Alas, We Succeed

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a formal announcement. HV Water Rockets has raised just enough money to begin their grand project! No more sponsor tie - ups, no more worrying about fundraisers... Starting from the Monday after Winter Break, the rocketry group will begin construction. All tools are located within the school, and will be easily accessible. Any comments? Leave 'em! By the way, email this around, because things are going to get big - really big!

Winter Break - Perhaps an Opportunity to Succeed?

Winter break is coming up, and it is offering itself as a seducing distraction. However, I see it as a possibility for improvement or advancement. A few meetings may be held, and construction will definitely begin. However, I am beginning to have small doubts about our entire project. Even with 300 dollars of funding, I am still frightened by the possibility of failure. Should the project fail, the consequences would be severe. Besides losing 300 dollars, we would also have no legacy, as a team. Perhaps we should pursue the "hangtime" world record of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. That would consist of a single reinforced 2 liter bottle with serious kicking power. Carbon fiber and epoxy usage would be lowered significantly, so costs would also be cut significantly as well. I will have to collaborate with my team to make the final decision. Meanwhile, happy Winter Break and good tidings to all!

We Got A Problem, Houston

Well, I was having my coffee this morning when I realized I was an idiot. Jackie Linevsky, a brilliant and talented team member, had suggested something I would have tossed to the side without a second thought. She said to make the rocket into one continuous cylinder, rather than sections that are joined with connectors. So simple, right? Well, not really. Gluing the sections together is rather stressful, because you need to keep everything straight.
So why did I toss out Jackie's idea before? Well, I had thought the glued sections would leak a little bit, so the less glued sections the better. What I did not think of was that the glue used for applying the carbon fiber would seal EVERYTHING. C'mon, let's give it up to Jackie for this wonderful innovation!
PS: I added a slideshow of some pictures I had to the right. Check it out!

Explosions, Money, and Unfortunate News

As you all know, a few days ago we had a big explosion of the FTC pressure vessel. Right now the team is trying to repair or remake the FTC part of the rocket, but it seems hard. Also, the launcher exploded after an overload of pressure tests. Instead of reinforced PVC, we will be using steel pipe rated at 3000psi. We will launch at around 2000 psi for the FTC, and 200 psi for the booster. However, this all relies on the factor that we can actually repair the FTC portion of the rocket. If we can't, we may have to resort on using a full-blown 2 liter bottle "stack" rocket (a rocket constructed using 2 liter bottles).
For the money part, the team needs funds. So until we can get a good stack of fundraisers, we're going to need a "transition fund." It will basically be a pizza sale, so if you want to donate, buy a slice! More info about this will be posted. Well, anyways, stay tuned for more info! By the way, if you don't understand anything I just posted, it's okay. I'll post some explanations later on.

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

As of Thursday, November 5, 2009, part of the Carbon Fiber FTC sustainer died. During pressurization, one of the splices delaminated and failed. The rocket shot up straight for 200 feet, and then exploded at 1500 feet. Research and an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. Next, Lockheed Martin decided to not sponsor us. This means we may have to resort to fundraisers. Fundfactory.com is a website that buys used ink toner cartridges and cell phones, so if you have any, please donate it to me during any of our meetings. IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE! That is all.

Carbon Fiber Sponsor

Fortunately, we recieved a product sponsorship from the generous Braider.com. They have decided to donate a huge amount (10 feet) of fiberglass and carbon fiber sleeves. That will be used to reinforce the pressure vessel(s). Also, we found a new sustainer shape: an FTC tube. FTC tubes are more aerodynamic than 2 liter bottles, but can't be used for a booster. If used as a booster, the high G acceleration will crush the tubing. So, we'll use it for the SECOND stage, when Gs are already tapered down a bit. Whether or not a 4 foot tube or 8 foot tube will be used is still being decided. Finally, we may consider using only an 8 foot tube with carbon fiber to set the single stage world record. We're gonna pwn both records of single and multiple stages.

Anyone Can Join!

If you want to check out the club, come to Mr. Wittrock's room at 8:30 AM, Monday, October 19th. All members must attend. It would be very helpful if you could bring in some plastic 2 liter bottles (like the ones for soda). That is all.

Cmon! Show some support!

Hey Everyone,
Show some support by commenting, or sending us an email! We want to know how our readers feel about our blog - it doesn't have to be long, but just to let us know you're there. Or, you could follow us by clicking the "follow" button on the right.

PS: We'll be taking some more videos for ballistics analysis.
PSS: Recruiting is still active. If you want to join, send an email to us at
hvwaterrockets@gmail.com, with a couple sentences on why you should be on the team.

New Club at FCMS

Attention all Falcon Cove Middle School students!!!!!

There will be a new club that is focusing on building and raising money for the world record rocket. If you like rocketry or science, then this is a club that you should join. Send us an email telling us why you should be a member of this club to hvwaterrockets@gmail.com.

Booster Launch Video

This is a video of a BOOSTER launch. Notice how I emphasized booster. This is not the world record attempt rocket! It's a booster that drops away from the main rocket - that's why its altitude is so low. However, it should give you a good idea of what a rocket launch should look like. Please note that this rocket was also launched at a relatively low pressure, and there was much more potential altitude. Anyhow, enjoy!

Some Pictures

Here are the pictures that I promised. The first picture is a spliced pair I was talking about. Notice the black coordinating lines and the brown glue. This illustrates how spliced pairs are basically just 2 Two - Liter bottles with their bottoms cut off, curled, and spliced. The second picture is of two spliced pairs joined together with what is called a tornado coupling. A tornado coupling lets air and/or water move through the spliced pairs. The third picture is a close-up of the aforesaid mentioned tornado coupling. The fourth picture is of our lovely launcher with a clark release mechanism. Cable ties lock on the the neck of a bottle, and a PVC coupler hold it there (I'll explain this in a seperate post). Finally, the fifth picture is to give you all an idea of how many bottles we need PER WEEK. Yep, that's right. A lot of bottles will be needed, so we'll need to work hard! That's it for now, but stay tuned for more pics!

More Bottles - The Harvest!

As you may all know, simply getting bottles is hard. Thus, I have to collect them with my team every Wednesday morning - because of recycling day. Today I got about 10, so I'll make them into spliced pairs. I'll also get some pictures up to show you what the heck a spliced pair is anyway.

Spliced Pair Tests

Today we tested the new spliced pairs. Unfortunately, the launcher began leaking at around 20 psi, and the pressure test was aborted. Even more unfortunately, the rocket self-launched, but made minimal damage. More pressure testing will follow after we get an o-ring for the launcher this weekend.