#1 - DICK STAFFORD

Summary
The FAT BOI-NK is a scale version of a popular fat rocket. The body is made from foam rubber and the fins from foam poster board. I wanted to build something out of a noodle for a long time, and this contest finally inspired me to do so. The colors are basically the natural colors of the materials. I drew the F A T letters on the fins with a permanent marker and made a FAT-BOI-NK label on my OfficeJet. This is pinned on for show but was removed for flight. - (more details)

MARK - 2-18, MOD - 0

#2 - NICK ESSELMAN

Summary
While cleaning up my son's toy room, I found this little foam rocket who's launcher had long ago been discarded. I decided to pursue this contest. As you can see, it has a whistle in it. I cut off the top and carved out a hole to fill with clay, filled in the opposite side of the whistle with clay. I then CA'd the top back on and also soaked the fins in CA to harden them. I added a 13mm motor mount using CA to glue in place. Lastly I CA'd a launch lug in place. Standing 3 ½" tall and loaded with an A10, the Greenie (yes, I know it's mostly yellow) took off for its first test flight. What a show as if flipped around numerous times. Notice in the picture (Flight #1) it is just starting its first flip. Must be the motor, not the designer! Loaded another A10 and the 2nd flight was excellent. It did whistle going up and down, it bounced... I mean Boink'd once and then settled.

MARK - 2-13, MOD - 0

#3 - DICK STAFFORD

Summary
"Give 'Em The Finger" - Initially, I decided that I was not going to buy a foam rocket to enter in this contest. However, at only 99 cents, I just couldn't resist picking up a 'Finger Blaster' (by Kidpower, Inc). This foam rocket has a built in rubber band and is launched, at the name implies, by hooking it onto your finger, pulling it back, and letting her rip. The rear end conveniently had an 17.Xmm hole and a rigid stop where the back end of the rubber band is attached. I decided to make this entry a bit more complicated, so I constructed a rear ejection streamer assembly with an outer 18mm tube and an inner 13mm motor tube. This assembly was friction fit into the rocket's back-end. After trying to simulate the rocket on RockSim, I decided some nose weight was required. After some head-scratching, I used one of those lead fishing weights that connects by feeding in the line and twisting the rubber ends. Well, I removed that rubber piece, extended the rubber band on the rocket, put the weight on, and let the rubber band contract. The weight retracted into the rocket and appeared to be solidly connected to the rubber band. Other than the launch lug that I glued on, no permanent modifications were made to this rocket! My first flight was to be on an A10-0, just to verify stability. It boosted straight up and as a bonus the streamer assembly drag separated. The streamer is short and only slowed the rocket slightly, so it still landed with a nice boink. I actually liked the drag separation, so my second flight was also on an A10-0. Please also see my flight logs and my RockSim file.

MARK - 3-13, MOD - 0

#4 - ALEX IMMERMAN

Summary
I have had this rocket since long before this contest was announced. I used the original "High-Performance Stomp Rocket" which happened to be about 19mm in the inner diameter. I added a thrust ring about 2.7 inches in to the tube and also attached two small launch lugs. I then cut off the red tip and packed the front with an ounce or two of clay. Because the fins are so small I had to be sure it was stable. To connect the two pieces again, I simply took a used Estes 18mm engine, wrapped some tape around it until it fit perfectly and glued half of it into the nose section (see picture). I then added a home made Estes-style shock cord mount and a small streamer. This rocket flies fine on A and B engines and is untested on C's at the moment because, as you can see from the picture, after several flights the plastic begins to deform. For flight all that is necessary is to wrap a little tape around the engine and treat it as a regular model rocket. In flight it goes extremely ! straight, fast, and spins a lot on the way up due to the cool one piece fin unit. These are easy to make, cheap, and fun to fly!

MARK - 3-18, MOD - 0

#5 - SCOTT TURNBULL

Summary
Converted a Generic Foam Dart to MicroMaxx Power. I hereby dub thee a MicroFoam DARockeT.

A length of barrel was cut from a round pen to form a motor mount tube. Two 1/8" wide centering rings were cut from the "A" casing. The tube was wrapped in masking tape until the rings were a snug fit. The centering rings were CA'd to the MMT. The end plug from the pen was inserted into the MMT to provide blockage for positive engine ejection. The MMT was CA'd into the tail of the foam dart. The forward third of the dart was cut off with a razor knife to provide access for nose weight. A 1" length of "A" casing was used as a coupler of the dart tip to the tail section. A length of ink tube from the pen was cut and taped to the side of the MicroFoam DARockeT to serve as a launch lug.

