Again, this rocket uses a Launch Tube
and a T-Nozzle. During flight, the rocket slows down
slightly, this effect becoming more pronounced as the
weight of water increases. As the rocket launches
increase in weight, there comes a point where the
rocket slows down considerably and starts to tilt
over. When this happens at a great enough altitude,
the rocket can acheive quite a good downrange
distance.
By the time the weight of water and
angle of launch have increased as at point A,
the rocket almost comes to a stop but a quite a good
altitude (answer to question 2). This gradual
transition from straightforward flight starting at a
low angle, to almost vertical flight, coming almost
to a halt in mid-air and then accelerating downrange
provides an explanation for question 1.
The reason why the optimum angle is
not 38° (as in a golf ball) or 45° (as in an
artilary shell) is that the optimum angle depends
upon other factors such as the weight of the rocket,
the T-Nozzle diameter, the pressure and so on. The
optimum angle will vary according to these other
variables.
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