NAVRO rockets

All amateur rockets built by the NAVRO as a club project and some private projects have received a designation beginning with "N". This page describes all the rockets, which received this designation. By clicking on the image next to the description of the rocket you will be taken to the picture page of that rocket.

After the first club projects N1 and N2, the next type of rockets were of the Midget B design with the Kalinitrox K600 motor. The Midget C was an improved version using a more powerful Kalinitrox K1800/K2000 motor. The second series were the Hercules'. The Hercules A1 is redesigned and improved version of the original Hercules A. It was easier to build, but most of all was reduced a quarter in weight.

The next series of NAVRO rockets is the Titan. This type of rocket has a diamete of 135 mm. Significantly lager than the 90 mm of the Hercules. Purpose of the Titan project is perfecting the NDU parachuting system (nose-down nose-up also see N23) and eventualy reach an altitude of 7000 m with a Kalinidex motor with 15.000 Ns.

Most NAVRO amateur rockets are launched at our own NAVRO Lanceerdagen (NAVRO Launch Days) at ASK 't Harde, but in the earlier nineties we also launched at several French launch campaigns.

  • N31

    N29 Name: N31
    Type: Hercules B
    Motor: NAVRO Kalinidex K90.4.3800
    Launch: NLD46, ASK 't Harde, 19 April 2017

    After the launch of the N30, it was decided to recreate the same rocket. Of course the parachuting system was adjusted. The N31 was again launched with a self-made Kalinidex K90.4.3800 motor. The launch went beautifully, but after the rocket disappeared in the clouds, no one has seen it anymore. We assume that the rocket has crashed. Unfortunately, nothing has been recovered so we have no idea what went wrong.

  • N30

    N29 Name: N30
    Type: Hercules B
    Motor: NAVRO Kalinidex K90.4.3800
    Launch: NLD45, ASK 't Harde, 23 September 2016

    The N30 was a Hercules B type rocket where the engine has the same diameter as the rocket. Therefore the lower part of the rocket is completely motor and the fins are clamed on the motor. The purpose of this launch was to test te NUND parachuting system at higher speeds. Because of this we used a small drougue shute. Unfortunatelely the drougue chute was to small and therfore the rocket did not turn before the deployment of the main parachute. As a result, the main parachute has not been pulled out of the parachute compartment. The N30 has therefore suffered great damage during the landing.

  • N29

    N29 Name: N29
    Type: Titan C
    Motor: NAVRO Kalinidex K90.6.5700
    Launch: NLD44, ASK 't Harde, 20 may 2016

    The N29 was launched on May 20, 2016. For this flight the Titan-C was used witch was already used as N27. The electronics frame for this flight was extended with a sensor package. The aim was to test different sensors for use in the new NAVRO flight computer.
    The rocket flew again with K90.6.5700 rocket engine. Now, however, it was decided not to recover the hatch. This time both cameras recorded beautiful images of, among others, the parachuting of the rocket. The rocket reached an altitude of 2800 m (according to then new sensors, RDAS > 2500m). Parachuting unfortunately was only partly successful and the rocket landed hanging on the drogue ballutte. By this relatively hard landing, the nose cone and parachute section of the rocket were destroyed. The recordings of the parachuting camera where carefully studied. Also there where different theories developed that might explain why the main ballutte remained unopened. A satisfactory explanation was not found.

  • N28

    N28 Name: N28
    Type: Titan C
    Motor: NAVRO Kalinidex K90.6.5700
    Launch: NLD42, ASK 't Harde, 1 May 2015

    This Titan rocket was launched on 1 May 2015. For the flight the Titan C was used which was used as the N27. The difference with the N27 was that now a K90.6 type engine was used with a total impulse of 5700 Ns. This K90.6.5700 was the result of the engine test KSB2014-T003 / 004 witch where held in 2014. The rocket reached an altitude of 2500 m and parachuted successful. This time two small video cameras were mounted on the rocket, one facing up and the other down. Unfortunately, the camera looking up didn't make recordings, the other cameras made beautiful recordings of the flight.

  • N27

    N27 Name: N27
    Type: Titan B
    Motor: 80 mm Kalinidex motor from Mark Uitendaal
    Launch: NLD39, ASK 't Harde, 20 september 2013

    This Titan rocket was launched on September 20, 2013. Revised electronics and RDAS of the N26 where used. The differens was that this time we used the 80 mm Kalinidex motor (4500 Ns) from Mark. In addittion, the rocket is now provided with two cameras. One camera (camera A) produces images in the direction of the nose cone and the other (camera B) produced images downwards to th fins. The NDU parachute system used an slower opening ballute as main parachute. The rocket reach an altitude of 2500 m and parachited now successful. Camera A produced stunning images including the parachtuting. Unfortunately data from Camera B could not be read.

