information of launch pad

[dr_hemlock2]

i am in great need to build a better launch pad than the little estes one i got with my alpha one. since i am building the saturn V almost a three foot rocket with aspirations to build a much larger rocket/rc combination i require something with a little more muscle to her. i am very handy with wood well any materials for that matter but need something at least 20 percent over what would be considered a well built rocket launching pad. any ideas or drawings would be nice as i live on very little monies and am disabled i would rather build than purchase a ready made one. love to bash
doc
:D

[barone]

There are plans somewhere for a pad made from PVC pipe....just don't know where. It's suppose to be pretty stable. If someone doesn't post a link, I'll see if I can find it. Yep, I get pretty lasy about serching for stuff :o

[stefanj]

I don't know about online plans, but I wrote up plans for a stable PVC tripod for MAKE magazine, issue 5.

A simplified version:

Three legs, about 1' long, cut from 7/8" PVC

Two corner connectors for the above.

Epoxy putty


Mix and stuff epoxy putty into the middle of the corner connectors. Pack firmly, but don't clog up the sockets where the three legs will go.

When thorougly cured, use a drill press to drill a 1/8" in straight down into the center "elbow" of one corner connector. Drill a 1/4" (or 3/16") hole into the other. Don't drill all the way through!

Drill holes in the ends of the legs; stick slender tent stakes through these to stabilize the pad.

[Zeus-cat]

I built a pad using 3/8" plywood as a base. The pad measures about 2 feet by 2 feet. Its kind of heavy and can be difficult to move because of its weight and size, but you could cut it down in size to make it more manageable. You could make them 1 foot by foot and have one for each size rod you use.

I built two standoffs out of wood so my rockets sit several inches off the pad. As you can see in the photo, the standoffs are solid on two short sides and vented on the longer sides. I cut a pine 1x1 on my table saw so that it had a 45 degree slope on each side to deflect the exhaust out the vented sides of the standoff. I glued one inside each standoff. I then screwed an old hinge into the 1x1 so I had a metal deflection plate inside my standoffs.

One standoff is drilled for a 1/4 inch rod and the other is for the 3/8 inch rod. I keep a couple of bricks in my car so that I can lift up one edge of the pad in case I need to adjust for wind. It may have been cheap, but it least its ugly.

[Rocketking]

I found a good one at http://launchpad.hofle.com/

Got to be a little more than the $20 that was 'advertised', but still a nice rig.

I had trouble finding the 'elbows' for the carriage bolts to make it swivel and so went with the recommended tee & washer hookup. Photos to be posted first chance I get.

[barone]

I found a good one at http://launchpad.hofle.com/

Got to be a little more than the $20 that was 'advertised', but still a nice rig.

I had trouble finding the 'elbows' for the carriage bolts to make it swivel and so went with the recommended tee & washer hookup. Photos to be posted first chance I get.
Yep, I think this is the one I was thinking about.....

[gstarraider]

here is the one i built, i got some pretty good size upscales and i have used them to launch some mid to high power rockets and it worked great.

[ddanhra69]

I just went and bought a metal saw horse, cut a 4x4 to fit, screwed it to the saw horse base, then you have plenty of room for different size rods. Then mark vertically for your rods and predrill down the side of the rod at top and bottom of 4x4 on opposeing sides of the rod and use pan head screws (flat) to pinch the rod against the 4x4. Use clothes pins for stand off or whatever you have.

[ddanhra69]

I just went and bought a metal saw horse, cut a 4x4 to fit, screwed it to the saw horse base, then you have plenty of room for different size rods. Then mark vertically for your rods and predrill down the side of the rod at top and bottom of 4x4 on opposeing sides of the rod and use pan head screws (flat) to pinch the rod against the 4x4. Use clothes pins for stand off or whatever you have.
This isn't mine but you get the idea.

[garmtn]

To gstarraider: What did u use for a blast plate.? I just finished the same one myself and was going to use an "electrical box cover." :D

[Solomoriah]

Thin metal may burn through. I've upgraded all my launch stands with 6" ceramic bathroom tile, $0.39 each at Home Depot... get a small masonry bit and drill through slowly from back to front. I have a drill press, which makes it easy.

[garmtn]

"Solomoriah": Never would have thought of using tile. Especially concerned with a 3-engine cluster. Don't use "high power" motors. Thanks! Good idea! Glenn :D

[Solomoriah]

Someone else clued me in to using tile... can't remember who. If you were going to burn something with more power than BP engines, you might want to use a higher grade of tile (something thick and beefy).

[gstarraider]

I called Estes and they sold me two of their E-power pad blast sheilds. i just had to drill out the center of the pad and used a hollow threaded rod and a couple of nut to run the launch rod through.

[Zeus-cat]

i am in great need to build a better launch pad than the little estes one i got with my alpha one. since i am building the saturn V almost a three foot rocket with aspirations to build a much larger rocket/rc combination i require something with a little more muscle to her. i am very handy with wood well any materials for that matter but need something at least 20 percent over what would be considered a well built rocket launching pad. any ideas or drawings would be nice as i live on very little monies and am disabled i would rather build than purchase a ready made one. love to bash


Hey doc,

Did you ever decide what kind of pad you wanted to make?

[CraigF]

You can buy SS plates for a buck or two ("World Famous" etc.). Layer them if you think they're too thin (they're not for L/MPR). About 9.5-10" in diameter, very small lip. Cut two slots in the lip if you want to bend them. They work very well.

[MSUrocketgurl]

We use a modified (extremely modified) caution workers ahead sign stand.