LAUNCH FLEET

PML 1/2 Scale Patriot Rocket

Photograph by Pete Davy
Fuji MX-2700 Camera

PML 1/2 Scale Patriot

The 1/2 scale Patriot is the largest kit produced by PML. It stands over 8 feet tall and is 7 1/2 inches diameter. In terms of what one might term cool toys, a half scale flying replica of a Patriot Missile, capable of launching to about 5000 feet altitude has to rank fairly highly.

As the Patriot kit comes, it is designed for the motor section and the upper section and nosecone to split at apogee and descend on separate parachutes. I'm working on modifying this, with internal changes to enable to the whole rocket to descend as a single unit with 2-stage recovery, with a central payload bay, a drogue bay beneath, and a main recovery bay above the payload bay and below the nosecone.

Payload Bay

As far as payload capacity goes, compared to most High Power Rockets around, the Patriot has a cavernous payload bay. Fitting entire camcorders, sub-notebook computers or cameras is effortless with a payload bay of this size. Additionally, my modifications to the Patriot allow most of the length of the nosecone to be used as a second, smaller (4 inch diameter, 18 inch long) payload bay.

Propulsion

The Patriot is designed with a 54mm diameter motor mount, capable of taking Aerotech solid rocket motors from J-class to K-class total impulse (720 Newton seconds to 2560 Newton seconds), or Hypertek hybrid rocket motors from J-class to K-class total impulse (720 Newton seconds to 2560 Newton seconds).

Where can I buy in the UK?

In order to ensure it is easy for people to know how to easily locate the best High Power Rocketry Suppliers in the UK (and nearby), the individual rocketry pages on this site all detail this information:

The best (and friendliest) High Power Rocketry supplier in the UK for PML high power rocketry kits, is Rocketstore.co.uk (details on the UK Vendors web page on this website). The staff at both Rocketstore.co.uk are experienced rocketeers themselves, and can always draw on their practical rocket launching experience to answer any questions. I say this as a satisfied customer of their kits and components.

For avionics, I can again recommend Rocketstore.co.uk, as well as Rockets and Things, and also Random Solutions - the UK dealer of the G-Wiz range of peak altitude and recording altimeters, and Rebel Rocketry in the Netherlands, all of whom are also exceptionally good (and again very friendly and helpful). Also, for the AED R-DAS flight computer and its modules, it can be ordered direct from the manufacturers (AED) website aswell.

For rocketry tracking with an RF tracking beacon, the favourite, and the unit that recovers rockets time and time again, is the UK manufactured, Traxa RF Tracker, sold via Rocketstore.co.uk, Rockets and Things and online through UK based, Eclipse Engineering. All these suppliers and vendors are detailed on the UK Vendors web page on this website.

See Also

PML AMRAAM 3, PML Patriot, LOC Caliber, LOC IV, PML Phobos, Blitzspear, Hytest, Get Real