Rocket construction
Trouble shooting
1) My rocket arcs and plunges into the ground at launch.
- Look to see if the fins are straight and glued on properly.
- Check that the engine lock has not been pushed over the nozzle
of the engine.
2) My rocket will not ignite
-The light globe glows on the commercial ignition device indicating a
current is flowing.
Remove the igniter and separate the wires. Make sure no other short
circuit is formed.
The light globe does NOT glow on the ignition device indicating a current
is not flowing.
- Use fresh batteries.
- If you are not using a commercial launch device check to see that you
are using a 6V Dolphin Torch battery.
The igniter was not installed properly in the engine
4) The parachute did not deploy.
-Check to see that the parachute is properly and neatly folded.
It pays to check how lose the parachute is fitted before launch.
-Check to see that the nose cone is not fitted too tightly.
5) My rocket launched only a few metres off the ground.
-Check to see that the engine holder was glued in to the body of
the rocket.
-The engine lock may be bent over the nozzle of the engine.
-Remove all friction between the launch lug and launch rod.
Use fire proof wadding to protect your parachute. Take care not to use too much as this will jam the parachute inside the body of the rocket.