Saturday, November 5, 2011

How should I ignite my rubbing alcohol rocket?

For an interesting project, I decided to build a rubbing alcohol rocket. It's still in the design stages, but I know it will consist of a cylindrical metal combustion chamber/launch tube and a rocket that fits over it. I would fill the combustion chamber with alcohol vapor, and when lit, hopefully it would launch. However, I need to find a way to ignite it. I have already tried a rocket ignition system from Estes, but the ignitors are a total rip-off, hard to obtain, and hard to work with. Also, I don't want to deal with fuses. The ideal system would be around or under $30 (making it from scavenged parts would be best) and be able to be reused easily (e.g. not having to replace a part every time or being able to very easily do so). The best answer can get their screen name on the rocket!

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