Homemade Bazooka Has Earned Its Stripes

Many of us dream of launching rockets from our shoulders, but [John] here actually did something about it.

This bazooka build started with a 6″ diameter PVC pipe. He mounted a length of 80/20 T-slotted aluminum extrusion to the pipe through a couple of wood blocks. [John] installed rail buttons on some Estes Alpha rockets which slide along nicely inside the T-slot. He welded a PVC cleanout fitting and plug to one end for easy access and gave her a nice paint job.

The ignition is simple: an irresistible red push button is wired to a 9V battery and a pair of alligator clips. [John] loads up a rocket, puts the gators on the wires of an igniter, pushes said button, and Bob’s your uncle. All he needs now is a pair of gun boats. Video of the build and some demonstrations we don’t necessarily recommend are after the jump.

126 thoughts on “Homemade Bazooka Has Earned Its Stripes

  1. I wonder what happens when the PVC Pipe breaks when there is a building up pressure inside of it.

    Ouch….

    Maybe he needs a safety tie and everything is alright. No worry about anything.

    1. Pressure? Are you JOKING? Please dear God that I don’t believe in, tell me that you are joking!!

      I keep telling myself, never scroll down to read comments, and then I do it anyway.

      Also, to everyone mentioning the Malaysian Airlines.

      GET OVER IT.

      1. I also keep telling myself not to read the comments as there always seems to some person who thinks that he is a big boy when he trolls in the comments section.

        By the way remind me to sent you a message stating ‘GET OVER IT.’ when one of your loved ones dies in such a tragic event.

        1. @Jan…….sir, I applaud you for your highly intelligent reply to this fool. A word of caution though…..never argue with a fool because onlookers may not be able to distinguish who’s who.

      2. I don’t know how it is overseas, but here in Germany media is getting freaking nervous because of MH17. News were already full of Ukraine business, and now this really ugly shootdown happened.

        Normally i’m not very sensitive, but in this case i would have delayed this post, just to be on the save side.

        1. This project bares no resemblance to this Buk with 25 foot long missiles, does it? In fact it’s closer to an RPG. RPGs are used everyday to kill people since 1961, but people wouldn’t have complained about that.

          They perceived the false marketed image of a terrorist using a shoulder fired launcher and then instantly used that false image to villainize this guy/story.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPtDy18Nk5I

          1. You don’t want me to have opinions different than yours? Tough.

            The Malaysian Airlines incident is indeed terrible, and no doubt many more terrible truths will come out about it in the near future, however associating this guy or his project with this tragedy caused by the human filth with equipment who’s only similarity is it’s a ‘rocket’ is hyperbolic and misdirected. Those people are just picking easy targets for their, understandable, outrage.

    2. How the hell is this supposed to “build up pressure”???????? It has a 6″ hole in one end. The rocket engines he’s using can be held in your hand while fired, the chute deployment charge is a bitch though. There’s no way in hell it’s building up pressure. The end cap probably isn’t even getting enough exhaust on it to heat up.

        1. And what about the engine itself? Lots of compressed gas there… :P
          What it really needs is a Panzerschreck-style shield for the operator or goggles of some sort :D

      1. I would have never thought about holding one of those engines. Although I eagerly await the video of the person who thinks it would be funny to put on in their butt hole and light it off.. Sorta like the fools who though using the butt hole as a bottle rocket launcher was a great idea

        1. the chute deployment charge would rearrange their internals in a very likely fatal fashion… please don’t even think of trying such a thing. wth would you even mention it?

          1. Hell I say try it if you think it is safe. Personally I believe that if you are comfortable doing something like this then you deserve every ounce of pain you get from it. Now of course when you do stuff like this to someone else without their consent, like for example the college students giving other sleeping students enemas with a pressure washer/watering hose, then in that case you should receive full legal responsibility for the injured party’s medical care along with attempted manslaughter.

