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The Right Stuff - Hints and Tips from APOGEE, the official
newsletter of the Miami Valley Rocket Society. 

Questions or comments? Send E-Mail to Bob Hegwood, CIS: 76276,2552 
 
Or write to: Bob Hegwood 
             31 Pagett Drive 
             Germantown, Ohio 45327 
             (513) 855-7105 
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Supplies 
 
1. Need a launch rod in a hurry? Look for the K and S Tubing and
Rod display at your local hobby or hardware store. The K and S
display contains steel rods which are perfect for use as launch
rods. 1/8" and 3/16" diameters are available, and the rods are 36
inches in length. The 1/8" rod sells for 65 cents, and the 3/16"
size goes for one dollar and 10 cents. Aside from being inexpensive,
the K and S rods are easy to clean with steel wool, are sturdy, and
require no assembly. Unlike Estes launch rods, the K and S steel
rods will not bend easily, and have no seam for your favorite model
to get hung up on during a launch. (Fred Williams and Bob Hegwood) 
 
2. Also available from K and S are metal angles for use in drawing
straight lines on your body tubes. The angles are made from brass,
are inexpensive, come in different sizes, and can also be found at
your local hobby or hardware store. Look for the K and S Sheet Metal
Display. (Bob Hegwood) 
 
3. You've flown your Estes Gemini-Titan once, but broke the clear
fin unit on a "pavement" landing. Not to worry! A replacement fin
unit can be ordered from Estes; The part number is 33300, and the
unit sells for $2.50. The unit can also be used for a wide variety
of other scale projects such as the Jupiter IRBM. (See last issue)
Oh, one other tip: Replace that 12-inch chute with an 18-inch cute.
(Fred Williams) 
 
4. Order replacement parts for your Estes models directly from the
company. Estes has a special hot-line telephone number which can be
used to obtain part numbers, prices, and availability. Call
1-719-372-6565, and ask for Peggy in the model rocket department.
(Steve Lubecki) 
 
Launch Techniques 
 
1. Make your own clip whips for use in cluster-power launches, and
forget about flash-bulb ignition. I have reliably launched a
three-motor cluster model more than twenty times using a 12-volt
car battery and the clip whip illustrated below. This method is
more reliable than the flash-bulb setup, and is much easier to
use. You may still want to use flash-bulb ignition if you are using
more than three motors on a model, but this technique works great
for models using up to 5 motors. The launch controller which has
been modified here is the Estes Astron Launch Controller. Simply
cut the micro clips off of the unit, and replace with the setup
shown below. (Bob Hegwood) 
 
(All tips from Volume 1, Issue 4)