The new, more powerful, MicroMaxx Motors were used. These are listed as 300 Mil N-Sec, and claim 120 feet Max Altitude. This proved too much thrust for a MicroFoam DARockeT without additional nose weight. It rose about 10 feet and flopped about before ejecting the engine and safely executing a Boink recovery. Clay was used to fill the "A" casing nose coupler, and a second launch yielded a stable thrust with a slight arc-over. The engine ejected, and the DARockeT coasted to spec-busting altitude. The DARockeT crossed over the road and landed on the neighbors front stoop. The nose piece separated during the Boink maneuver. For the third flight, a piece of cellophane tape was used to bind the tip to the tail. Another stable thrust and ejection sent the DARockeT soaring over the neighboring trees. The streamlined nature of the BOINK recovery system allowed the DARockeT to slide through the dense foliage and land unharmed. (more details)

MARK - 2-MM, MOD - 0

#6 - ALAN ESTENSON

Diameter: 1.25"
Length: 13.75"
Booster weight: 0.4 oz. (w/o engine)
Sustainer weight: 1.7 oz. (w/o engine)

"STOMP STOMP" - 2 stage Stomp rocket with sustainer streamer recovery (the booster still goes BOINK)

Having previously built a "traditional" flying Stomp rocket with an 18mm motor mount and BOINK recovery (BOINK = Bounce On Impact, No Kidding), I decided to try something a little more ambitious. Buying two more Stomp rockets at the local surplus store ($0.45 each), I set about making a 2-stager with streamer recovery.

For the booster, a circle was cut through the top of the white fin section and through about an inch of the red body section. A piece of bt20 tubing was then cut to length and glued first into the short body section. This motor mount tube was wrapped with masking tape for a snug fit in the fin section. The tube / body assembly was then glued into the white fin section.

For the sustainer, a similar circle was made in its white fin section and a 1/8" launch lug was glued on where one of the "fins" met the body. A piece of brass tubing was used to core out the red body section up to within 1/2" of the nose. The top inch and a half was cut off to form the nose cone, and the core was removed to yield a hollow foam tube. A piece of bt20 tubing was cut to extend from the bottom of the fin section up to the top of the body section. After installing a motor block, the body tube was glued inside the hollow red foam tube and then to the fin section. Part of an expended 18mm motor casing was cleaned up and glued into the hollow nose cone. The end of a Kevlar loop was placed inside the casing to provide a shock cord attachment point, and then the casing was filled with lead shot and epoxy to provide ample nose weight. A 1/4" shock cord was installed using a conventional shock cord mount along with a 2" by 20" streamer. The top of the booster and bottom of the sustainer were given a light coating of glue to protect them from hot exhaust.

Staging is by the traditional "butt the motors together and wrap clear tape around the joint" method with masking tape used to friction fit the motors into the rocket. First flight was successful on a B6-0 to B6-4 (see photo). Second flight was also successful on a C6-0 to C6-5.

MARK - 4-18, MOD - 0

#7 - DAVE FERGUS

This is my first attempt at stomp rocket design and build. It is a Mark 2, Mod 2 version right now because several modifications were required to maintain flyability. The Mark 1 Mod 0 stomp rocket is purchased from our local surplus store for $.45. They have a giant bin of the things. Conversion from Mark 1 to Mark 2 is accomplished by gluing an engine tube into the white fin can, being careful to keep it centered. The original hole in the fin can is about a .1" greater in radius than an 18mm motor.

I inserted a wooden dowel through the middle of the red part to add strength. I lopped off the top of the red part, dug out a cavity and filled it with epoxy to add nose weight, then glued it back on. Mod 0 lost the launch lug due to white glue attachment. I then dug a small trench along the fin can and epoxied a much longer launch lug into the trench, thus making this rocket mod1. After several barely stable flights, I lopped off the top again in a different spot and added more nose weight, thus making this rocket mod2. It has now flown 10 times with no other damage or flight problems. You can see in the picture the two cut lines in the top for the nose weight. Recommendations for those considering a stomp rocket of their own include the following: dig out some of the red and white part so the engine mount only has 1/2" of engine sticking out. Put an epoxy base on the other side of the engine block to protect the foam from ejection charge gas. Use an engine block in the engine mount and wrap masking tape around the engine tube to allow the tape to be a centering ring inside the white fin can. Use about 1/2 oz of nose weight by hollowing a cavity for lead shot or BB's and filling the cavity with epoxy. I don't think you need a wood dowel for strength.

MARK - 2-18, MOD - 2

NOT AN ENTRY - DAVE FERGUS

STOMP-STOMP - This is my version of the two stage stomp rocket designed by Alan Estenson (entry #6). It is my second stomp rocket built using two original Mark 1, Mod 0 stomp rockets obtained from the surplus store for $.45 each. It is not intended to be in the voting competition since Alan already had the idea, but is only being submitted for serial number. It is virtually identical to the model designed and built by Alan.