    3. That was exactly what I was worried about till I actually saw what it was. Just for curiosity, does anyone know what kind of pressure an Estes rocket motor can generate in an enclosed space? I.E. would you even have to worry if both ends were completely sealed?

      And yes, a safety tie would solve any problems ;)

      1. Wouldn’t that be entirely dependent on the size and temperature of the enclosed space? Technically the atmosphere is an enclosed space (due to gravity) but it’s so large that it doesn’t build up pressure when us measly humans do our human stuff.

        An estess rocket in a paint can though could quite possibly build enough pressure to do serious damage. It’s all about perspective.

      2. Touche. Now I kinda want to find a nice large field with a hay wheel or something in it that I can put together a PVC pipe like this, close off both ends and use a remote igniter to set the motor off from behind the “wall”, then records what happens.

      3. 220 psi LPR, and up to 400 something HPR. I am building one where the pressure will build up because the rockets are touching the inner wall of the pipe. Simple fix, well not really is a tube I am running kind of how an AR gas system works, only other option is to leave the back open too, but even then a gas tube is ideal.

    4. Not enough pressure to do anything like that. I just do not see the point to this. The danger is burns not the pipe bursting. Over all just not that interesting to me. I can not see the point but if the guy is having fun then fine.

  2. Just looking at the video, they test fire the rocket at a person with a riot shield. That is definitely some risky business there. Nasty burns are the least of your problems.

    Interesting build none the less. Could do a cleaner job with a some sort of proper hand grip and trigger for better handling. Also, wondering how the endcap affects the thrust versus a recoilless rifle design. Otherwise, it’s a quick, simple, easy build that looks to be a lot of fun. Just DON’T point it at any other people!

    1. That test fire is absolutely stupid and irresponsible. Model rocketry fans/aficionados/etc… do not, will not, and have not ever condoned such stupid behavior. I’m normally one of the last ones to be shocked or to let out with a “zomg, the skies are falling and the internetz have gone all to hellz because of a post” (in fact, I don’t recall ever having done so before on HAD), but THIS POST is straight up irresponsible.

      No, it has nothing to do with the Ukraine situation, two very different things and anyone that takes that avenue is an idiot.

      The issue here is safety/responsibility. Might as well fire a gun at your friend’s face while he’s holding a saucepan lid handle in his mouth. HAD should be ashamed for posting this, and I hope that they pull the post quickly. That kind of immature stunt has no place on a public forum, and some dingleberry trying to recreate it could end up raining down all kinds of legal hell on HAD.

        1. Or maybe he has a well founded opinion and wanted to express it? Unlike you that try (and fail miserably) to insult someone that actually was capable of formulating a post expressing the opinion and the reasoning behind that. You? As you try the insult way of expression we can guess that you disapprove but why?

          Yes stupid people doing stupid things can results in stupid regulations – sad but true.
          Stupid people trying to troll can result in me biting – equally sad.

          1. Lots of people. Unbeknownst to most people, the NAR has been fighting continuously for decades to keep the hobby legal, even where fireworks are banned. It is only through strict safety guidelines that the hobby is allowed at all. Irresponsible fools like this threaten our hobby. For more information, go to http://www.nar.org/ to get some actual information.

      1. This whole project is absolutely irresponsible!!! Way to get model rockets banned for everyone! This is not a joke! With the current state of things, we are lucky to still be able to launch model rockets, and dumb shit like this just makes that even more tenuous! Don’t give the feds an excuse to destroy another one or our hobbies, they are already trying to kill Model Aviation!

    1. No. Bad to post it, period. But not because of the Ukraine thing. Anyone saying it’s “too soon” is just giving in to the mindless hyperpseudoemotionalism that the media is endlessly trying to gin up for ratings and that gov’ts are endlessly trying to gin up in order to pass more laws/excuse more surveillance. Might as well make a post about an automated rubber band shooting gun just after a public shooting and then cry “too soon” about that… it’s just as silly of a comparison.

