| [Not displaying correctly? View web version.] | Peak-of-Flight Newsletter #550: | | 
The thing that frustrates flyers at a rocket launch is a slow pace of getting the rockets into the sky. You probably don’t care about other people’s rockets, but you want our own rocket to get off the pad as quickly as possible. Having to wait an hour while your rocket is sitting on the pad, with the onboard camera burning its batteries and filling up the memory card is highly irritating. Tempers start to flare, and shouting begins. Rocketeers will travel hundreds of miles to attend a big launch, with the back end of their car stuffed with dozens of rockets. But because of the through-put pace of launching, they may be lucky to get three flights off in a day. How do you run a launch that is both safe, and where the pace is quick? To figure out how to speed up a launch, you have to start with a list of the things that slow down a launch. I’ll go through them in this article, and give some suggestions on how to minimize their effect on the pace of the launches. | | Read the rest of this week's article, either on a downloadable PDF for printing out, or on our website (great for viewing on your phone)! Previous issues of our newsletter are found at our archive page. |
| Check out the latest products to hit Apogee's shelves! | Estes Antar | | 
The original Antar rocket was created in 1951 by G. Harry Stine, the founder of the National Association of Rocketry. This is a faithful reproduction of that display model, and is actually intended to fly. Based on a BT-60 size tube (1.637 inches diameter), the Antar is a great model if you'd like something a little different looking and that is somewhat bigger. But it still flies nicely on 18mm diameter rocket motors. |
| F52-Classic Motors | | 
The Aerotech F52C uses the new "Classic" propellant. It is designed to be a "Blast From the Past" as it mimics the look, sound and performance of the original Enerjet Propellant. If you were around in rocketry in the early 1970s, you'll recognize the Enerjet name as the first company to make composite propellant motors. It is nostalgic, but with a modern, high-efficiency twist. The propellant has a translucent exhaust plume studded with supersonic shock diamonds and no smoke. This makes your rocket appear to leap off the launch pad. Available in 5, 8 and 12 second delays. |
| Q-Jet D22W & E26W Motors | | 
Aerotech/Quest have released two new 24mm diameter Q-Jet rocket motors. They are single-use composite propellant motors using the White Lightning propellant formulation. They belch out a big white flame and have higher thrust levels at lift-off. They feature a ceramic nozzle and the Quest First Fire Micro starters. You can use them wherever you might use the Estes D12 or E12 motors. Check out the D22 and the E26 motors here. |
| Estes Astrocam | | 
The Astrocam® is now available! This is a small 24mm diameter rocket includes a small but full HD video capable camera. The camera is only 8.1 grams, so it barely affects the performance of your rockets. The rocket itself doesn't require any glue to assemble. You'll have this Skill Level 1 model put together in less than 20 minutes. So many features are packed into this rocket, that you need to check it out! |
| Estes Variety Bulk Packs of Motors | | 
If you're a teacher or group leader flying dozens of rockets, you probably want bulk packs of motors. Estes has released variety packs, so you get more than one type of motor in the 24-pack of motors. We now have the A8, B6, C6 package as well as the B6-0/B6-6 combination which is great for two-stage rocket flights. Both bulk packs contain the starters and recovery wadding, so it is a great way to save money. |
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"We’ve been real busy as my husband and my son share the same hobby. They both have achieved their level 1 certifications thanks to you! Thanks for being so supportive to rocketry, as your company is really one of a kind!" -- Karen Kane | |
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We're looking for someone to write a definitive guide to selecting igniters, controllers and batteries for rockets. We'd love to have a newsletter article on that topic, because we get lots of inquiries about it. Is that you? Do you know how many e-matches can be set off in a cluster by a 3.7v 400 mAh battery? See our Newsletter Guidelines on how to submit an article on this topic and get paid up to $350 for your time. | |
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 I need help with generating the bi-weekly newsletter articles since it takes a lot of effort to put them together. And I'm willing to pay big bucks for your help. So ask yourself, are you looking to earn some extra money? I'm now actively seeking writers for articles to appear in this newsletter. And I want unique and cutting-edge articles because that is what you want to read, right? I realize this, so to get articles from outside writers that have the same level of quality, I'm going to have to pay a lot of cash to make it worth it for them. So I've come up with a compensation package where I'll pay up to $350 for good how-to articles. Are you a writer, and does that interest you? That is a lot of cash! Far more than you'll get by writing for other magazines. And with over 23,000 worldwide subscribers, if you write for the Peak-of-Flight Newsletter, you'll gain a lot of notoriety. Writing for the Peak-of-Flight Newsletter is a great way to show off your rocketry projects and your technical expertise, at the same time as helping out other rocketeers. Imagine how great you'll feel knowing that you made a difference to the hobby. If you're interested in writing, see the guidelines on our site. | |
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