| Model Rocketry |
| Me and Rocketry I've been a model rocketry enthusiast since around 1978 (whew that sounds like a long time ago - but I was just a kid). I learnt how to make gunpowder when I was 11 years old (not recommended!), and tried several times to make rockets - all failed. When I was 15, I discovered Zinc dust and Sulphur (60/40 by weight) - what a potent mix! I built several rockets that worked well on this mixture. I have always used electronic ignition. In the early days this was a piece of Nichrome resistance wire (Dick Smith Electronics) connected to a digital timer (using 74192 counter chips), powered by a car battery in an empty paddock on my sisters farm in New Zealand! These days I build kits, mainly AeroTech or Estes, and some from Public Missiles. A great source of rocketry kits and accessories in Sydney is Berg's Hobbies of Parramatta. |
 |
 |
| NSWRA Launch Days Saturday 31st March 2001 Video Clips (DivX) Arcas (580kb) Scott's Big Flame-out (260kb) Nev's Flame-out (280kb) Another Flame-out (196kb) Colin's Astrocam (140kb) Perfect Launch (640kb) - Check out the sparkle as the rocket catches the sun! - Still picture on the right) Viewing Instructions These are best viewed with Windows Media Player (not your browser). Save them to your machine, then view them. To do this, right-click on the link, then choose "Save Target/Link As..." The files are compressed. The DivX (MPEG4) codec isn't included with Media Player 6.4. As you can see, DivX is a very efficient compression method, and the video quality is better than Intel Indeo one. I prefer it because of my limited storage space on this site, and they transfer quicker over the wires. You can download the DivX codec here, then install it, so that Media Player can play DivX movies. If you need to, you can contact me by email |
 |
 |
| "Perfect Launch" - The rocket caught the sun and sparkled in the camera lens! Amazing what you can capture on video. |
 |
| Just lifting off the pad. Also taken from the video. |
 |
| The sky IS the limit! |
|