| | [Not displaying correctly? View web version.] | Peak-of-Flight Newsletter #578: | |
A lot of time, money, and effort are often invested in building a rocket. To protect that investment, it may be useful to put a little extra time and effort into the rocket’s parachute as well. The model may last longer and fly more. This article describes simple ways to improve the plastic parachutes that comes with typical Low Power Rocket (LPR) kits. | | 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! | Tip Sanding Burrs | |
Ever tried to sand into a tight corner and found the sandpaper won't conform? That's where these special metal files, technically called "Sanding Burrs" come in. We commissioned a special set of five diamond coated files that allow you to sand with the tip of the tool, so you can get into hard-to-reach areas. They can be used by hand, or with a rotary tool like a Dremel. The fine grit of the tools allow you to get that smooth surface even in the tightest corners of your rocket. Perfect finishes are now more easily achieved than ever before. |
| T2 Tether and Release Device | |
From Tinder Rocketry, the T2 is a tether-release mechanism for high-power rockets. It allows dual-deployment to occur out of a single parachute bay by preventing the main parachute from deploying out of a deployment bag until a preset altitude. It replaces the old Tender Descender. |
| Piranha Line Cutters | |
The stainless steel Piranha Cable Cutter is used to delay the opening of your main parachute, so it acts as a streamer initially, and delays the time at which the parachute opens. This prevents the rocket from drifting as far because the main parachute opens at a lower altitude. |
| Make Carbon Fiber Tubes | |
Here is an extensive and detailed video course on how to make Ultra-Lightweight Carbon-Fiber Rocket Tubes. They're so light, they give you an unfair advantage in competition. These are the ones that my daughters, Allison and Ashley used in Romania last September at the 2021 World SpaceModeling Championships. Allison was part of the senior Silver Medal winning USA team, and Ashley took home the Bronze Medal in the Jr. Division. The girls were taught how to make their own tubes, so if they can do it, so can you. The training course consists of 5 hours and 42 minutes of video instruction, covering everything I know about how to make a successful tube with a glass-finish using a 2-piece mold. It even includes all the secret techniques and materials, and where to buy them, including where to get the 2-part mold. This course is on the Udemy website, not at Apogee Components. |
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B-Engine Altitude While you're reading this newsletter, NARAM-63 is occuring in south-west Missouri. The contest event happening on Wednesday is B-engine altitude. Why not particate virtually and see how your rocket compares? This simulation is the Apogee Spek rocket kit, launched with two A-engines to get up to a total of a B-engine. Check out the contest range, and see if you can keep the rocket from landing in the cattle watering holes. |
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“I have started to do a lot of scratching building of BT- 80 and 4-inch rockets and Apogee is one place that I can find a variety of different types of materials for my builds. I find Apogee a one stop shop for everything I may need and can order everything I need from one vendor, instead of ordering through several vendors. I have always found the staff at Apogee very friendly and accommodating whenever I have had question from compatibility of tube manufactures to questions on Rocksim. One of the things that impresses me is the level of customer support they provide is one of the best and shipping is fast and well packed” -- Gary Kawabata | |
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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'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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