Stinger missiles are a fun project and even more fun to launch. There design is very simple; a rocket that is stabilized by spinning that needs no wings and no stick to balance it. Stinger missiles are not for the beginner to attempt, but are an easy mid-level pyrotechnics project. Ideally a stinger missile with spin on its launch pad and then exhaust gas through the bottom choke causing it to fly straight into the air. These are very difficult get to fly straight reliably, they usually fly on a crooked path, or in catastrophic cases, horizontally at head level (-:
Tube - You're going to need a thick walled tube. I used a 2 1/2" long tube with a hefty 1" diameter for the demo.
Rammer - A good rammer and dowel are needed to consolidate the fuel. You can use a rocket press if you have one.
Drill - If you don't wish to buy the expensive tooling (it's not the tools it's how you use them) you are going to need a drill bit to drill the vent holes.
Clay - The standard 2:1 bentonite clay:grog works fine for this application.
Black Powder - Greenmix/Pyrodex will not work. You need good milled black powder for this propellant. If you try to use something else, the tube will probably not be able to spin up before taking off of the launch pad. Or it could just explode or fall off the launch pin (-: You can add some FE or Ti to the powder to add a spark trail, I have not done this in the demonstration.
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1) Start off by finding a good surface for your tube(s). I am use my mass production block to hold nine stinger missiles. You can use a flat surface if you like to ram the clay endplug. | |||
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2) Pour the clay into the tubes with a funnel. Make sure the clay end plug is about as long as it is wide. Ram the clay end plug in real good making sure not to bust the tube. | |||
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3) Charge the tube with a section of BP. I use a scoop to measure even volume so ever tube performs the same. Her I am charging these tubes with three of the large scoops of powder. | |||
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4) Now ram the shit of the powder so it is nice and tight. After it is rammed, go back to step three unless your missile has the desired amount of fuel in it. When you are finished charging the tube, you can add some flash, stars, or whatever you like. After that, seal the deal with some clay, glue, or whatever you like for the end cap. | |||
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5) After I pull the missile off of the mass production block I spray it with a little water and let it dry. This hardens the end up a little bit. You can see the little dimple in the clay that the mass production block leaves, this is very handy when hand drilling the exhaust hole. | |||
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6) Now it's time to hand drill the exhaust hole. This is a slightly large hole, using a 5/32" drill bit. Smaller would get you more distance but less of a light show. | |||
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7) A hole needs to be drilled in the side of the tube tangentially to the ID of the tube. The picture illustrates what this means. I use the outside seam of a spiral wound tube to hold the bit in place and drill straight down. If this hole is not drilled on a tangent, the hole device will no doubt fail. | |||
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8) This is an optional but useful step. Treat the hole you drilled in step 7 with some sodium silicate. If the hole expands too much in flight it will stop spinning and have a chaotic effect. | |||
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This is what the finished project looks like on the launch pad. | |||
Below are some pictures of a launch pad. The launch pad is made from a nail that is hammer through a board so that the point is sticking out the top. The point is then ground down so that it has a rounded tip.
Video coming soon! Update! Test shoots failed, suspect problem because of too much gunk on nail. Will try again soon.