  • N26

    N26 Name: N26
    Type: Titan A
    Motor: 70 mm Kalinidex motor from Mark Uitendaal
    Launch: Cansat launchday, ASK 't Harde, 7 june 2013

    This rocket with number N26 is the first Titan and was launched 7 June 2013. For the propulsion we used the 70 mm Kalinidex motor from Mark Uitendaal. With this 2400 Ns motor the rocket reached an altitude of 1200 m and parachuted partially successful with the NDU system. The main we used, a 15 years old parachute with a diameter of 1,80 m, was not up to the opening forces witch partly tore the parachute. For the flight electronics we used the RDAS.

  • N25

    N25 Name: N25
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLD20, ASK 't Harde, 3 September 2004

    The N25 project started life with an eight years old K600 motor we had in storage and wanted to use in a rocket. We also had the reasonable complete 1993 vintage N8 hanging on our ceiling. So those two were matched. On the rocket we replaced the parachute hatch, the parachute hatch release mechanism, the electronics, the lower body tube and the fins. Both the parachute hatch and two of the fins were reclaimed from old N8 parts. The electronics compromised a transmitter and an R-DAS. Like the N8, we also measured rotation.
    The launch and flight of the N25 were perfect and it went up in a straight line. It landed almost unscratched. It reached an altitude of 1260m and it rotated around its axis once every 1.8 seconds.

  • N24

    N24 Name: N24
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: AeroTech K1100-T
    Launch: NLD17, ASK 't Harde, 4 April 2003

    The N24 is essentially the N23 with a new paint job. Its seventh flight was the last flight of the rocket that was first launched as the N18. The electronics included R-DAS with GPS and the NAVRO radio beacon. An other experiment is the NUND parachute system (see N23). The rocket had a nice lift off, but but crashed as it went ballistic. The reason was that the safety plug was forgotten and thus the parachuting system didn't operate. The remains were crushed very badly.

  • N23

    N23 Name: N23
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: AeroTech K550-W
    Launch: NLD16, ASK 't Harde, 6 September 2002

    The N23 used the well tested old airframe, which was original the N18. It was its sixth flight, this time with an AeroTech K550-W. The R-DAS was again supplemented with the GPS module and the NAVRO radio beacon. New this flight was a new NDU parachute configuration (nose-down nose-up). The N23 was to descend nose down on the drogue chute and then using a pyrotechnic charge the rocket would tumble and descend tail down on the main chute. This elaborated system worked perfectly in flight and the N23 made a flawless flight.

  • N22

    N22 Name: N22
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: AeroTech K550-W
    Launch: NLD14, ASK 't Harde, 24 August 2001

    The proven airframe, which started life as the N22, would fly again. This time for his last flight (so we thought). The rocket had a different motor, an AeroTech K550-W, which has the same performance as the proposed K2000 replacement. Also the R-DAS was expanded with a GPS module. The rocket had a good flight, this time leaving the tower with enough surplus speed. It reached an altitude of 1600 metres.

  • N21

    N21 Name: N21
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD12, ASK 't Harde, 20 October 2000

    The N21 is the same rocket as the N20, and thus as the N18 and N19. The flight was successful. The purpose of this flight was to measure the thrust of our K2000 rocket motor in flight. According to the R-DAS it reached an altitude of 1500 metre (5000 feet).

  • N20

    N20 Name: N20
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD11, ASK 't Harde, 7 April 2000

    The faulty IA-X96 Cambridge Accelerometer was replaced by the R-DAS flight computer of AED Electronics, which is based on the same plans as the N8's electronics, but is further developed and more advanced. The N20's flight was a success, but the N20 pointed to the wind far more than expected. Also the K2000 rocket motor seemed not to have the thrust is was thought to have. It landed virtually unscratched. The N20 had flown earlier as the N18 and N19.

  • N19

    N19 Name: N19
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD10, ASK 't Harde, 13 August 1999

    The N19 was the refurbished N18 without the camera. Again the IA-X96 Cambridge Accelerometer was used. The flight was successful, but landed in a tree.