      We’re smarter than this. But somehow we end up hugely emotionally invested in situations/tragedies that have absolutely nothing to do with us and in that ginned-up state we become *very* easy to manipulate. Crisis begets fear begets control. Classic progression. And when we start internalizing or drawing imaginary connections between things of significance (i.e., the very real tragic situation that is Ukraine right now) and things of insignificance (i.e., some effing moron decides that shoulder-fired model rockets are surely the best way to better society), we become easy to control or manipulate. There’s no connection between the two (ok, morons are involved in both). No one took down a commercial aircraft with a model rocket in a pvc tube. Good grief.

    1. “anon says:
      I think it might be illegal to fire rockets horizontally in the US. Also, bad timing (like it needs to be said again).”

      Not sure if its illegal, but it’s not safe. An excerpt from the National Association of Rocketry Safety Code:

      “I will launch my rocket from a launch rod, tower, or rail that is pointed to within 30 degrees of the vertical to ensure that the rocket flies nearly straight up”

  3. Yep.
    Nice to know how easy it is to build something like this, and although i really hate it when HaD posts weapon hacks i like this one. It doesn’t really destroy anything, its just a neat little launcher.

    But still, meh, yep, maaaybe a little bit of a bad timing. ..

    1. This isn’t, and never will be a weapon system. Surface-to-Air systems require incredibly sophisticated radar systems. Man-portable rocket-propelled grenades *still* need rather huge motors to push a warhead (look at the assistant-gunner kit for an RPG, it’s *ALL* motors.)

      It certainly is insensitive timing.

  4. You are all getting your knickers in a twist about something launching an estes A rocket, a thing powered by about half a teaspoon of black powder and a max altitude of like 100 meters and comparing that with a 700kg 5.5 meter long surface to air radar guided missile?
    Even the title suggested “bazooka” a surface to surface device.

    Why don’t you get all uppity about the model aircraft people flying any form of military derived aircraft.

    1. sarcasm\ What about all those “drones” people have. Who knows what kind of secrets they could be stealing from us. Just thing all you’d have to do is get more range on the controls, increase fly time, add audio etc and you have a military ready device, and stealthy too. They’re practically silent (as long as the person you’re flying near is deaf). /sarcasm

      1. BUT WHAT IF THEY READ THIS ARTICLE, AND THEN THEY STRAP ESTES ROCKETS TO THEIR DRONES!!!!!!…..

        …DO YOU REALLY WANT PEOPLE WITH THAT KIND OF MILITARY TECHNOLOGY AT THEIR DISPOSAL!!!!

        …THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

  5. Highly Unlikely this video relates to current news you over reacting moral show off’s, Considering the Actual plane was flying at 33,000ft == 10.0584km probably cruising at 880km/h verses the projectile in the video and considering that a standard digital video captured a near clear image of that projectile a guided rocket and some fairly decent math to work out the fuel limitations of the projectile in the video I highly doubt it’d make it even 1/4 of the altitude needed to achieve a destructive force to take down an airliner, I honestly believe there were external forces at play here or the plane just crashed like the last Malaysia air disaster Flight MH370, Look at their track record for maintenance failures why and how could we believe that pro-Russian forces who’re using sticks and weapons from ww2 old assault rifles and stolen riot gear how do they guide a rocket 10ks up and directly hit a Airbus travelling at 880kmhs SMELLS of opportunism in the grand stand of the media pushing an agenda..

    1. Hypocrisy thy name is Dave!

      Probably shouldn’t call people out for being show-offs (when they weren’t) and then ramble on about a model rocket not being able to take down an airliner (who knew) and how the worlds intelligence agencies got it wrong… Also, the == really shows your arduino knowledge but in this case it’s just a single = :P

    2. The Donbas separatists posted to social media that they had a Buk mobile SAM launcher just hours before MH17 went down. It’s still pretty early, but it’s looking pretty clear that they shot the plane down. Try to keep up with the news if you’re going to comment on it.

