| | [Not displaying correctly? View web version.] | Peak-of-Flight Newsletter #570: | | 
A thrust plate is often used in High Power rocketry as a way to transmit the thrust force of the motor to the rear end of the rocket body tube instead of relying on the shearing forces that occur with a traditional centering ring-based design. In other words, the motor pushes the rocket from the back, rather than from the inside. Commercial alumium thrust plates are machined, and are only available for standard size tubes. But if you have a odd-ball size tube, what do you do? In this article by Josh Frizzell, he details out his process of making a custom size, 8.25-inch diameter aluminum thrust plate using readily available tools and a little bit of ingenuity. Also in this issue: Detailing the Flying Machine Rocket kit by Eric Becher. This is a photo essay of Eric's beautifully decorated rocket that is almost too gorgeous to fly. | | 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 Vapor | | 
This Estes Vapor flies like a hypersonic missile. It is screaming fast thanks to its low weight and versatility in using a variety of rocket engines. If you like a speedy rocket that vaporizes into thin air when launched, you'll love this rocket. But don't blink when they push the launch button that sends the rocket skyward - or you may only see the smoke trail that was left behind. Make sure you have a whole bunch of friends with you to help you spot the rocket in the sky, or you may never see the rocket again. Get one today, as they are vaporizing off our shelves too. |
| Estes Mean Machine | | 
The Estes Mean Machine is a legendary rocket that is taller than your average center on a college basketball team. It is 6-foot-7-inches tall (79 inches), and is a skyscraper when you put it on the launch pad. It towers over everything else on the range. When people ask you what is your biggest rocket, you can pull out the Mean Machine, and they'll be impressed. You don't have to be high power certified to fly big rockets. You just need the right big rocket... |
| Semroc Scissor Wing Transport | | 
The Scissor Wing Transport is a novel design that looks much like an ordinary rocket on its upward ascent. But at ejection, the motor pop-pod slides out of the tube to descend on its own streamer. While that happens, the wing on the main part of the rocket pivots to a horizontal position, and allows the rocket to come down to the ground in a glide configuration. So it has an awesome boost, and a nice gentle glide as it returns from its mission. This is a reproduction of the old Estes kit from the 1970s. |
| Launch Visualizer | | 
The Launch Visualizer is a new rocket simulator that provides a full 6-degrees of freedom using your RockSim design files. That means you get to see the full range of motion of your rocket from lift-off to touchdown in a 3D environment. Best yet, it's web based, so you don't have to load any software. And you can run it on your smartphone, tablet, Chromebook, or laptop. It's what you've been waiting for. Click to see a simulation of a rocket with strap-on boosters |
| 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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“I have been an apogee customer since February 2009. Purchasing model rocket kits and supplies from Apogee Components was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. Tim and his staff provide the hobby with outstanding personal touch customer service, top notch products, and a wealth of information on their website that is amazing. Tim is truly in the hobby to provide his customers with a successful and rewarding experience in the model rocket hobby industary. Apogee Components is the next best thing to working side by side with a Nasa Rocket Engineer. Franbk L.” -- Frank Loiacono | |
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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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