LAUNCH FLEET

PML Phobos Rocket

Photograph courtesy of Bob Arnott

PML Phobos

This rocket represented my first foray into the world of HPR kits as opposed to scratch building rockets. It is a PML kit, slightly modified for the purposes accomodating a modified payload bay.

This photograph was of my PML Phobos launching at the High Power Launch Site at the 1999 International/Scottish Rocket Weekend, in August 1999. The rocket was powered by a Rocket Services H-136 reloadable solid motor, and carried a G-Wiz LC Deluxe Altimeter /Accelerometer.

The rocket ascent was nominal, if a bit on the slow side, but this was due to using the Rocket Services H-136 solid rocket motor, which made the flight a bit underpowered. For this rocket, a better choice of motor would have been an Aerotech H-128W or H-180W solid rocket motor.

The rocket descended on a streamer for recovery, but true to form, something had to happen, and it landed heavily on the only rock in the field, and broke part of the coupler bulkhead. The recorded peak altitude was only 521 feet low, but consistent with the use of the Rocket Services H-136 solid rocket motor in this rocket.

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