Quick Results


The most used results for each model run are displayed in the top right window immediately after the calculations have been completed. For a more complete set of results, look at the Quick Graphs section.

Maximum Height (feet or Metres) - The highest that the rocket gets;
Maximum Speed (m/s) - The fastest it goes (in any direction - speed is not a vector quantity, ie, it does not depend upon direction);
Maximum Acceleration (m/s^2) - The highest acceleration it undergoes - again, not as a vector quantity;
Time to Apogee (s) - The amount of time it takes to get to the top of the flight - important if you need to set a timer for parachute deployment and wish to get the maximum time in the air;
Speed at Apogee (m/s) - The horizontal speed at the top of the flight - if you are using a NSA nose that requires a fall in airspeed to trigger chute release and it does not fall low enough (ie the Speed at Apogee is too great) the chute will not get deployed.
Flight Time (s) - The total amount of time in the air taken from the release of the rocket on the launcher. If you are only interested in using a parachute to reduce the impact velocity to a minimum rather than maximising total flight time, use this figure without a parachute to see the total flight time and adjust you parachute release timer accordingly.
Speed At Touchdown (m/s) - This is the speed at which the rocket hits the ground. Ideally, it should be slow enough not to cause damage to the rocket.
Down-Range Distance (m) - The horizontal distance that the rocket travels. There is no such thing as a perfectly vertical launch and in recognition of this, the default value for launch angle is 88º. As a result of non-vertical launches, there is an element of travel away from the launcher even in flight that tries to be vertical. In Japan, amongst other places, the idea is to see how far downrange a rocket can travel.

Equivalent Motor - This gives an idea of the power capabilities of the complete launch that is . . .

Total Impulse = launch rod impulse + water impulse + air impulse.

Impulse is force x time and therefore the units are Newton Seconds.

Twice the force for half the time will give the same impulse although, using all of the available impulse too quickly can result in high speeds and too much loss as drag whereas, too slowly and it is used up fighting against gravity - an ideal value lies in the middle somewhere and this model can give you a good idea of where.

For classification purposes, the total impulse is divided into bands and given a letter according to the table on the right.

Motor Impulse Classes
Impulse /Ns Class
I <= 0.625 ¼A
0.625 < I <= 1.25 ½A
1.25 < I <= 2.5 A
2.5 < I <= 5 B
5 < I <= 10 C
10 < I <= 20 D
20 < I <= 40 E
40 < I <= 80 F
80 < I <= 160 G
160 < I <= 320 H
320 < I <= 640 I
640 < I <= 1280 J
1280 < I <= 2560 K
2560 < I <= 5120 L
5120 < I >L


Copyright ©2000 Paul Grosse. All Rights Reserved