Water rocket from a plastic bottle with a parachute

The water rocket is an excellent homemade product forfun pastime. The advantage of its creation is the lack of need to use fuel. The main energy source here is compressed air, which is injected into a plastic bottle with a conventional pump, as well as the fluid that is released from the container under pressure. Let's find out how a water rocket can be constructed from a plastic parachute bottle.

Operating principle

Water rocket from a plastic bottlehands for children is going to be quite simple. All that is needed is a suitable container filled with liquid, a car or bicycle pump, as well as a stable launch pad where the craft will be fixed. After installing the rocket, the pump builds up pressure in the bottle. The latter soars into the air, splashing water. The entire "charge" is spent in the first seconds after takeoff. Further, the water rocket continues to move along a ballistic trajectory.

Tools and materials

A plastic water bottle rocket requires the following materials:

• actually capacity from plastic;
• plug valve;
• stabilizers;
• parachute;
• launch pad.

In the course of construction work on a water rocket, scissors, glue or tape, a hacksaw, a screwdriver, and various fasteners may be required.

Bottle

Plastic tank to create a rocket should notbe too short or long. Otherwise, the finished product may be unbalanced. As a result, the water rocket will fly unevenly, collapse on its side, or will not be able to rise into the air at all. As practice shows, the optimum here is the ratio of the diameter and length of 1 to 7. For initial experiments, a 1.5-liter bottle would fit perfectly.

Bung

To create a water rocket nozzle is enoughuse a plug valve. You can cut it from the bottle out of any drink. It is imperative that the valve does not allow air to flow through. Therefore, it is better to extract it from the new bottle. It is recommended to check its tightness in advance by closing the container and squeezing it tightly with your hands. The stopper valve can be attached to the neck of a plastic bottle with glue, sealing the joints with adhesive tape.

Launch pad

What does it take for a water rocket to fly out ofplastic bottle? The pad plays a decisive role here. For its production is enough to use a sheet of chipboard. The bottle neck can be fixed with metal brackets mounted on a wooden plane.

Parachute

Чтобы водяная ракета могла быть использована several times, in order to successfully land it, it is worthwhile to provide a self-expanding parachute in the design. It is possible to sew its dome from a small piece of dense fabric. Straps serve as a durable thread.

The folded parachute folds neatly andFits into a tin can. When the rocket soars into the air, the lid of the tank remains closed. After launching an improvised rocket, a mechanical device is triggered, which opens the can door, and the parachute opens under the influence of the air flow.

To implement the above plan, enoughuse a small gear that can be removed from the old typewriter on the radio or wall clock. In fact, any electric motor with batteries will fit here. After the rocket takes off, the shafts of the mechanism begin to rotate, winding a thread connected to the lid of the parachute container. As soon as the latter is released, the dome will fly out, unfold, and the rocket will descend smoothly downwards.

Stabilizers

So that the water rocket soars into the air,it is necessary to fix it on the launch pad. The simplest solution is to make stabilizers from another plastic bottle. The work is performed in the following sequence:

1. To start, take a plastic bottle of notless than 2 liters. The cylindrical part of the tank should be flat, not contain grooves and textured inscriptions, since their presence may adversely affect the aerodynamics of the product during launch.
2. The bottom and neck of the bottle is trimmed.The resulting cylinder is divided into three bands of identical size. Each of them is folded in half in the shape of a triangle. Actually, the folded strips cut from the cylindrical part of the bottle will play the role of stabilizers.
3. At the end of the folded edgesThe stabilizers cut off the strips at a distance of about 1-2 cm. Formed protruding petals in the central part of the stabilizer are turned in opposite directions.
4. At the base of the future rocket, appropriate slots are made where the stabilizer lobes will be inserted.

An alternative to plastic stabilizers are capable ofserve as triangle shaped plywood. In addition, the rocket can do without them. However, in this case it is necessary to provide solutions that will allow the product to be fixed on the launch pad in an upright position.

Nose section

Since the rocket will be installed stopperdown, you need to wear a streamlined nose on the bottom of the upturned bottle. For this purpose, you can trim the top from another similar bottle. The latter must be worn on the bottom of the inverted product. Fix this nose can be with scotch tape.

Launching

После вышеописанных действий водяная ракета, по Essentially, ready. It is only necessary to fill the container with water by about a third. Next, you should install the rocket on the launch pad and pump air into it using a pump, pressing the nozzle to the cork with your hands.

In a 1.5 liter bottle should be injectedpressure is about 3-6 atmospheres. It is more convenient to achieve the indicator using an automobile pump with a compressor. In conclusion, it is enough to release the plug-valve, and the rocket will take off into the air under the action of the flow of water hitting it.

Finally

As you can see, make a plastic water rocketthe bottle is not so difficult. All that is required for its manufacture, can be found in the house. The only thing that can cause difficulties is the manufacture of a mechanical parachute opening system. Therefore, to facilitate the task, its dome can simply be put on the nose of the rocket.