New Design -- My Toy Rocket

[CPMcGraw]

A design from the late 1960's, using liquefied freon for propellant, inspired this little model. The original had an altitude range up to about 300', and this model has nearly the same performance using 1/4 A3-3T engines. Finding (or making) a soft foam nose cone is likely the most challenging aspect of the project. The streamer is shown only for the simulation to run correctly; actual recovery is known as "boink" mode, or featherweight-ballistic. The design shows a bulkhead under the nose cone; use a series of small (1/16") holes along the upper end of the "fuel tank" to allow for the ejection charge to vent.

The overall dimensions are not the same as the original toy, but are still close enough to preserve the general proportions.

Length: 10.625"
Diameter: 0.541" (ST-5)
Weight: 0.44 oz
Fin Span: 3.04"


1/4 A3-3T......270'......Dv 28 FPS......Launch Guide Length 36" x 1/8"


Enjoy!

[Der Red Max]

Was thinking the same thing when I saw it on eBay:
VINTAGE 70S FLYING ROCKET WITH BOX PROPELENT (http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-70S-FLYING-ROCKET-WITH-BOX-PROPELENT_W0QQitemZ350321402349QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5190c861ed) {sic}

[Green Dragon]

Very interesting - might be able to build using the foam nose from a stomp rocket or similar Nerf,etc.

I'm curious about the original - do you have more info on the freon powered mini-model ?

never heard of any cold power stuff that small.

~ AL

[CPMcGraw]

Very interesting - might be able to build using the foam nose from a stomp rocket or similar Nerf,etc.

I'm curious about the original - do you have more info on the freon powered mini-model ?

never heard of any cold power stuff that small.

~ AL

This was literally 40 years ago, and from a child's perspective, it "just appeared at the front door" one day. My memory of those days is not any better than my eyesight is today, maybe not even as clearly focused. :o In the other thread, I mentioned it came with a small can of RP-100, and I recall it being described as a "half-can". The rocket, propellant, and catalog were all placed inside another package, so it's possible they were purchased as separate items. In the photo from eBay, the box doesn't seem to be large enough to include the propellant can.

As for the toy, the construction was simple but surprisingly rugged. The center tube was blue-tinted clear plastic, with a vent cap at the top (an epoxy plug with a very tiny hole in the center), and a 'nozzle' at the bottom (another epoxy plug with a 3/32" or 1/8" aluminum tube in the center). This tube doubled as the fueling port. You simply pulled the fueling attachment off the aluminum tube to launch it. Fingers always got chilled by it. The lower section was a cardboard sleeve with a molded plastic ring at the top. The fins were attached to yet another sleeve that was fitted around the bottom of the cardboard, which had slots for the fins to fit into. The foam nose cone just fitted over the top of the plastic tube.

It was quite stable in flight. The instructions said you could give it a half-load of fuel for shorter flights, and this stretched out the session a bit. It still managed 150-200' on a half-load, so that wasn't too bad. What I do remember was the small can didn't have very much propellant in it to begin with...

On the model I worked up here, trying to use a full A3-4T put the apogee over 1300', but the Dv was 110 FPS. The rocket was also still going UP at deployment, so the final altitude could still be higher by another 30-50'.