mnementh

Regimental Pyro,
the Black Knight was a standard two part fuel oxidizer rocket, although you are almost correct, Re. the Hydrogen Peroxide.

As you said, the H2O2 was sprayed onto a silver catalyst screen but the products were O2 and steam, not H2.

This was then used as the oxygen source to burn kerosene;

http://members.aol.c...lack_knight.htm

Hope this is useful,
Sandy

Hi guys,
Concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide was a favoured oxydizer for the Germans, during the WWII.

The problem was that since it was highly concentrated, it was prone to explode, rather than propelling the craft it was used in. Damn nearly anything acted as a catalyst, decomposing it destructively.

It was sprayed onto Potassium Permanganate in a "combustion" chamber and decomposed, producing thrust.

The ME163 KOMET used a combination of Hydrazine and H2O2 as it's fuel mix and reached speeds of 600MPH at a time when the Spitfire could only do about 350MPH.

Apparently it was one scary machine;

http://www.angelfire...dels/me163.html

Paul,
Don't I wish Sorbitol was available here, at the price you mention.

The last lot I got cost me ?23 for 3 x 500 gram lots. That's about 10Euro's a Kg.

Sandy

Hi guys,
The term "Sugar shot to space" might be a bit constricting for most, as sugars are pretty much well defined and have proved problematic as a rocket fuel, mainly due to decomposition while melting to produce a cast "grain".

However, Richard Nakka's fuel of choice, until very recently, is an alcohol derivitive of sugar, called Sorbitol. This compound melts well below it's decomposition temperature and mixed with KNO3, can be poured into a rocket case. It is a very safe and very efficient propellant.

Sorbitol is incredibly common but damn nearly impossible to obtain, outside industry. It's used in virtually every toothpaste, chewing gum and anything else that uses the word "cool" in it's title. (cool here, refers to temperature, by the way, not street cred.).

As to recovery, it's pretty certain that this rocket will have some kind of guidance system, coupled with electronic recovery and location telemetry.

Sandy

Hi all,
Guy Falkes night having just passed an' all, I'd like to ask what might appear a pretty naive question.

Given the, apparent, sensitivity of flash mixtures, what do the commercial, handled by the punter, salutes use?

I bought some rockets from Lidl, this Nov 5th and they were pretty damn loud, when they went off.

As "Joe & Josephine Bloggs" handle fireworks like they are perfectly safe, what do the commercial people use for their "salute" mixtures?

Or do they just use mega strong cases and let BP do the business?

Sandy

Hi guys,
I've bought a few things from the States, etc. and I've noticed that you only get stung for import duty if;

1) you use air mail and

2) if Parcelforce are involved.

I've bought amplifiers from China and riflescopes, DVDs from the States and never been charged a penny in duty, as long as it was snail mail.

I bought something from the States, that only cost ?30, including shipping and got stung from those robbing b****** at Parcelforce for this so called "clearance fee".

Got some information, Re. TNT & DHL, that they "bypass" the customs side of things, so if you can get your kit delivered by either of these companies, you might decrease your costs.

Sandy