power but just was not lifting.

Overall though it was a very fun first attempt and I hope to get some better fuse soon and also better casing. Hope to post again with the next results in about a week. Again thank you very much to all who have made this possible with your information.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you say you're using aluminium foil and tape for your nozzle and end plug?

The concept of the nozzle is critical for the rocket to focus the lift. The best propellant will be useless if the thrust is not guided. "Red Beret"'s comment is quite valuable in that if you are using something that is not strong, heat resistant, and properly tuned to the flight dynamic you will have an upside-down fireworks "cone".

The propellant should be compacted so that there are no gaps in the burn rate (air pockets) of the rocket. The nozzle is critical in that the focus of the thrust that is made via the burning propellant has some targeted thrust. What's more the use of a nozzle is not a simple concept as it must interact with the propellant's burn rate.

The science in rocket building is often stated to be equal parts mathematics, physics, & flight mechanics. In this instance, pyrotechnics interacts with the flight mechanics since the propellant is burning. There needs to be an understanding of the burn-rate influences in your compaction of the sugar rocket's propellant (how and what area is burning during lift off and flight).

You may want to take a look at the web rigs out there on hobby rocketry. Your mix is good, however what is the consistency of your nitrate and sucrose? I used icing sugar and KN03 powdered in a coffee grinder. You need to have the KNO3 at about 100 or so mesh. This makes for excellent rocket fuel and if you have any iron oxide (red) then knead it in while the mix is cooling. This rapidly increases the burn rate, as seen here: http://www.jamesyawn.com/fe2o3/index.html

If you want to get real professional and have your rockets work real well, you need something that isn't going to melt away easily. Get yourself some fireclay (pottery supply) and mold the clay to the inner dimensions of the casing of the rocket when its still malleable make a small hole for the jet with an nail. ram it in that there you go.

You are right to pursue some better casing material.

Convolute-wound paper is the material of choice for being relatively light, strong and won't kill you when it CATO's, or damage property as it returns to earth.

Along with nozzles, you might want to research 'cored grain'.

Considering how there are whole websites dedicated to sugar/nitrate rocket motors, discussion here is redundant.

UTFSE would result in this:

http://www.nakka-rocketry.net/

And many more like it. :rolleyes:

Thank you all for the input. I have bought some craft paper and dowels today with some wood glue and made some pretty nice tubes with that. I also bought some clay that hardens to use for the plug and nozzle.

Looking back I did kind of rush the process and make a low quality product :-/ Hopefully soon though I can make a better rocket.

Something I discovered with KNO3/Sugar rockets was that if a long tube is used fins don't seem AS important as they normally are.

Don't get me wrong, nothing beats well aligned fins, but a tube can be used if fins are unavailable.

The rocket is simply loaded into a tube (I use PVC) like a cannon round and fired. It ricochets around in the barrel getting a spiral. So when the rocket comes out the end of the tube it sort of corkscrews and more or less goes straight.

It sure beats just lighting a fin-less rocket and hoping for the best. I discovered this when I was very new to rockets and had a lot of trouble putting on the fins straight.

Hope it's helpful to other newcomers to rocketry.

If fins are too much of a bother, use a STICK.

Kamelon,

You have been kindly directed to seek the advise you so badly need from nakka, jamesyawn, et al.

Sorry, but nobody cares about a "poke and hope" non-useful method of launching an unguided pipe bomb.:rolleyes: .

Spin-stabilization is a method you could research if fins remain beyond your abilities. Search for 'stinger missile pyro' for a start.

PVC IS NOT what you should be using!!! Forget the old saw about the shards not showing up on X-Ray when you are hit with them. If for no other reason, consider that PVC is heavier than convolute-wound paper and hampers the performance of KNSU-type motors.

Get w/the program 'fore you hurt yourself or somebody else:eek: who might be in the path of one of your devices.