Ballistic Blaster User Guide Materials Included The Ballistic Blaster Rocket Kit should contain the following items. If anything is missing, call Customer Service at 800-358-4983. Body tube, 6-1/2" long, 2-7/8" inside diameter Positioning ring, 2-7/8" outside diameter, 3/8" wide Small plastic bag with bellows nozzle, plastic restrictor, plastic washer, piece of adhesive-backed felt, and self-adhesive hole reinforcements Plastic sprue with attached nose cone, plastic transition cone, bellows cup, and 2 white plugs (one is a spare) Sheet of coated fin material, 3" x 12" Wind speed flap and deployment disk on die-cut card stock Rocket Cutouts sheet with paper transition cone, fin patterns, and measuring tape Bellows Elastic shock cord Silicone tube Decals Parachute Cotton shroud line Items Required (not included) 2-liter plastic bottle Permanent marker Bottle cap (optional) Paint Scissors Rocket launcher Masking tape Hole punch (optional) Transparent tape Leather punch (optional) White glue (such as HD Bond II) Screw (optional) Cool-melt glue and glue gun Tabletop or piece of wood (optional) Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411 1
Before You Start Before assembling your bottle rocket, take a look at Figure 1. It identifies the various parts included in your rocket kit and shows where they will go. Throughout the assembly process, refer to this diagram to make sure you are placing components in their correct positions. Deployment Disk Bellows Cup Bellows Nozzle Silicone Tube 6-1/2" Body Tube Plastic Nose Cone Plastic Transition Cone Parachute stored here Bellows Wind Speed Flap White Plastic Plug Plastic Restrictor Positioning Ring Paper Transition Cone 2-liter Bottle Fin (one of three placed equidistantly around the bottle) Fin (one of three placed equidistantly around the bottle) Figure 1 Transparent view of the Ballistic 2 Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411
Construct the Bellows Assembly Nozzle Note: Figure 2 illustrates the following steps. Glue 1. Push the nozzle into the bellows until you hear a snap. 2. Remove the bellows cup from the plastic sprue. Insert the bellows into the bellows cup so that the nozzle protrudes through the opening in the narrow end of the cup. 3. Glue the bellows cup to the bellows by sealing the juncture with a bead of white Figure 2 glue or cool-melt glue. 4. Set the bellows assembly aside until the glue dries. The glue forms a retaining ring that keeps the bellows in place during launch. Glue Prepare the Wind Speed Flap Note: Figure 3 illustrates the following steps. 1. Punch the wind speed flap out of the die-cut card stock. 2. Bend the flap approximately 45º along the dotted line. The paper will break underneath but remain attached on the top. 3. Fill the break in the paper with adhesive and set the flap aside to dry. Figure 3 Adhesive goes here Attach the Positioning Ring 1. Locate the 2-liter plastic bottle and the positioning ring. Tip: To hold the bottle upright while you work on it, attach the bottle cap with a screw to a stable surface such as a work table or a piece of wood. Then, screw the bottle in the cap to hold it while you work. 2. Center the positioning ring on the bottom of the bottle (Figure 4) and glue it in place with cool-melt glue. Allow the glue to dry. Caution: Put glue only on the inside and bottom of the ring. Do not get any glue on the outside of the ring. Figure 4 Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411 3
Make and Attach the Fins 1. Cut out the asymmetrical fin pattern from the Rocket Cutouts sheet. Trace it three times onto the fin material and cut out the fins. 2. Trim the longest edge of each fin (represented by a dotted line on the pattern) to match the contour of your bottle (Figure 5). Approximately 1" of the fin should be above the taper. 3. Cut out the measuring tape from the Rocket Cutouts sheet. Wrap it around the bottle approximately 3" from where the bottle begins to taper. 4. With a marker, indicate the location for each fin by making a dot on the bottle just above each line on the measuring strip (Figure 6a). Then, remove the strip. Note: If your bottle is upside down on its cap, make the mark just below each line (Figure 6b). 5. To make straight vertical lines for fin Figure 6a placement, align each of the marks on the bottle against a door frame (Figure 7). Using the marker, draw a line straight up from the mark all the way to the taper point of the bottle. 6. Dab cool-melt glue on the contoured edge of one of the fins. Position it parallel to one of the marks and press it against the bottle. Note: Only the top of the fin will align with the mark on the bottle try to keep the rest of the fin straight as you glue it. Repeat for the other two fins. 7. When the glue is dry, anchor the fins to the bottle by running a bead of cool-melt glue along both sides of each fin. Set the bottle aside until the glue dries thoroughly. Trim fins to match the contour of your bottle Figure 5 Figure 6b Figure 7 1" Assemble the Body 1. Locate the body tube. Using a leather punch or the point of the scissors, punch a small hole (approximately 3/16" in diameter) 2" from one end. 2. Spread white glue inside the end of the tube opposite the punched hole. Then, slide the glued end onto the bottle s positioning ring (Figure 8 on the following page). 4 Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411
