[Not displaying correctly? View web version.] | Peak-of-Flight Newsletter #590: | Have you ever seen a rocket that looks really nice with smooth, shiny paint and wondered how to get your rockets to look that way? With a little extra time spent on prepping and painting your rockets, you will be able to achieve a nice end result and have a rocket that will fly better as well. A smooth rocket is more slippery in the wind and has less aerodynamic drag. That means it will fly faster and higher without having to add more a more powerful rocket motor. This article by Phil Woolfson details paint and tool options and is intended to help you to decide what to use for your project. Prep work is the beginning of any good paint job so he discusses that as well. | 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! LaunchMaster Control Battery | The North Coast Rocketry's LaunchMaster™ takes a special battery. And now we have them available here. This rechargeable 3000mAh, 7.2V battery has the capacity for hundreds of launches between charges. It also has the current capability to even handle some cluster launches. This product also includes a battery charger so you can use this recharable battery for years and years. This simple-to-use charger plugs into a standard household electric outlet, so you don't need anything extra to make it work. |
Conductive Starter Mix | Save those old igniter wires, as they can easily be reused to make new igniters! The Conductive Starter Mix from QuickBurst allows you to have the reloadable igniter so you save money. This updated mix works well with BOTH black powder and composite motors! Make your own motor starters from an ordinary two-conductor wire. NO bridge wire needed. And reuse the same wire over and over again. Just mix and dip. And dip again and again. |
Quest E35 Single-Use Motors | The Quest E35W might become one of your favorite mid-power rocket motors that are 24mm in diameter. This is a FULL E-motor, being at the upper limit of just under 40 N-s of total power. It has great kick off the launch pad, which is what is needed for heavier rockets or those that are larger in diameter. At 95mm (3.75 inches) long, it is the same size as the Estes E12, but with more power, a huge white flame, and a deep throaty roar. And it still won't go so high that you'll risk losing your rocket. It comes in delays of 5, 8 and 11 seconds. It will be great in the Katana Jr, the LexxJet and the Super Big Bertha rockets (29mm adapter not included). |
Aerotech I40N-P Motor | Aerotech continues to expand its line of single-use high-power motors. The latest DMS motor is the I40N-P motor. This is a long burn motor, with a thrust duration of 10 seconds. It utilizes the Warp-9 propellant in end-burn fashion to give this really long burn time which can allow extremely high altitudes for your lightweight rocket. But beware, it is plugged and therefore does not contain an ejection charge. So you'll need to use a dual deployment altimeter to kick out the parachute to bring your rocket safely to the ground. |
Estes Super Big Bertha | The Estes Super Big Bertha is a mid-power rocket using 29mm diameter motors, that is over 3-feet tall and 2.6-inches in diameter. In this upscale of Vern Estes' design, the charm of his original Big Bertha model has not been lost, nor has the low-and-slow flight capabilities. This rocket could be flown all day on Estes E16s and recovered without breaking a sweat. But if you were in the mood for something more, it would fly nicely on any 29mm F motor around. |
Katana Jr Dual Deployment - at a Mid-Power Price | Do you want to try out dual deployment, but don't want to build a high power rocket that requires either certification or expensive rocket motors? The Katana Jr. is our "practice rocket" for this very purpose. It is a FULL dual-deployment rocket, with a ebay, two parachutes, removable rivets, mounting hardware for the electronics, and a on/off switch. Plus, it has easy-to-follow instructions that will walk you through the process of doing dual deployment if you've never done it before. It is a 1/2-scale version of our popular Katana rocket, which means this rocket will slice the air just like its big brother. | | |
| Flame ON This week starts the new year, and what better way to celebrate than to launch a cluster rocket that throws out a lot of flames. You gotta get noticed, right? Our simulation this issue (click here) is the FlameThrower rocket on a cluster of two E12-8 motors. We're flying it from the site of South Eastern Virginia Rocketry Association, which looks to be a beautiful place to fly models. |
“Apogee is not the least expensive nor the most expensive supplier. However, Apogee is the supplier that spends the most time supporting the hobby. I hesitate to think of the screw ups that I would have done if not for Tim's educational videos. I do not mind paying a little more for products with the assurance that if I get in trouble there will be support.” -- Barry Hartnett | |
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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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