Model rockets

I have to wonder if Doggie Daddy had serious reservations from the standpoint of safety in particular about allowing his doting Son of Sons, Augie, to practice model rocketry (let alone shortwave radio) as a hobby.

Hello!  Welcome to my blog where I will be cataloging my progress in designing and building a rocket to earn an HPR Certification through NAR.  This is my first post, so I’m just going to run through what it is I will be doing. :)

What is NAR? NAR stands for “National Association of Rocketry”.  They help people learn about and participate in sport rocketry, which is basically building and launching model rockets for fun.

What’s a High Power Rocketry (HPR) Certification? You can launch smaller model rockets through NAR without having to have a certification, but if you want to build big rockets that go really high, generally you will need to get certified.  This is because to power these rockets, you are likely to need a motor with a higher impulse, and NAR wants to make sure you know how to use and design for these high impulse motors safely.

What Exactly are “High Impulse” Motors? Rocket motors are classified by their impulse, or the measure of the change in momentum delivered by a motor.  This is measured in Newton-seconds.  Within NAR, motor impulse classes can range from A (1.26 - 2.50 N-s) to O (20,560 - 40,960 N-s).  High Impulse Motors are any motors at or above the H classification, which contains motors with impulses from 160.01 to 320 N-s.

What does L1 / L2 mean? An L1 Certification is required to launch rockets with motors of impulses from classes H through I.  Similarly, an L2 Certification is needed for launches using motors in classes J through L. L1 and L2 are short-hand for Level 1 and Level 2.

I am attempting to design a rocket that I can use to earn both my L1 Certification and my L2 Certification.  The resulting rocket will fly twice, once with an L1 motor, and again after that with an L2 motor.  I am doing this in hope of saving money and in hope of preparing to earn an L3 certification sooner.

Why are You Doing This? Firstly, I think rockets are cool, and I enjoy launching them.  Secondly, I’d like to finally get past model rocket kits (although they are fun) and design a rocket of my own.  Thirdly, I am a part of my school’s AIAA club.  For some of their projects, they need students who are certified to launch high power rockets, and I’d like to be one of those people if they need me.

Any other Questions? Feel free to comment, message me, or check out these sites! http://www.nar.org/high-power-rocketry-info/ https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/linear-momentum/momentum-tutorial/a/what-are-momentum-and-impulse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_rocket_motor_classification