Water Rocket 1 - Skewer Design
>> Saturday 21 February 2009
1. Introduction
The design's basic principle is the ability to force a skewer into a fin so that it creates a "stabilizer set", which in turn can be easily connected to a bottle. The specific design described in this page is optimized for minimal required materials and minimum construction time.
2.Materials and equipment
Note: some materials have different names in different countries. If you recognize a material from its description and it has a commercial/other name in your country let me know, I will add it to the description.
2.1 Plastic bottle that fits your launcher:Best results are obtained with bottles that have a straight contour line both at the center section and the neck section.
2.2 3 Wood (bamboo) skewers: Normally used for roasting marshmallows or barbeque. These are wood (bamboo) sticks about 30 cm (12 inch) long with a 3.2 mm (1/8 inch) diameter and one sharp end. The sharp end is originally used to slide the meat/marshmallows on the skewer.
bottle and fin pattern (see picture)
fin (see picture of fin and pattern)
stabilizer set (fin and skewer) (see picture)
3.4 Positioning the stabilizer sets: Mark the location on the bottle - three equally spaced marks on the circumference. Place a few rubber bands on the bottle. Insert the skewers under the rubber bands at the marked locations. The structure at this point is strong enough so the rocket can be placed on the fins in vertical position. Make sure each fin is touching the bottle's neck at least at one point.
From : Nick's Water Rockets
