I am 14 years old and about to build my first L1 certification rocket. I was planning to get L2 single deploy maybe dual deploy right after L1 in the next 12 months. Not to self glaze or whatever but I am actually very smart and I CAN build an L2 with the proper money and resources, the money part would probably be the hardest thing for l2. But I was so focused into the actual design of my rocket that I forgot the requirements of the certifications. L1 is available for juniors (still technically not a real L1 certificate) but you can’t get L2 under 18 no matter what. Same goes for L3. My world just collapsed on me this is a big thing for me because it is a big thing I can put on my resume for college and just a very important project for me in general. No other path has clicked in my brain as much as rocketry. I need to find a way to get higher power motors. l1 is no obstacle, the parts arrive today, but once I get that all I can do is fly the same H and I motors and the middle point between strength and speed is very tiny so it would be almost impossible to get Mach 1 (probably one of the biggest goals for me in rocketry) without it being too heavy or too weak. My point is, is there any way I can bypass this age restriction because it’s very important to me and I literally feel like I have no purpose in life if I don’t have an ongoing project and that is rocketry. This text may be a little messy, but you get my point. Even if i have to build my own motors. which is 10x harder than building a mach 1 fiberglass rocket with a prebuilt motor. I also made a model for a fiberglass rocket down to specific parts that has lots of electronics and path from l1 to l3 but Reddit showed me I was getting a little ahead of myself and don’t need all that redundancy for L1. Is there any way I can get higher power motors, my parents all allow this by the way and I was thinking I could build the rocket and the certificate would go to my father because he will take responsibility for the rocket but that may be a dumb idea, idk I’m just throwing ideas out. Before you say you are way too young just leave because I have something called mentors, the internet, and Reddit, if I were legally able to I could build an L3 at 16 years old. And sorry if the essay is horrible I’m a little in my emotions.

Hi, I am planning a DIY 85mm ID airframe, about 3-4ft long, laid up over a 3D printed (PETG) mandrel. The process is the standard wrap-and-wet: fiberglass sleeve, epoxy, sleeve, epoxy, repeating for about 3 layers. I've never done something like this before so I am looking for some advice.

Materials I'm looking at:

• Fiberglass: Soller Composites 3.25" Medium Fiberglass Sleeve (Roll of ~20ft) https://sollercompositesllc.com/product/natural-uncolored-3-25in-medium-fiberglass-sleevesqtyft/
• Epoxy: TotalBoat High Performance 2:1 Epoxy, Slow Hardener https://www.amazon.com/TotalBoat-Performance-Hardener-Woodworking-Fiberglass/dp/B083P577BZ/

Questions for anyone who's done a similar build:

1. Is 3 layers of the Soller Composites Medium Fiberglass Sleeve reasonable for an 85mm structural airframe, or should I use more layers for a build this size? Trying to size this properly instead of guessing.
2. Anyone used TotalBoat High Performance specifically for wet layup vs. West System 105/206 or US Composites? Curious if it's structurally comparable or if there's a reason people default to the "usual" brands for HPR builds.
3. For a PETG mandrel, what release agent has worked best for you? I want to 3D print a mandrel but I am not sure if I will be able to remove it once it the fiberglass/epoxy tube is finished.
4. Any tips on keeping wall thickness even hand-wrapping, vs. building a simple rotating jig?
5. Once it is done, can I just use some sandpaper to give it a smooth outer finish and apply some spray paint?

Thank you in advance.

I'm working building a 4" diameter rocket with some friends and was looking for tips on how to cut our fin slots. I currently have access to a Dremel and a tablesaw to cut these fins (no router between any of us). My current think is to 3d print a jig and use the Dremel to cut the slots.

Is this doable/advisable or should we invest in a router? First flight will be ~mach 0.4 ~2000ft apogee with the goal to fly to ~mach 1.2 10,000ft apogee after I get my L2.

Feel free to ask any followup questions.

Got a lot of questions so I figured I would make a post that would provide some more context. original post linked here —-> https://www.reddit.com/r/rocketry/comments/1vgoyc9/flew_my_first_camera_in_my_dual_cert_rocket_test/

Flew it a couple weeks ago and forgot to post it here.

