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Amateur Rocket Launch Assist (ARLA)

Newsletters and Random Thoughts

This page will include progress reports, notes, random brain farts, and other ramblings.


September 24, 2004

Sputtering Restart or Last Gasp?

It's been over 2.5 years since I last wrote in this BLOG. I don't think the term BLOG even existed back then. In the past I was always the optimist thinking that I would soon get back to work on my ramjets. When I moved and didn't have a decent shop I still worked on but thought I would really get going once my shop was finished. Then I had to wire it up and catch up on a few things. Then I took in my grandaughter and had no time for myself. Then I thought I would get that early retirement. Well, now I'm down to less than 10 months to normal retirement and have mentally "made the turn onto final." Even then, however, ramjets will have to share my time with many other things.

In the meantime, I wanted to get some notes out on things I've learned even though I wasn't doing any productive testing.

Fuel Valves and Bladders

A few years ago I spent a lot of time trying to buy or design simple fuel valves. Well, I've since found some very good sources. Some of these are on/off and some are variable flow. A quick trip to town should get you what you need.

Igniters

This was another of those multi-year brain-racking exercises in searching for what was right in front of me. I now know of several sources of igniters for bench testing and for flight.

P.S.

By the way, that 500 gallon propane tank I bought is still sitting where I parked it. My new neighbor has a 5000 gallon water tank that would be great and I could probably get it cheap but my other neighbor claims that it's his. There are some much larger ones down the road that I could probably get for cheap but I don't know how I'd get them home.


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This Page created September 24, 2004

Last Updated September 26, 2004