How to make bottle rocket

Bottle rocket

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆

Time: One day

From scrap: ████████░░ 80%

Preamble

Probably everyone at least once in his life made a water bottle rocket. In this topic I want to introduce you to a rocket of three-liter bottles (!) and has a parachute system onboard.

Materials

• Bottles
  
• Threaded plastic tube
  
• Plywood
  
• Parachute
  
• Can
  
• Spring
  
• An electric motor

Tools

• Hacksaw
  
• Glue
  
• Screwdriver
  
• Screws
  
• Scissors

Homemade bottle rocket



• Step 1

  
  Two bottles are connected neck-to-neck by a plastic tube (used gas canister). That is the whole bottle rocket is a cylinder, the nose cone is made out of the bottle. Stabilizers - plywood.


• Step 2

  
  The second and third bottle connected bottom-to-bottom with threaded tube and two nuts.
  

  All joints carefully gloued and surrounded by a piece of bottle for streamlining


• Step 3

  
  Stabilizers (tail) are made of plywood.
  

  


• Step 4

  
  Nozzle is not a bottle's neck, because it is too big. Nozzle will be a hole in bottle's cap.
  

  


• Step 5

  
  Launch pad is made of particleboard and two metal corners. Homemade bottle rocket is holded by metal bracket on the neck. Pull this bracket by a rope and rocket will start.
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  



Parachute system



• Step 6

  
  Folded parachute
  

  


• Step 7

  
  Parachute compartment is made of tin. Parachute spring plunger is pushed through the door that is opened by a mechanical timer. In the photo through the open door you can see plunger on the spring
  

  


• How it works

  
  Parachute door is closed on latch
  

  

  
  I open the latch, the spring pushes the folded parachute through the door. Then the parachute opens and performs its function.
  

  

  
  

  Parachute timer



• Step 8

  
  It consistes of a battery and motor with a gearbox. After starting the jet, engine starts to wind thread on the output shaft of the gearbox. A string pulls the parachute compartment door latch, it opens and parachute pushes out and homemade bottle rocket safely lands to the ground.
  Gear wheels are cut by hand with a file.
  

  

  
  

  

  
  Author: Sima

Video

The video of my homemade bottle rocket, unfortunately without parachute

Results and tips

• The project is not really a successfull, as the altitude is almost the same as that of a one-bottle rocket
  
• The idea are going to live forever: homemade bottle rockets is very easy to do, ideas for improvements are unlimited

Tags: rocket