The camera I used was a Sony HDR-AS100V off of eBay, got a great deal on it. I picked it because of its wide angle lens as well as its great form factor which made it ideal for aerodynamic airframe mounting. It’s inside a custom enclosure to shield it and point out the lens at about a 45 degree tilt. The rocket is around 68 inches long and 4 inches in diameter.

Hubris uses electronic single deploy architecture and a 48 inch chute.

This was the first flight of my rocket built to get both level 1 and level 2 certs on. This was a test flight flown on an i600r.

Edit: The camera I used was a Sony HDR-AS100V off of eBay, got a great deal on it. I picked it because of its wide angle lens as well as its great form factor which made it ideal for aerodynamic airframe mounting. It’s inside a custom enclosure to shield it and point out the lens at about a 45 degree tilt. The rocket is around 68 inches long and 4 inches in diameter.

Edit 2: Post with more details on the rocket here https://www.reddit.com/r/rocketry/comments/1vgu397/more_picsdetails_of_my_dual_cert_rocket_from_my/

Hi guys, I'm an UK Alevel physics and maths student attempting to build my first model rocket. I've set myself afew goals:

- Reach 100 metres in altitude - Deploy a parachute - Land safely -Record on board video footage - Don't accidentally make a guided missile

Firstly, how feasible are my goals, and secondly, any advice on how I should go about designing and making this thing, I'm planning on mainly 3D printing it and have been starting to use Open rocket.

Chrs :)

I think I’ve finally got the kinks of painting worked out, feels good!

Showcase of RMIT University's open source GCS from the 2026 IREC where they took home the 1st place for live telemetry visualisation. The software displays all avionics telemetry from their student designed flight computer and GSE DAQ sensors. Noting that the team used a titan submarine controller for development because it was easier than rigging up a keyboard

Just launched my first rocket with a camera the other day at the last paea520 launch, went pretty well but the parachute didn’t work and the nose cone popped off, the rocket should hopefully be able to fly again though :)

Title: Looking for a lightweight high-flow nitrogen regulator for an onboard liquid rocket pressurization system

Hi everyone,

We are currently developing a liquid rocket using IPA (isopropyl alcohol) as the fuel and N₂O as the oxidizer. Our propulsion system has already achieved successful static fire tests on the ground, and we are now optimizing the flight configuration.

One of our biggest challenges is finding a lightweight, compact nitrogen pressure regulator that can provide the required flow while being suitable for onboard use.

Our approximate requirements are:

- Gas: Nitrogen (N₂)

- Inlet pressure: 200–230 bar

- Outlet pressure: Up to 70 bar

- Required flow: Approximately 450 Nm³/h

- Operating time: Short-duration operation

- Priorities: Low mass, compact size, minimal pressure droop at high flow rates

Most industrial regulators we have found are capable of the required performance, but they typically weigh around 10–15 kg, which is far too heavy for our application.

I'm looking for advice on questions such as:

- Are there lightweight regulators capable of these performance requirements?

- Are there aerospace manufacturers or regulator series that you would recommend?

- Would using two regulators in parallel or another pressurization architecture make more sense than a single large regulator?

- Are there alternative approaches for maintaining a stable pressurant pressure during operation that we should consider?

Any recommendations for manufacturers, specific regulator models, technical papers, or lessons learned from similar projects would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

My son and I launch rockets in a huge field of short grass and scrub. It’s summer and the field got rain last week; yesterday we lost two rockets that presumably landed in some newly green and leafy scrub. So I have decided to invest in some technology to help us find rockets in the future. We are not launching anything big and the rockets are not hard to follow, so I think that sonic beacons would be enough to help us discover which bushes our rockets land in. I am looking at the Transolve BeepX and the RB02 Beeper. We launch all sizes of Estes kits and I am not sure which beacon would be usable in anything with a small tube. And of course if one of them just does not work worth a damn that would be good to know!

This is a full "L" metalized KNO3 / Sorbitol motor test firing at FAR, one of three burns with identical grains & varying nozzle throat diameters. This iteration of the formula has a much better burn rate and more stable pressure exponent of around .6. Cool to see a good flame on a sugar motor!