    3. Firstly they are not using sticks and WWII weapons, they’re using Soviet made BUK missile launchers which they captured from the retreating Ukrainian forces, they publicly bragged about that fact weeks ago.

      Secondly its 10km not 10ks, Boeing not Airbus and 880kph or 880 km/h not 880 kmhs. If you’re going to sprout some half baked, patently ridiculous “media scam” theory, at least get your units right.

      1. Please read this ” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometres_per_hour ” there is no standard for the abbreviation and there are 10 different ways to write them be they Distance or Speed.

        So they have some cold war tech and everyone else is still blaming Russia why is Ukraine not under the international microscope for being so careless you should also consider that the news is repeated and reported differently in every region and spiced up to suit whom ever owns that or controls that station or news paper outlet it’s all to their end look at news sources world wide this is Suspicious, Russia does not want anyone in their simply playing with their oil and gas why would they risk this .

        1. Wow! Here’s a gift, please use it! (…………..) <- periods are good!

          What giant leap of logic you do there by implying leaving weapons under forced retreat is somehow being accessory to a crime committed by a second party?

          IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!

    1. So many things wrong with this. Where to start?

      Blatant violation of the rocketry safety code, which keeps the sport legal. It is idiots like this who get all the fun things in life outlawed.

      Launching rockets at power lines, which could easily take out power for an entire city, causing who knows how much damage. Again, it is idiots like this who get all the fun things outlawed.

      Burning rocket fuel right to the face. Why on earth would you want to put your face in the rear end of a burning rocket engine?

      Did he seriously just launch the thing in his back yard? Is he trying to burn down his neighborhood? There is a reason the NAR safety code requires open fields far from inhabited buildings.

      Shooting a rocket AT PEOPLE? Are you freaking KIDDING ME? I’m sorry Hackaday, but I’m going to have to suggest you remove this post. This is so blatantly stupid it really should not be encouraged and propagated by the likes of you. I’m going to have to report this video on youtube.

      1. “Launching rockets at power lines, which could easily take out power for an entire city, causing who knows how much damage. Again, it is idiots like this who get all the fun things outlawed”

        spare me…….a small hobby rocket IS NOT going to take down a power line…….ive seen powerlines hold up 80′ trees no problem…..they wont even notice being hit with a small B-motor rocket..

        and kids all around the world shoot off model rockets in their back yards, chances of starting a fire are VERY remote.

      2. I’m with James on this one. No, I don’t think power lines are going to be harmed, but the sheer irresponsibility on display (and being tacitly condoned by HAD / their corporate overlords) is stunning. The post should come down. Stat.

        1. No it shouldn’t. It could be plastered with warnings and pointing out that shooting anything at anything not owned by oneself is illegal.
          “tacitly condonded”? LOL!

    1. …..someone hooning around with a model rocket is “quite appalling”…?

      if thats the case, just turn off your internet now before you become permanently scarred….

        1. why dont you explain it to me?….

          you referring to the Malaysia flight?

          tell me, how is an estes model shot from a piece of PVC in any way/ shape/ form similar to a surface to air missile used to shoot down aircraft?

          would your panties be in a bunch of it was just a video of some kids shooting off model rockets?…..or is it the fact that they called it a “bazooka” whats “appalling”….?

          1. Oh dear… My point is that posting this video / image regardless of its actual relation to current events is likely to be perceived as rather insensitive and tasteless in light of yesterday’s tragedy. I wouldn’t normally have a problem with this at all!

    1. No, you really couldn’t be more wrong. The best hacks don’t have to break laws and endanger people just to be “cool”. It is thinking like that that makes people think all hackers are terrorists.

