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Free Water Rocket and Launcher Plans

Get your free detail plans for a water rocket with fin templates, and a launch tube type launcher with a Clark cable tie release complete with parts list, and detailed step-by-step instructions anyone can follow.

Add your name and email to the form at the bottom of the home page and hit "Submit." Click on the confirm link in the email you get (so we know you ordered it and not a scammer or bot) and we will then immediately send you the link to download your PDF file instructions, all 42 pages.

The final writing of the full book is nearing completion. We'll send you an email when it is available. Some of the chapters in the full book are:
• Building Techniques
• Advanced Building Techniques
• Recovery
• Ejection Techniques
• Designing Rockets

If you haven't already, visit my amateur rocketry website here where you can learn how to build your own rocket motor from PVC pipe with sugar and potassium nitrate KNO3) propellant called caramel candy propellant or rcandy (for rocket candy).

 Photo Gallery

Plutoid 1B water rocket, 320 feet at 120 psi

The Plutoid 1B Water Rocket.
Your first water rocket explained
 in step by step details in the
 free plans you can get by filling in the form on the left.

Alpha Base water rocket launcher

The Alpha Base Launcher.
Your first water rocket launcher
explained in step-by-step details
also covered in the free plans
you can get by filling in the form on the left.

Launch of Plutoid 1B water rocket

Actual launch of the Plutoid 1B
from the Alpha Base launcher.

Flight video,

Bounce recovery, 5 sec video clip:

wmv 640X480, 200 Kb
mpg 640X480, 2.6 Mb

parachute draped over nosecone, the simplest parachute recovery

Parachute draped over nosecone, the simplest deployment covered in Chapter 6 of
The Complete Water Rocket Manual vol 1

Airstream flap parachute release

Air stream flap parachute deployment, an easy and reliable deployment method covered in Chapter 6 of
The Complete Water Rocket Manual vol 1

Tomy Timer vertical depolyment ejection mechanism

Vertical deployment "Tomy Timer"
ejection mechanism. Detailed in
chapter 6 of
The Complete Water Rocket Manual vol 1

Spliced bottles for water rocket

Two spliced bottles.  Pressure
 tested to 140 psi with no leaks.
Learn how in chapter 4 of
The Complete Water Rocket Manual vol 1

Nova 1B 2-liter bottle water rocket

A version of the
Nova 1B Rocket
made from two 2-liter bottles
on the Alpha Base launcher.
This and many more rockets detailed in chapter 7 of
The Complete Water Rocket Manual vol 1

 The "Coney"

The rocket in the picture to the left is based on Robert Youen's "Coney."  This is a backslider or back-gliding rocket.  Robert and Peter Alway did extensive research and obtained a patent on backsliders.  Their work was done with a 55 diameter long rocket and their patent references a 30:1 and 50:1 length.  Robert Youen's Coney (and the one pictured here) is 12:1 and is not tubular in shape so the effective ratio is even less.  The result is that even when properly built and precisely balanced according to the Alway report, it is not dependable.  Click on the picture or here to see a mp4, 12 second, clip of how a "perfect flight" can go wrong.  The clip is about 12 seconds long.  At 9 seconds it disappears (into a black hole?) for a second and then reappears falling vertical and accelerating into the ground.


Here is a clip of how a coney flies correctly. In the book, I give you the correct balancing location for this rocket to backslide correctly.  Click on the links for the "real" perfect flight.

A complete discussion of backsliders and the "Coney" is in chapter 3 of The Complete Water Rocket Manual vol 1.

Here is a ground test of a 2-liter bottle rocket with an airspeed flap recovery system ready to go except for fins being ground tested.  Click on links below a normal speed (1 second) and a slow speed (4 second) video clip.

Normal Speed  2 sec
Slow Speed  4 sec
 

 

Similar to above, this is a ground test of a bottle rocket with a tomy timer parachute ejection.  The rocket is ready to go except for fins.  The timer here is set for about 5 seconds which would be too long for an actual flight.  An actual flight of this rocket should be set for about 3-4 seconds to deploy at apogee.

Tomy Timer Delay Ejection Test 320X240 mpg 7 sec

 

“The Complete Water Rocket Manual"

Coming Very Soon

Download two chapters from volume 1 for free by filling in the simple form on the home page then we'll contact you when the manual is released
or
send an email to:

notify@waterrocketmanual.com