Model rockets have been around for many years. They are fun to "fly", and are a great education tool for young engineers and scientist. They are typically boosted into the air by small chemical rocket engines, or more recently, by compressed air. Once the maximum height has been attained, a small parachute is usually deployed to return the craft safely back to the ground. In the case of air powered models, the body is designed to absorb the force of landing.
A challenge for anyone wanting to get into model rocketry is finding a large enough location for launching and recovery, since the rocket will typically drift away from the original launch location. This makes them not suitable for backyard use, unlike the wave of small helli/quadcopters on the market. Ideally, if the rocket could land close to the original launch location, then smaller rockets, which do not fly very high (50 - 75 feet) could be used in the backyard.
In order to make such backyard rocketry possible, a novel craft which combines the features of a model rocket and a quadcopter drone, a Droket (Dro
neRocket), is proposed. Why Droket and not Drocket, because the name
Drocket is already in use, and not in a good way. The Droket will look like, and launch just like a model rocket, but once it attains maximum height, a set of four rotors will deploy from the body. These rotors, will help control the descent of the model in place of the usual parachute. Additionally, a WiFi enabled flight controller connected to the users mobile or laptop device and will automatically guide the model back to the launch area. This "homing" functionality will dramatically decrease the area needed for safe the lunching and recovery. This hybrid craft will no doubt provide a fun, convenient way for kids to learn about the science of rocketry from their backyards.