  6. holy hell……everyone….this isnt a “military rocket launcher”…….its an estes model rocket in a tube……..jesus, people have been doing this for years…..hell, ive been building estes models since i was 8, hardly dangerous technology…..

    you arent going to shoot down planes…….at worst you may get a burn or a bruise from one of these things……

    1. And if you’re dumb enough to put your face below one when it launches, without any eye protection, you deserve anything that happens to you. (more a comment on what others have said then the creator).

      1. Yes it is a stupid project by a stupid idiot. Could still be useful as inspiration how not to do it.

        One way to make it better/more useful could be ejecting the rocket with CO2 and launching the rocket engine when it is a safe distance from the shooter. IIRC military bazooka-type systems use a blackpowder charge for ejection
        To launch the rocket the easiest way would be to have a local battery and some type of delay. An AVR chip could do it very well and could include some safety checks to ensure the rocket doesn’t fire unless the operator intends to fire.

        This isn’t rocket science people! ;)

  7. European TV stations changed their broadcasting programming when the space shuttle Columbia exploded in 2003. In Belgium sci-fi movies related to space were “temporarily” not aired.

    Personally I think that HaD or Kristina should have waited to post this “project” (even if it was for a day or 2). I am sure that if there had been Americans on board the posting of this project would have been postponed. Agree with me or don’t, this is my opinion and I stand for it.

    1. Oh yeah, btw.. I strongly believe that HaD has a lot of readers in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Australia… Those countries are mourning.

      Sure I can hear some people thinking out loud: Then don’t read a newspaper or stay off the internet.. Well, I guess most of the people come to the HaD site to see some cool hacks and electronics and stuff, not to be reminded of a terrorist attack.

      Although I’m 100% positive that most Americans don’t see this as a “terrorist attack” (possibly because no Americans were hurt), it still was one. Why are some people here so mean and angry and insensitive? Germany was/is an allie of the US in Afghanistan, same for Belgium and Australia. I guess some people really don’t give a sh*t about anything anymore.

      1. As an american I do not see the shoot down as a terrorist attack. I see it as an act of war. The SA-11 is 5+ meters long and the launch system takes 3 or more vehicles.
        The president is talking about it and yes it is a big deal.
        BTW those that are making jokes are jerks. This build I do not find offensive since it is just a model rocket. It is not weapon at all. It is a dumb build IMHO but just not a big deal.

        1. Indeed. A plane flying over a warzone was shot down. It is a bad thing but not at all unpredictable.

          To Dave and his ignorance, there was American citizens on that flight. 28 of them have been accounted for so far.

    2. or maybe people are just grasping at straws trying to find something to bitch about…..

      i honestly fail to see how a model rocket shot from a tube is “disrespectful”……or how this “bazooka” is anything like a surface to air missile used to shoot down aircraft……

      whats the real issue here?….is it the fact that they are playing with a model rocket?….or is it the fact they called it a “bazooka”….?

        1. So what other posts should be proscribed?
          None of you have said *why* this is bad just that its “no empathy”

          Empathy.
          The intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
          Ergo you believe that seeing this would somehow upset people involved in that event.

          300 people died when their commercial aeroplane was shot down by a radar guided surface to air missile operated by a “terrorist” organisation.

          You are gibbering over a firework in a pvc pipe.

          What is the relationship between the two, how can talking about this have *anything* to do with Russian terrorists and surface to air missiles.

          Perhaps its the “rocket” word? is that what is upsetting you?
          We must therefore ban any news involving rockets, nobody is to speak of orbital’s recent launch, no satellites, nothing about adursat burning up on re-entry (Think of the children!!)

          Hell if you wanted to be uppity over it, say its disrespectful to the people of gaza and Israel where there is at least some semblance of relevance (surface to surface, home made, agricultural components pretty much describe the Hamas rockets) Or is that just not fashionable?

          To me this is a “neat hack bro, stupid but neat” They were getting some pretty decent trajectories for a relatively short stabilization period, they were nowhere near getting close to those power lines, but yeah safety glasses would have been a good idea big chunks of crud come out of those engines and very damn fast. Hearing protection would also have been an idea.

