Cold Power Thrills
 

As I knew my vacation in SC would be hot I thought I'd take along my Cold Power engine including CP launch equipment.
I then proceeded to build a suitable rocket. I had a spare Estes Alpha and used a longer body tube to accommodate the CP engine.

When the day came for launch I was uncertain how it would fly because I have never flown a Cold Power rocket before. Was I ever surprised.

I hadn't felt this exited since my Golden Scout flight :)

Video DOWNLOAD LINK (File: .wmv, 56 MB)

That was GREAT, Leo! I enjoyed this immensely! A couple af questions (OK, 3):

That field looked endemic to Rock Hill; was Ken your cameraman?

What was the propellant you were using? Badger air? 'freon' 134? CO2?

Did you just use the CP engine avail. (at one time) from Estes?

I never gave a thought to a 'conversion' like this, but you sure have piqued my interest!
Glad you made it back safe and sound; hurry back here soon!!!

Allen

I think you can see in the video how thrilled I was :D

The field is my uncles back yard :)

The propellant I used was from Kustom Kolor who are no longer in business :( It was the only nonflammable airbrush propellant I could find.

The engine I used is from Estes which was available from 1972 - 1976.


I can make a shorter version of the video if some one can't download it due to it's size.

Interesting - not electrically "fired" like the original Vashon stuff. I echo the question - what were you using as propellant?

OOOPs - I see you answered as I was posting.

way cool, literally Leo!. I had one of the original Vashon Industries ones back circa 1968-9 and I still think it was one of the coolest(literally) ingenious engineered model rocket product of all time.

thanks for the memories.

Terry Dean

I'm a bit surprised at the low response to this thread.

Am I the only one flying these things?

If not please let us know about your present day experiences with Cold Power rockets :)

Someone might update the Wikipedia page, it only has reference to a laundry detergent as "cold power".

While I'd love to comment intelligently about CP, fact is, when these came out, I was much more interested in the the usual BP-powered rockets. When I was that age, I just didn't care! Then came cars, then girls :rolleyes: .
I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for something on Ebay, I guess, to be able to 'play' with this whole new aspect (to me) of model rocketry. I never thought about building my own rocket(s) to house the motor. And you did that in a matter of minutes!
I particularly like your pics of the layout of the components; very helpful!
Allen

Oh, I'm intrigued all right, but I really don't have a lot to add. I've got an old Vashon Valkyrie and an Estes Cold Power Rocket Car in my collection, but I have no way to fuel and fly them. I don't have any of the fueling hoses and hardware, nor do I have anything to fuel them with - all the airbrush propellant I can find around here contains flammable gasses, so they are right out. And I haven't figured out how to connect a can of freon to the rocket to use that as fuel.

Pity, really, I always thought these were really cool when I was a teenager and into rocketry - I still have my (well worn) copy of the 1973 Estes catalog with the large center section on Cold Power. Having little in the way of discretionary funds at the time, I never was able to buy one. I've had to rely on Ebay for the two I have now. I really wish we had a company who could bring these back, but I've afraid the "environmental concerns" (not to mention the high tooling costs) prevent this from ever happening.

Greg

It's difficult for anyone to have present day experiences with Cold Power Rockets due to the lack of a suitable propellant to replace the original RP-100 (Freon-12). While the flammable airbrush propellants are too dangerous to try, I wonder if nitrous oxide (laughing gas) might work for this application?

While it is an oxidizer (used in hybrid propellant rocket motors), it isn't highly reactive like LOX (liquid oxygen) or corrosive like nitric acid. Like freon and propane, liquid nitrous oxide turns into a gas when released at ambient pressure and temperature, although I don't know what its ISP (specific impulse) would be compared to RP-100. Also, its reddish-brown color should create a highly visible exhaust "smoke" trail.

If nitrous oxide isn't suitable for some reason (availability, perhaps), there has to be some low vapor pressure liquid that is non-flammable (or at least not a fuel) and wouldn't upset the greenies.

Other than an Estes "Screamin' Eagle" Cold Power Rocket Car, I have had no other experiences with Cold Propellant model rockets. I saw an Estes Valkyrie II starter set in a hobby shop in Titusville, Florida (right across from Cape Canaveral) when my family was there to watch the Apollo/Soyuz launches in July of 1975, but Dad wouldn't spring for it. I would love to see this type of model rocket return in some form.