Piggie Titus Rocket launches redux

The rocket L. made at her rocketry class - Piggie Titus - is still operational and she and Fino are quite literally having a blast with it.

Last weekend Fino built some sort of pressurized rocket launcher thingie that connects to his air compressor. (Can you tell I'm not the science genius at our house?) I don't know exactly how he made it but he and L. have been launching Piggie Titus in the backyard over and over again for the past week and a half.

L. has been experimenting with the rocket's wings and decided that the pizza box ones she made last weekend were inhibiting the rocket's potential for flying higher. Both she and Fino agreed Piggie Titus was better off with a nose adjustment (there's clay in the tip of the rocket that they tweak and re-balance). So Piggie Titus has been launching sans wings lately and since that adjustment, has been flying over the house and clear in to another part of the backyard. L.'s theory about going wingless appears to be working out just fine.

L. wears her coat for launches so she doesn't get too wet (water rockets spray everything out as it launches) and the ear protection because she doesn't like the loud popping noise at launch. She's a persnickety one with some things but it usually doesn't stop her from having fun.
G. was going for some photos like she took at the Maine 4-H Day's rocketry class but had less open space to set herself up to take video and photos.
G. took some video but missed the first launch when the chickens didn't know what was going on and were curious so they got really close to the launch box (they are always part of the backyard antics). But they backed off more quickly than they did with the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment a few years back because they sensed this blow up was going to be much bigger once the air compressor started.



And because I can't resist a moment to reminisce, I tracked down that Mentos video (Fino loves to make things explode - it's his inner child that L. in particular appreciates), you can watch the initial curious chicken turn in to a runaway:




I'm not sure how much longer Piggie Titus is going to stay together (the bottle and tape are showing signs of significant wear today) but I would guess before the summer is out there will likely be a next generation rocket on the horizon. This backyard science stuff has been keeping the kids (I include Fino in that reference) happy in the yard even if the chickens aren't so keen on it.

I'm a little worried what they will come up with next...