          1. “Perhaps its the “rocket” word? is that what is upsetting you?”

            Are you for real? Are you serious? I really can’t understand that you (and others here) are still thinking it’s about “terms”. Who gives a fuck about terms like “rockets” and “bazookas”. We have model rockets in Europa. Hell we even have weapons here. I guess that’s a surprise to you.

            “What is the relationship between the two, how can talking about this have *anything* to do with Russian terrorists and surface to air missiles.”

            Like I said above: “For me personally, it’s the big photo on the front page. I see a “rocket launcher” (the term “bazooka” is totally irrelevant to the issue here) on the shoulder of someone AND I see a trail of the rocket as it is flying upwarts to the skies. My first thought is: Where’s the plane? It’s almost instantaneously linked to the event that took place.”

            I am happy for you that the death of almost 300 people (and those in Palestine, on both sides) don’t mean anything to you. I’m not like you I guess.

            Can you, just for one moment in your life, try (just try, nothing else, you won’t lose money or something) to understand that some people (people who are not like you) are upset about other people dieing and that they (not like you) link the picture of a guy shooting a shoulder-launched weapon aiming for the skies is linked to an event that happend just the day before (less then 24 hours ago). Can you? If you can’t, I feel sorry for you.

          2. @Dave, for someone supposedly so empathetic you surely are coming off like a self-centered asshole. What matters is what is real, not perception, not emotions, not ignorance, or various extraneous answers of otherwise rational minds.

            What does this have to do with the flight yesterday? Nothing. What can we do about the flight yesterday? Nothing. How can we bring those people back? We can’t. What can you or me or any other normal person do to stop it happening again? Don’t fly over warzones. What can we do to dissuade terrorists and the like from doing it again? Not giving them any attention. It is really that simple.

            Besides, do you get so worked up by the hundreds of tragedies that happen all over the world every day? Or do the victims have to be white to matter? Did this PVC backyard contraption make you more upset than the hundreds of thousands that die every year in drug wars, human trafficking, and the neveredning genocidal campaigns in Africa? If you are not more outraged on any given day than today, after only 300 innocent people died, you really need to work out your priorities. Far worse happens every day and nearly everyone in the western world ignores it.

            Personally, I will save my emotional expenditures for something that is more significant than some kid with a model rocket.

          3. I have plenty of empathy for the friends and families of the victims on that flight, I am however a mature adult and as such my understanding of the world informs my emotional responses. I know that nothing that size is going to bother an airliner, even looking at the first image in isolation.
            As others have said every week more than twice that many people die on the roads in america alone, If you expand that to the world around 3400 people die on the roads EVERY DAY should HAD never feature anything relating to a car?.

            Because this was an aeroplane the relations of the people who died on that should get more sympathy? Because it made the news and had dramatic footage should there be special consideration? Is the family who lost their child to a drunk driver less deserving?

            Every single person who has a loved one taken away from them deserves our sympathy, to argue that this group should be babied is disrespecting them as individuals, and by extension their loss.

            Were you *personally* upset by it, or were you upset on behalf of other people you think might be upset? Trying to be a moral white knight crusading on behalf of other people who haven’t asked you to, whilst it may feel righteous is the root cause of many societal issues. From political correctness gone mad at its most trivial to the subjugation of whole populations and the enforcement of a “correct” religious belief. Both are done “for the good of all those poor people who need our help”. Indeed misguided application of aid has been behind a great many of the problems encountered in the developing world. People sitting in suits in nice offices see “bad things” happening and without talking to the people on the ground, the actual victims they start taking actions sending aid. So now the warlords have food aid to fight over which prolongs the conflict rather than the aid working to solve the root cause.

