LAUNCH PREPARATION
Wear protective goggles. (goggles) close-fitting eyeglasses with side shields, for protecting the eyes from glare, dust, water, etc.
1. Slide rocket over 11 inch long "internal launch tube", and finally over two (2) pressure sealing "O" rings.
2. Raise sliding PVC tube up 2 inches, which locks grip on rocket bottle.
3. Insert stainless steel trigger pin into hole provided until it SNAPS into place, which locks sliding PVC tube.
4. Turn on water valve handle and fill to water line on rocket bottle.
5. Pressurize rocket bottle with air to desired pressure. Use pressure gauge to monitor level.
6. You are now ready to launch. LAUNCH Count down when others are observing, then pull trigger string. There will be a loud blasting sound, and a spray of water as the rocket immediately travels at 125 m.p.h. into the sky.
LAUNCH ANALYSIS What happened at launch? You used a string to pull a stainless steel pin out of a drilled hole in the outer telescoping tube. A rubber band provides the power to drop an internal telescoping tube that releases the grip on the rocket bottle. The pressure in the bottle forces the rocket bottle over the two (2) "O" rings. The 11 inches of the internal launch tube act as a piston and a rail to propel the rocket on a straight trajectory.
One of the interesting features of this launcher is that it can launch rockets vertically, or the legs can be repositioned to launch rockets at various angles. The legs are color coded. For a normal vertical launch, the colors are matched (blue to blue, etc). Launching at angles can be done by mixing and matching of the colors. The extra 1/2" internal launch tubes also act as a replacement legs to facilitate launching at steeper angles.
The launcher is designed so that you may use your own threaded 1/2" PVC tubing to achieve extreme angles, and even HORIZONTAL for "PET RODS" (water jet propelled vehicles that race on a track).