Memorial Parade & Paper Rockets! (Fun with an Air Compressor!)

Saturday morning we had our annual neighborhood monkey-tail Memorial Day kid's parade (including "kids" of ALL ages) and paper-rocket launching Extravaganza!

It started with the short parade - twice around the block...

...which even included farm animals!

Then we went to the paper-rocket construction and launching. The "rockets" are made by forming paper around a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe (identical to the "launch pad"), adding tape, tape, and more tape... attaching tail fins, a nose cone,

and any additional "artistic" final touches. The dads are usually patient enough to help the kids go first (for fun),

but then the "big boys" get serious as the real "competition" begins! Last year they flew over homes to the street on the next block. Some of the "secrets" seem to be: A very snug fit around the pvc pipe, lots of tape to prevent a "blowout", tissue stuffed up in the nose cone to add some weight (but not too much), and even a sprinkle of talcum powder to reduce friction on lift-off!

The compressed-air rocket launching pad is made with some 1/2" pvc pipe, connected to a lawn sprinkler switch with compressed air going in one end. A solenoid with a 15' wired remote switch creates the launching button.

When the button is pushed, the sprinkler valve opens allowing a sudden burst of compressed air to "fire" the rocket skyward! The launch "pad" consists of two small boards hinged together, with a built in angle adjustment.

This year a stiff wind curtailed any kind of distance record, but they still had some nice 100'+ altitude gains!