More Rocketry

Well, we made a few adjustments to the rocket and tried again. On the first launch, we tried wedging the nose cone on a bit tighter to stop it from coming off before apogee. Apparently it was on a little too tight:

That freed us up to try other configurations, including empty bottles. They worked surprisingly well (sorry about the bad camera work!):

So now the rocket is back on the bench for repairs... I mean, design improvements!

Water-powered Rocketry

About a year ago I got an issue of Make magazine with plans for a water-powered rocket. Well, I finally decided to give it a try. The build went pretty smoothly overall, with the main problems being finding a way to get glue to stick to a 2-liter bottle and finding the right o-ring/notch depth combination to create a good seal when pressurizing the rocket. Marcus, Elise, and our neighbor, Addie, helped... mostly with the parachute.

Today we headed out to Smith Park along with the Mangolds for the rocket's inaugural launch. I'd say it was a success because: no one got hurt, the rocket went up in the air, the parachute worked, nothing unfixable broke, and we all had fun. Next up... more height!

Here are some pictures:

Water-powered Rocket: First Launch

... and some videos:

Nose Cone Failure On First Launch:

Early Nose Cone Release And Tether Failure On Second Launch:

Our Best Launch:

Stephen's First Day of Preschool

Stephen had his first day of school on Wednesday, and it was a success! No clinging, no crying, just quiet attention and eventually some participation.

Stephen's First Day of School

Strong Wind

Wind speed today was 15~18mph, gusting up to 30 at times. So lots of windsurfers (and a few kiters) left work early to take advantage. I only had strength for a couple of runs, but I used my rest time to take some pictures. My new personal speed record is just shy of 25mph! Click the photo below to see my favorites from the album:

Riding the wind at Alum Creek 9-7-07