3. Apply a bead of cool-melt glue around the tube where it touches the bottle (Figure 8). As you Punched spread the glue, work it in with hole the tip of glue gun. Then, set the assembly aside to dry. Cool-melt 3. Cut out the paper transition cone glue from the Rocket Cutouts sheet. Lightly crease it along the dotted line; then roll it along the edge of a table or workbench (Figure 9). Figure 8 4. Roll the transition cone semitightly in your hand. Then, unroll it and align the dotted line with the opposite edge (Figure 10). Tape the cone along the seam with transparent tape. 5. Slide the paper transition cone onto the body tube until it rests snugly against the bottle (Figure 11). If the cone does not fit snugly, spot glue it to Figure 10 the body tube with cool-melt glue. Smooth the glue and allow it to dry. Paper Transition Cone Figure 9 Figure 11 Decorate Paint and add decals to the bottle, fins, transition cone, plastic nose and transition cones, and the body tube. Allow paint to dry before continuing with rocket assembly. Assemble the Parachute 1. Locate the parachute, shroud line string, and the six hole reinforcements. 2. Using scissors, carefully cut along the dotted lines on the parachute. 3. Peel the hole reinforcements from the backing paper and place them in each of the small circles in the corners of the parachute. 4. Using a hole punch or the point of the scissors, punch a hole in the center of each circle. 5. Cut six 14" lengths of shroud line. 6. Tie a shroud line in each of the six reinforced holes. 7. Tie the ends of the shroud lines together in a knot. Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411 5
Assemble the Ejection System 1. Gather the silicone tube, shock cord, plastic washer, bellows assembly, white plastic plug, plastic restrictor, and the rocket body. Slip the silicone tube onto the nozzle of the bellows. 2. Tie the washer to one end of the elastic shock cord. Poke the other end of the shock cord through the hole in the side of the bellows cup. Pull the cord through the cup until the washer rests against the hole on the outside of the bellows cup. 3. Insert the bellows assembly into the end of the tube. 4. Slip the plastic restrictor Resistor White Plug into the white plastic plug with the tapered end out to form the plug assembly Figure 12 (Figure 12). 5. Insert the plug assembly into the hole that you Washer punched in the tube. The white plug should be visible outside the tube. 6. While grasping the body tube and holding the plug in place with your thumb, reach inside the body tube and slide the silicone tube all the way onto the restrictor. The silicone tube should fit snugly and touch the body tube. The ejection system is finished (Figure 13). Figure 13 Anchor the Shock Cord 1. Gently pull up on the shock cord to remove any slack. Pass the shock cord through the parachute shroud lines (Figure 14). Tie and knot the shock cord to the shroud lines about 1-1/2" from the top of the tube (Figure 14). 2. Cut two 1-1/2" pieces of masking tape. Center one of the pieces of tape on the shock cord about 3/4" from the free end (Figure 15). 3. Fold the 3/4" free end of the shock cord back over the nonsticky side of the masking tape. Put the second piece of tape on top of the first so that the shock cord is between the two pieces of tape. This forms the shock cord anchor. Figure 14 Figure 15 6 Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411
4. Remove the transition and nose cones from the sprue. Clip off the plastic nubs that remain attached to the cones. Then, snap the cones together to form the nose cone assembly. 5. Press the sticky side of the shock cord anchor to the inside lip of the plastic transition cone (Figure 16). 6. Locate the adhesive-backed felt. Cut it into three 1/2" x 1/4" pieces. 7. Peel the backing off the pieces and fold them equidistantly over the lip of the transition cone (Figure 17). Prepare for Launch 1. Punch the deployment disk out of the die-cut card stock. Cut a notch in the disk (Figure 18). 2. Slip the notched edge of the disk around the shock cord between the Figure 18 parachute knot and the body tube (Figure 19). 3. Locate the wind speed flap. Put a piece of transparent tape over the hole in the flap (Figure 20). The tape should be no wider than the flap itself. 4. Fill the bottle 40 to 50 percent full of water and place it on the launcher. 5. While pushing and holding the bellows down, press the sticky side of the hole in the wind speed flap against the white plastic plug Figure 20 on the side of the body tube (Figure 21). The tape should hold the flap in place and cause the bellows to remain depressed. Nose Cone Figure 16 Felt Figure 17 Slip deployment disk notch onto shock cord here. Figure 19 Figure 21 Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411 7
6. Position the deployment disk securely on top of the bellows cup (Figure 22). 7. Fold the parachute and place it on top of the disk. Note: Folding the parachute correctly is critical to the safe return of your rocket! Fold it end-over-end lengthwise and then end-over-end Figure 22 widthwise so the material forms a small square. Then, wrap the shroud lines tightly around the folded parachute. 8. Place the nose cone assembly on top of the body tube. (Figure 23). Your Ballistic Blaster is ready to launch. Figure 23 Launch Pump up the launcher (recommended maximum PSI is 80 pounds) and fire the rocket. See the instructions that accompanied your launcher for details. P.O. Box 1708 Pittsburg, KS 66762 shop.pitsco.com Toll-Free Orders 800-835-0686 8 Ballistic Blaster User Guide 57752 V0411