            The people who are grieving are still human beings, they are still able to express themselves. Do not diminish their agency over their own life, they are not invalids. They need our support not our ineffectual moral outrage. Express your sympathy for their loss, look after their fish while they are away, *ASK* them if there is anything you can do to help.

      1. “whats the real issue here?….is it the fact that they are playing with a model rocket?….or is it the fact they called it a “bazooka”….?”

        For me personally, it’s the big photo on the front page. I see a “rocket launcher” (the term “bazooka” is totally irrelevant to the issue here) on the shoulder of someone AND I see a trail of the rocket as it is flying upwarts to the skies. My first thought is: Where’s the plane? It’s almost instantaneously linked to the event that took place.

        It’s like James said: Some people don’t have empathy. I visited ground zero in 2007. Should I have been laughing, playing, joking arround, acting like I didn’t care … when I was there? No, I felt empathy. Just like I did when 9/11 was happening and I was watching it on tv. Is the number of casualties a difference to you? Did you feel empathy back then (or even now)? Or like in this case, nothing? I keep wondering how old you are.. Perhaps it’s age related?

        1. 100 people are going to die in a car crash today in the US alone…….i dont want anyone to post anything about cars to pay respect to them.

          10 people are going to die today as a result of drowning…….i dont want to see any posts in regards to water either…….

          do the people on the plane deserve more respect than those that died from car crashes or drownging?

          yeah, it sucks that people died in a plane crash…but i dont personally feel sad…..just the same as i dont expect someone i dont know to feel sad when i die…

          1. I’m someone who thought the joke was does NASA stand for? Need Another Seven Astronauts, was a good joke when it circulated soon ofter the explosion of the vehicle. Damn near the same day as I recall Having said that I would not compare apples to oranges to criticize those whose only action was saying that a little empathy would be in order. I say that admitting the war crime/terrorist action didn’t enter my mind, nor did faulting Hackday.

  8. “Its not the right time to post this, somewhere in the world people came to death through this rocketlauncher-toy” Seriously guys, get your thinking right. Car accidents kill tens of thousand of people annually, yet noone cries about every car-related-hack on this side. Hypocrites all around us with their comments on “tactless posts”.

  9. Not a bazooka. In fact it’s poorly designed. a real bazooka is open on both ends. you have to stand clear of the rear back blast when a real one is fired. No reason at all to have the rear closed up

  10. if anyone took the time to go look the video up on youtube (or hit the nifty little watch on youtube button) and look to see when the video was posted they would see that it was posted in JUNE not JULY and that therefore the issue of timing is on HaD’s hands not the hands of the builder please folks do a little research before crack down on people over timing

    1. Yeah, I may or may not have done something similar in the past with the fog light holes in my car, the rod from the launch pad, and an old key switch. Use of a product in a manner inconsistent with it’s labeling is a violation of federal law in the US. And those rockets are labeled to only be fired upwards at a 90 degree angle. Of course, if I had done that, I obviously would have tested it in the desert of Mexico, where everything is legal. Trajectories were great as long as the rockets were balanced, some of my homemade ones with cigar tubes just spiraled uncontrollably and shot off into the sky

      1. Well why didn’t you just put some kind of plug in the rocket track so it wouldn’t fall out the back? Also I think you would have wanted to have the smoke shoot out the back, it would look cooler. I think it is a nice project more but maybe for Mk. II look up some old rocket launcher designs, or if you want to go all out buy a shit load of pipe and rockets and build a nebelwerfer!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAWEtkG6WIA

    1. You forgot the i in shitstorm.

      Incidentally, did you now the FCC want to drop the word shit from its banned list? (banned on public TV/Radio that is since that is the only officially censored domain.) And that then there would be only 4 words left, and that 95% of the US TV censorship has nothing to do with the FCC but is all pushed by old magnates that either own the network or own the advertisers?

