More Amazing Onboard Video

Announcing High-5

Presenting my latest project, High-5, a five motor cluster that goes HIGH!! It is 100% high-power, able to fly on I's J's and K's, no less. This is my first build that cannot be flown as a model rocket.

Physical description:

• Central 54mm motor mount (for I through K motors), and 4 outboard 29 mm motor mounts (for G's and H's)
• 70 inches long, 4 in diameter inches at the nose base, down to 3 inches, back out to 4 inches at the "business" end
• Should be able to carry 8 oz of payload (like cameras, transmitters, altimeters) to over 5000 feet!
• Projected weight: 8 pounds (with maximum power)
  
• 2 or 3 stage configuration (a small onboard timer ignites outboard motors at a preset time interval after ignition)
• Estimated completion date: May, 2009

I've been working on it for a couple months now, and already it is beginning to take shape!

Amazing Onboard Video

I was searching through YouTube for some videos of high-power rocketry and I found some of the coolest onboard video I've ever seen on a rocket. There's nothing to say about it that accurately depicts how cool it is, so instead of babbling on and on I'll just show it to you:



Followed by a close second:

Tripoli Minnesota October Launch

All in all I'd say it was a nearly perfect day. The ONLY problem was that Exporter 2000's video camera failed. Again. I did a few diagnostics afterword and have concluded that the batteries come loose under the acceleration. I tried turning off the camera while recording, but the video worked up to that point. Then I tried taking the batteries out while recording, and that's what deleted the video! So despite my optimism I am still left with only video from the ground (which isn't all that bad though).

Here's video of Exporter 2000 with both motors burning strong:



I also flew Spare Parts Spaceship (SPS-1) on a G80. That is the most powerful single use model rocket motor on the planet! I was a little worried about stability, but it flew pretty straight. Here's the video:



I finally got my editing software to work (Windows Moviemaker, a not-so-good program), so here's a few of the awesome rockets flown on Saturday. There were some great flights, including a J-motor drag race, a long burn K-motor, and a rocket that went almost 2 miles high!



And here's one other video that I found on You-Tube. Someone had started a rocket club for the U of M, and some photographers and videographers were at the launch putting together a story for the MN Daily. I'm in the background of the video searching for something I lost in the grass.



That's my claim to fame. If you want to read the story for the MN Daily, click the following link: http://www.mndaily.com/2008/10/11/u-rocket-club-tries-lift

Launch Tomorrow!

I don't think I ever posted this, but I launched Exporter 2000 in our own sod fields fairly recently. For some strange reason the onboard video failed again! I've been brainstorming possible problems, I have just finished redoing the payload bay for tomorrow's launch. I've got a really good feeling about the launch tomorrow. I'm dying for onboard video!!

I will also be flying a new rocket called "Spare Parts Spaceship" built out of spare rocket parts I had on hand. It doesn't have a paint job yet, so I'll post a picture of it later.

Anyway, here's the video from a couple weeks ago:

Exporter 2000 Achieves Purple Ribbon!

Over the labor day weekend I brought Exporter 2000 to the MN State Fair to be judged in 4H. I worked hard on putting together an attractive display and put as much into it as I could. The judge really liked my project, and said that he even learned some about high-power rocketry! I was very pleased. I've always wanted to get purple at the State Fair for an aerospace project!


Here I am showing my Animal Motor Works 54mm high-power rocket motor casing to the judge.
Here's me demonstrating my motor retention system.

DTH Rocket Endeavors Website

This is a relatively new blog, and I am still forming ideas as to what it is all about.

I have always had a dream of starting a hobby shop. I used to be very interested in model railroading, and still am, but have set that hobby on the shelf for a while. I still want to start a hobby shop someday, perhaps specializing more in rockets and aerospace.

That dream might not be far off.

I recently purchased the domain name "www.DTHRocketEndeavors.com," and have been teaching myself HTML the past few months. This site would be a conglomeration of this blog, rocketry articles, and maybe even an online hobby shop! The learning curve is steep for me, but it seems possible.

The website is not up yet, but might be within a month to a year. When it is first up I'm guessing that I won't have any inventory yet, because I don't have any capital. Any investors out there reading this?

Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to

A. Show people how cool God is

B. Inspire others to pursue there own passions for God's glory, and

C. Give other rocketeers ideas.

Here's a video of a recent launch. I made this video to show how a typical launch goes, and gave a simple tour of my ground support equipment.