[Not displaying correctly? View web version.] | Peak-of-Flight Newsletter #572: | Say you have a high-power rocket with onboard electronics that will control when the upper stage motor will fire. At what point in the flight do you want that upper stage motor to start burning? Right away, or delayed a bit? That is what we’ll try to answer in this article. The answer to the question is that “it depends.” Don’t you hate that answer? I do too. But it is going to be based on what your criteria is for the launch. In other words, it depends on what your mission is. In this article, I'll give you a process to go through that will help you select the delay time for air starting that will give you the most spectacular flight possible. That's the mission we're out to achieve. | 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 Vesta Intruder | The Estes Vesta Intruder rocket is more than two feet in length. It is large and intimidating. Claw-like fins, buldging mid-body strakes, and an immense bolow molded nose cone come together to make one truly alien-looking rocket. This Skill Level 3 kit will test your modeling skills, but the results are worth it, especially when you watch it lift-off under the power of those mid-power 24mm diameter rocket motors. On the web page, you can test fly this rocket in the Launch Visualizer to see how it looks and flies from your launch site. Check it out now! |
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... | 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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| Don't land on an Interstate Highway... The first time you luanch a rocket, you're never sure where it is going to go. Here is my very first 3D simulation of the Sledge Hammer plan from this week's newsletter. As you will see by clicking here, the rocket landed in the middle of a major highway. Not a good thing. The field looks big enough to support this rocket, so how might I have changed the initial conditions to get the rocket to come down in the rocket range? What would you have done different? | |
“I have only made one purchase with Apogee Components so far, but I have befitted enormously from the YouTube videos and other information available on the website. Apogee is clearly about much more than simply selling rocket kits and components; they are about model rocketry as a whole. For an extreme hobbiest like myself who needs to master a craft while into it, Apogee is a very valuable resource. Also so far the shopping and fulfillment experience has been top notch. Finally, as a web professional myself, I can say with authority that the Apogee website is great! Very easy to find what you need! Ted Benice, PhD- model rocketry enthusiast.” -- Ted Benice, PhD - model rocketry enthusiast. | |
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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