  11. Like others the first thing that entered my mind was; probably not a good idea to film yourself violating guidelines for model rocketry. Those guidelines where drafted years ago, so please don’t give me any crap how restrictive thing have become in the US. Yea in most cases adhering to them is voluntary, but ignoring them can’t be good for the hobby of model rocketry in the long, because one can’t control what bozos will do. Even if they ask to fire a rocket at them I’d tell them to find fool to do so, if things go wrong the “shooter” could be held liable as lest in part if things went wrong. In the event I would supplicate this I’d eliminate the rear plug to speed up reloading. I’d my a T shirt imprinted on the back ” stand clear of rear of pipe; hazardous exhaust. Hell that could be a shirt I could sell to others as casual wear, everyday wear for many of fellow rednecks. The attack on the airliner, and faulting Hackaday wouldn’t have entered my mind until I read the comments, but I don’t fault hackaday. Nor would criticizing those who suggest empathy should be in order, how in the hell does that hurt or restrict anyone? I didn’t read anyone say not post ever, just letting some time pass I always criticize those who use apples to oranges comparisons to criticize others regardless the topic.

  12. Hackaday, you really need to take this @#$@#$@# down.

    The reason Estes model rockets continue to be available to children and adults all over the US is that they are an extremely safe thing to use. Studies have indicated that model rockets have one of the lowest injury rates of any toy in the US.

    This is the case because of the dedicated efforts since the 1960s of the National Association of Rocketry to promote the safe, responsible use of model rocket products, including having a code of safety and running events.

    Videos like this that promote improper use of model rocket products jeopardize their continued availability to all of us. Shooting them at people! All it takes is one incident of someone getting hurt and pointing to this video and model rockets will be banned forever.

    I do not support posting things like this that blatantly violate in every way the safe use of model rockets.

      1. Wow, we’ve really made it that far around already?

        First it was, “booo, hisss… fear the evil corporation… they will try to control the site… they will censor the site… blah, blah, blah,” and now it’s, “ooooh, I’m gonna tell your masters on you…”

        That sure didn’t take long.

  13. tl:dr, my skyrocket experience suggests overpressure isn’t a worry.
    Last year, I discovered that the sky rockets they sell for Territory Day celebrations ain’t the most stable things in the world when firing from a park lawn. Should have known better from my model rocketry days. This year, used a 1.5 meter length of PVC leaning against a play structure: lit fuze, jammed pipe back into the playground sand, stood well back. After running ten rockets through it, there was only exhaust residue inside, heavier at the bottom. No stress marks, no melting.

  14. I don’t see how taking an off the shelf model rocket and putting it in a big tube is a big deal or a hack. When my dumb older cousins would shoot roman candles at each other was that a hack too?

  15. A note before I proceed. There are far too many over-socialized do-gooders, control freaks. and pussies, posting on HaD. It is nauseating to hear them whimper, scorn, and decry, an otherwise harmless pastime enjoyed by hobbyists. I get it. Their heartstrings have been yanked, and they feel a need to lash out. Ironically, these are the same people who are most apt to demand that the government create more laws, take away what remaining freedom we barely enjoy, and to use military force to punish an enemy that cannot be identified, which always results in the loss of innocent lives.

    Now on with the show:
    Most of the launches seen in the video have the rocket arc downwards upon launch due to the added weight of the rail buttons to one side of the rocket. This can be remedied by adding additional weight to the other two sides of the rocket, but at a cost. One can imagine the amount of resistance, or drag, created by the rail buttons riding along the aluminum rail during launch and flight.

    There are three fins on the rocket each spaced 120 degrees apart. There is a space between each fin also with a spacing of 120 degrees. Eliminate the costly extruded aluminum rail altogether and instead replace it with three lengths of 1/2 inch PVC pipe mounted 120 degrees apart. Use the wooden shims, or small lengths of PVC pipe, as the spacers for mounting purposes.

    No need to keep buying costly rail buttons and having to mount them to each rocket being fired. With the three PVC rails properly installed, simply drop in an unadulterated rocket, aim, then launch.

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