Rocketry

Four open-air tests to pick an igniter charge for the I400: 2 g and 3 g of zinc-sulphur, and 2 g and 3 g of CuO-Al thermite. The thermite won, and it goes into the next static test.

My own reloadable 42 mm I-class rocket motor on home-made RNX-71V epoxy propellant: the design numbers, the hardware, how the grains are cast, and what the first static test showed.

Flying the same PML Intruder on a J motor for my Tripoli Level 2 certification in September 2026, now with dual deployment and a camera section, and comparing the flight with the simulation.

A Python data logger for static motor tests on an old NI USB-6009: thrust, chamber pressure, break wires and igniter current, in the order a test day runs. Successor to my 2008 and 2010 test …

How the wireless launch controller works inside: the functional design, firmware architecture, the full list of safety measures, the encrypted radio protocol, sensing and how it was tested.

A two-unit wireless rocket launch controller for VRO, built on ESP32-S3s with an encrypted radio link, and the case for why done properly it is safer than a long firing cable.

Building and flying a PML Intruder for my Tripoli Level 1 certification at Exloo in March 2026: the build, the simulation, the recovery and what the flight log really shows.

The third firing of the Ballistic Evaluation Motor, run to check the fixes from test 2, with the load cell now on a steel plate. Report in Dutch with data, sound and video.

The second firing of the VRO Ballistic Evaluation Motor, with a wider throat and a new igniter tube after the first test failed to light. Observations, audio, video, measured data and the fixes for …

An integrated measuring system for static motor tests on the Ballistic Evaluation Motor: load cell, pressure sensor and break wires read into a computer. In Dutch.

A load cell amplifier for static rocket motor tests, with the ADC on board, that plugs into USB and records the thrust curve for analysis in a spreadsheet.

A compact four-channel rocket timer built around a PIC 16F88. It detects lift-off with an accelerometer or a reed switch and fires up to four pyro charges at programmed intervals, independently or in …