The body is a little crooked since reaming out foam for insertion of a BT-20 tube is not easy to get straight. I used a cut off old engine for the nose cone adapter, and should have stirred the lead shot more after pouring in the epoxy. I can hear them rattle a little bit under the epoxy cap. Staging is accomplished using the method of butting the two engines together and securing with scotch tape. The sustainer engine is securely retained with masking tape while the booster engine has a little masking tape. Stomp-Stomp flew great twice last weekend first on a B6-0/B6-4 and then on a C6-0/C6-5 to about 1000 ft (it was a home run out of the park). The second flight was an 8 stomp drag race launched simultaneously by our club. I declared myself the winner due to the extreme altitude achieved and last to hit the earth.

Stomp-Stomp flew great twice last weekend first on a B6-0/B6-4 and then on a C6-0/C6-5 to about 1000 ft (it was a home run out of the park). The second flight was an 8 stomp drag race launched simultaneously by our club. I declared myself the winner due to the extreme altitude achieved and last to hit the earth.

MARK - 4-18, MOD - 0

NOT AN ENTRY - DAVE FERGUS

• 11" tall
• 2.5" diameter
• 3 18mm engines
• 3.4 oz without engines
• boink recovery

TRI-STOMP - This version is an 18mm three engine cluster stomp rocket with BOINK recovery. It is my third design of stomp rocket and my first cluster rocket. I figured it would be an easy and safe way to verify my cluster launch system and wires. The rocket is prepared much the same way a Mark 2 stomp rocket is built. 1/2 oz. of lead weight is added to each nose of the three red pieces, and the engine modules are prepared by adding a thrust ring and rolled masking tape for centering rings. The top of the white fin cans are reamed with a piece of BT-20. About 3/4" of the bottom of the red bodies are also reamed in the center with a BT-20, and then hollowed out with a needle nose pliers.

A good epoxy base is required on the other side of the engine block to protect the foam from engine eject charge. The fin cans are prepared by first cutting off one of the fins. Then the side of the fin can is marked and trimmed to remove enough material so that the three fin cans will mold together in a tristar pattern. The material is removed flush with what would be the side of the red body so that the three bodies can also be glued together. Glue each engine mount into the fin can at the same time the red body is glued into the fin can. After these are dry, glue the three body and fin modules together with 5 minute epoxy holding them so that they cure as straight as possible.

Finally, add a 3/16" launch lug into one of the crevasses in the fin cans and you are ready to go! The maiden flight of Tri-Stomp was outstanding on 3 B6-4s. All three motors lit and the rocket rose majestically into the air to about 200 ft. The near simultaneous, but not quite, pops of the three engines ejecting out the back were a real crowd pleaser (comments such as "wow, fireworks", "I can't believe it" and "whoa nellie" were heard). The boink recovery of the tri-missile was close to the pads. The three red bodies came apart a little from boink impact. A little burn-through on one of the three bodies was evident, but repairable by dribbling epoxy into the black gash.

The maiden flight of Tri-Stomp was outstanding on 3 B6-4s. All three motors lit and the near simultaneous, but not quite, pops of the three engines ejecting out the back were a real crowd pleaser (comments such as "wow, fireworks", "I can't believe it" and "whoa nellie" were heard). The boink recovery of the tri-missile was close to the pads.

MARK - 5-18, MOD - 0

#9 - PETER W. CLAY

Schaum-Rakete mit Fallschirm - I make rockets out of non-rocket toys, so this Rocketry toy was irresistable. I've had it lying around the house for a couple of years, knowing it had to have a motor in it. I've seen a few conversions that just nerf-darted in, but I wanted to give it legitimate parachute recovery.

The red body of this stomp rocket is just slightly smaller than BT-55, so I used 7-1/2" of BT-55, painted red, to replace it. I installed the motor mount sticking out the back 2", and added a launch lug on a standoff to the side of the body. The white foam tail section has a thin bulkhead near the front, which I cut out, allowing the BT-20 MMT to pass through and the BT-55 body to press in place.

A slot 3/8" deep was needed in the front rim of the white foam unit to fit the launch lug standoff. The nose cone is the front 2-1/4" of the foam body. It rests on a liner inside the tube made from a TP core slit lengthwise. Not knowing exactly where the CP is, I epoxied 1" of 3/16" lead sinker wire in a hole drilled in the foam nose for added stability. The shock cord is 18" of Kevlar cord provided by Aardvark Hobbies, tied to the noseweight and the forward centering ring.

