Our Experience at TARC

Team 7139 Madison West High School, WI

Duncan A, Alyssa C, Misha K, Yifan L, Enrique O, Paul S, Tianchi Z

The Design & Construction Process

Design 3-Chinese DragonDesigner: Yifan Li

Design 2 -UltralightDesigner: Duncan Adams

Design 1-Enrique and Allissa's RocketDesigners:Enrique Olivas and Alissa Chen

The rockets were designed with the software Rocksim

• Design 2 was chosen because it was the most resistant to weathercocking, it used the least

amount of fuel to reach target altitude, and it was easiest to build

• After flight testing, modifications were made to the design to increase reliability which will be talked

about later

Design SchematicsFlight Computer

6 AA batteries

Madwest Flight Computer

1 MAWD PerfectFliteAltimeter

1 Alt15k ScoringAltimeter

1

3&4

5

6

7

Flight Sequence1) Liftoff

3) Flight computer fires primary charge near 750 ft4) Parachute deploys5) Rocket reaches apogee, altimeter fires the backup charge6) Rocket descends under the parachute7) Rocket lands

2) Rocket Coasts after fuel burns out

2

Flight Testing Process

• We started with many designs, then flew them to free apogee

• We added smart deployment (flight computer)

• We found that the rockets were moving too fast at ejection charge firing, so we added weights to slow them down.

• We also reefed down our parachute to achieve target duration.

Changes after Flight Tests

Reefing (tying) the parachute

Weights to slow rockets down

Flight computer for smart deployment

Problem Solution

Problems We Faced

Eggs cracking due to insufficient space

Longer egg-bay by 1 inch

Teamwork

• All team members created a rocket design or collaborated to create one

• Everyone was there for the construction• All the team members attended several

flight sessions• Through Rocket Club and TARC we

learned that teamwork is vital, and we wouldn’t have succeeded without teamwork

Lessons Learned

• We learned many facts about rockets

• We learned that teamwork is a necessity to success

• We learned important lessons about troubleshooting, persistence, and problem solving

• The most important thing is to have fun!

ConclusionThis year was very enjoyable for all of us. We all achieved a lot, including more knowledge, and new friends. Our interests and aspirations in the sciences have been applied and affirmed through this challenging and rewarding contest. We will certainly have even more fun in rocket club in the future!

See you next year!!