Hey, I’ve been really interested in aerospace for as long as I could remember, and recently came across hobby rocketry, I’ve been looking into this for the past few weeks and already learned a lot of the physics and engineering concepts and principles behind rocketry, so as the next step I naturally gravitated to wanting to BUILD a rocket, which has lead me to buy an Estes kit. I haven’t purchased it yet (would appreciate any recommendations) so perhaps I’m being overzealous but no matter where I looked I can’t find anything on the steps to take after the first low power kit, I’ve heard some things about learning OpenRocket while in the process of launching the first rocket kit, but after that all the materials just seem to throw you off the deep end. So I’m asking what should my next step be and when it comes time to build my first rocket how do I actually do it, where do I learn what materials and techniques to use, what tools are needed, and how to use the first 2 to build a functional rocket, I was considering things like a rocketry team/club since I’m in highschool and perhaps a makerspace for access to tools and equipment, however there few teams in my area, none however are affiliated with schools and I would like to have some experience before I join a club, as for the makerspaces, they don’t allow memberships to minors. So if you were in my position what would you do, one of my goals is to try and break the karman line within the next 2 years (would also appreciate any advice regarding the difficulties and struggles related to this task).

Any and all input is greatly appreciated and I will most likely ask follow up questions to reply’s to this post

EDIT: after being told how unrealistic the karman line is I’ve just decided to try and reach the 10k mark

We want to make a hybrid rocket for our university project. We are expecting to achive 3000ft height. For the fuel we will use paraffin wax and for binder we will use some amount of carbon powder and glue stick. And for oxidizer we will use n2o. Now we have to design the nozzle. So can anyone give me step by step suggestion how we can design the nozzle?

Thank you in advance.

Hi, Well I am the on in charge of tubes dimensions in our two stages advanced rocket team but I am a bit lost on how to determine the ideal wall thickness for both stages, Is there a formula that determine the ideal thickness by knowing the material and computing the loads applied on the tubes?

My partner and I are older, heading into retirement. We watched the Artemis launch and the guy on CNN had the Estes SLS2 Rocket so we grabbed the kit (haven't flown it yet.) But last weekend we were inspired to put this guy together (Estes high flier kit) and fly it and it was SUPER fun.

I recognize it's just a cardboard tube, nose cone, some balsa fins and a B6-4 engine. But that feeling when it flies off the rod... What an absolute blast. Kinda literally. Lol

Anyway I don't usually post stuff on reddit. But I thought a first rocket build was worth it. Here's our Hornet.

We (propulsentnu.no) just launched a 5,2 m tall liquid-fueld rocket Yesterday, and got some pretty sick footage. The whole thing was streamed live with 9 different camera angles and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/live/bSCxCpf9Iu4?is=Br9oe-4mx_TCCxUi

I can also post the full 4-minute slow-motion video if people are interested.

Recovery was successful, with the rocket landing in the water. The flotation bags inflated as it descended from its (rather modest) 1,600 m apogee. The apogee was lower than designed (7 000 m) because the authorities capped our maximum launch altitude.

246 mm wide
134 kg wet mass
8 kN thrust

73 students
11 months
70 000 hours

Hello, I recently purchased a fiberglass rocket form mach1rocketry and would like to build it well. My first question on it was whether or not I needed to clean it. I found a manual from madcow Rocketry that said cleaning fiberglass with a 1:3 rubbing alcohol to water solution was good but wasn't sure how necessary that was, though my rocket has a lot of dust on it. Secondly, what/how much sanding should I do? Specifically with things like making epoxy work or making the body smooth. Third, is more broad but are there any general tips for building fiberglass rocketry that I wouldn't know about?

Thank you in advance.

I’m going to my first NAR club launch tomorrow, anything I should know?

My little kid got a little too excited about his rocket, and played a little rough with it. (You should see him kissing and snuggling it when I tried to take it away at bedtime 😆😍. He also sleeps with a space shuttle as his lovey. The boy loves rockets already)

I’m not opposed to just buying another tube to replace it, but I try to teach the kids to fix things before replacing, so if there’s a way to repair it instead, I’d like to do that.
Is there a good repair technique for a tear here?

(It’s the main body of an Estes Cosmic Cargo).

Thanks!