Model rocketry tips: Streamer

By Tim Houmes

Materials:

• Round elastic, 1.5 x the total length of your rocket
• Plastic cordon, 1.5 x the total length of your rocket
• Nose cone (which fits your rocket)
• Eye bolt for wood (for securing the streamer to the nose cone)

Construction:

1. First cut off the needed length of elastic at 1.5 times the total length of your rocket.
2. After that cut off a piece of the plastic cordon at 1.5 times the total length of your rocket. If necessary you can cut it in half lengthwise to let the rocket decent just slow enough not to crash. This is open for experimentation.
   Cordon and elastic.
3. I use tape to fasten the plastic cordon to the elastic.
   Tape. Folding the end of the streamer.
4. At the ends of the streamer I tie a knot, which stops the plastic cordon to slide along the length of the elastic.
   Knots.
5. Screw the eye bolt carefully in the balsa nose cone, remove the eye bolt and fill the hole with glue (PVA). Finally screw back the eye bolt.
6. Next you can secure the plastic cordon with the elastic to the nose cone.
   Secure to the eye bolt.

Theory of parachuting:

When the top is reached and the ejection charge goes the nose cone has probably come of the rocket. Next the streamer deploys and the rocket lands safely.

Compared to a parachute:

Pro streamer:

• Less cords, thus easier to fold and less likely to entangle.
• Less weight
• You don't have to walk that far, because the rocket doesn't drift away far.

Con streamer:

• It can make a harder landing, which increases the change a fin breaks.