The resulting rocket is pretty soft, and a streamer or simple breakup recovery would be ok, but I used a 14" Space Blanket chute anyway. On the first flight it bound on the rod, but with a longer 2" launch lug, it flew nicely on A8-3 and C6-5 motors.

MARK - 3-18, MOD - 1

#10 - NICK ESSELMAN

My MicroMaxx All-Foam Rocket began from a kid's toy in a Cumberland Farms. It was a spring-gun that launched these little 2" tall rockets. I went through three phases before I really got one to fly stable.

First Phase - I took the body from a Nano Rocket Nanite along with a nose cone to act as my motor tube. I placed that into the bottom of the rocket after placing some tape around it to keep it centered. I then took two launch lugs from a damaged Quest MicroMaxx rocket and glued them on the side of the foam rocket. All seemed ready.

First flight was a disaster. Lost the launch lugs, flipped flopped and landed 7" from the pad with an altitude of about 14" (guessing).

Phase 2 - I removed the motor tube and before stuffing it back into the bottom of the rocket, I took a 1/4" drill bit and hollowed out as much of the rocket as possible without going through the top. I then packed this full of clay, leaving enough room for my make motor tube. I then forced a Quest rod along the outside of the motor tube and up and out the top (side) of the rocket to become the new launch rod guide.

Second launch was much higher at about 10 feet and it did a couple of noticeable loop-d-loo's. It seemed to drag on the rod too.

Phase 3 - I inserted two 3/32" x 1/2" Tension Pins into the rod guide hole at the top of the foam rocket. I also inserted a carpet tack into the tip of the nose cone. I was ready again.

The time it flew straight and stable to about 50 feet. I was able to repeat this several times. Finally a version worthy of a Mark!

MARK - 2-MM, MOD - 1

#11 - RICHARD VATSAAS

Excited about entering the EMRR Stomp Rocket Contest, I stopped by my local Walmart to find a likely subject, one that wouldn't bust the budget (Ok, I'm really, reaaaaally cheap). My eyes lit upon this little number, The Peyton Manning MicroVortex Howler. This little foam thing resembles a stunted WWII anti-tank Rocket: A foam foot ball with a foam, arrow like tail (Is Manning such a poor throw, that he would endorse a football with a stabilizing empennage?). I figured if I removed the tail ,inserted a BT-5 and glued the foam fins back on to it, I would have a neat little rocket. I dubbed it the The Vinyl Pigskin of Porcine Revenge

Flight: The VPOPR flys great on A10-3Ts, It's not proven if 1/2As are up to the task. Whistles: This can be heard all the way up, until apogee, when velocity drops too low to activate the whistle. Pitch, and volume of the whistle increase/decreases with velocity. Recovery: The VPOR kicks its motor and falls to earth using B.O.I.N.K. Recovery. Because of the rubbery football, it bounces upward a good 6-8 feet. Fun factor: It's hard to get more fun from a $3.00 Investment. It was a big hit at the October 2001 MASA Launch. (full article and building instructions...click here)

MARK - 2-13, MOD - 1

#12 - PETER W. CLAY

This is rocketry for the pure absurd fun of it. Binky isn't a stomp rocket, but the principle is the same.

Flight conversion involves a 1/4" i.d. tube 7/8" long with a CR on one end that nests in a ridge inside the base of the nipple. On the other end, a couple of layers of 1/16" wide paper center it in the forward part of the nipple. A little of the tube extends beyond this ridge, and the forward end of the MMX motor is taped to this extension. A hand-rolled paper launch lug is glued to one side of the motor tube. Holes had to be cut in the centering rings and in the top of the nipple to pass the rod through. A streamer is taped to one side of the motor tube, but the nipple itself just tumbles.

Flight is unstable after burnout, throwing the tumbling Binky to about 15 feet. Always gets a laugh.

MARK - 3-MM, MOD - 0

#13 - MASA Club

Photo 1

Photo 2

Minnesota Amateur Spacemodeling Association (MASA) NAR Section #576 has done a lot to promote the "NAMSROF" club (National Assn. of Modified Stomp Rocket Flyers). And since this is a photo contest, the following photos were submitted by the club.

Photo 3

From their November launch in Minnesota. MASA's club president, Alan Estenson, had organized a stomp rocket building session at our last club meeting, so we had lots of rockets there for a drag race that day. Here are Alan's technical notes on building a Stomp Rocket. (click here for the PDF file)

In photo 1, we have left to right Alan Estenson, Steve Robb, Craig Hansen and Hugh Hanson.

In photo 2, we have Dave Fergus, Phil Gibbens, Art Gibbens, and Jeff Hove.

Finally, we have liftoff in the third photo.

MARK - various-18, MOD - various