  • N18

    N18 Name: N18 (1999)
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD9, ASK 't Harde, 21 May 1999

    After the year of cancelled NLD's we finally were to launch again in 1999. During that year we forgot we already had allocated the N18 number, so the new rocket was also called N18. On the website this N18 is called just N18. The new N18 was again equipped with a camera, this time facing upwards to shoot images of the deployment of the parachutes. Unfortunately the antenna was badly targeted, so we had some interference in the images, but most of the parachute deployments could be seen. It happens fast, only in a few frames! This time the parachuting was done correctly, much to our relieve. The altimeter was the commercial IA-X96 Cambridge Accelerometer of Emmanuel Avionics.

  • N18 (1997)

    N18 Name: N18 (1997)
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD8, ASK 't Harde, 25 April 1997

    The N18 (1997) was the refurbished N16. Again we were victim of Murphy's Laws as we had another parachute failure. This time the drogue chute didn't pull out the main parachute. Later the N18 (1997) was dug out and nothing more than small fragments of plastic and metal were found. All the electronics boards were wiped clean. This rocket is called N18 (1997) on the website, to distinguish it from the more successful similar named N18 of 1999.

  • N17

    N17 Name: N17, Tintin rocket
    Type: Tintin rocket
    Motor: 1 AeroTech I284-W
    2 AeroTech H180-W
    Launch: NLD7, ASK 't Harde, 23 August 1996

    This Tintin rocket was built by Chiel Klein. The N17 is an exception in the N-series, as it is in fact an High Power Rocket, which normally do not get a N-registration, but this one was very special and the first HPR rocket launched at a NLD. The rocket was completely built from scratch and 1290mm (ca. 4 feet) in length! It had a great flight, which you could follow all the way. In some documents the rocket was also allocated the N18 number, to add to the confusion (see below).

  • N16

    N16 Name: N16
    Type: Hercules A1
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD7, ASK 't Harde, 23 August 1996

    The N16 was built as a redesigned and improved Hercules A1. The N16 was launched successful and parachuted as planned.

  • N15

    N15 Name: N15
    Type: Hercules A
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD6, ASK 't Harde, 23 April 1996

    The N15 was a copy of the N12. The small differences were the single downwards faced camera and the sound recording and atmospheric pressure measurement experiments. The most important difference was, that all data was transmitted to ground control. The resulting values were close to what was calculated. The N15 was featured on national television on the "Klokhuis" show.
    Again we had troubles parachuting, but it wasn't our fault. The cable of the main parachute broke, because it wasn't nylon. The nylon was bought at a DIY store as nylon. When we informed the DIY store, they sued their supplier.

  • N14

    N14 Name: N14
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLD7, ASK 't Harde, 23 August 1996

    The N14 has flown before as the N7, but had been enlarged and given a new paint job. It was supposed to fly some electronic projects, but they were never finished. After the N14 was launched it never parachuted, so somewhere in the clouds their still must be flying a black rocket. If you see it please report it to the NAVRO.

  • N13

    N13 Name: N13
    Type: Midget C
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD7, ASK 't Harde, 23 August 1996

    The N13 was like the N5 a private project of Vincent Kouer, who was fascinated by speed and the availability of a more powerful motor now had to build a rocket which could break the sound barrier. The N13 was essentially a motor with on top of it a small compartment with simple electronics and a parachute. The N13's speed was measured with a Doppler measurement. It broke the sound barrier and parachuted correctly, but the rocket was not recovered that day. However, in 2003 it was found.

  • N12

    N12 Name: N12
    Type: Hercules A
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD5, ASK 't Harde, 11 August 1995

    The N12 was the prototype of the Hercules rocket. Apart from being prototype, the N12 was supposed to fly with two camera's, one facing down and one facing up. The images were transmitted live to our command centre and recorded. The camera's could not transmit simultaneously, so a switch ensured the most interesting moments were transmitted. However the electronic switch did not work, so the N12 flew using only its downward looking camera. The electronics were similar to the electronics of the N8. Parachuting wasn't perfect again, because the N12 landed on its drogue chute due to a miscalculation. Fortunately all internal parts, like camera's and electronics were intact.

  • N11

    N11 Name: N11
    Type: Midget C
    Motor: K2000
    Launch: NLD4, ASK 't Harde, 12 May 1995

    During the winter of 1994/1995 the K1800 was upgraded to the K2000, giving the N11 more thrust than the N10 of a year earlier. The N11 main purposes however, were its experiments. Using an improved version of the N8's electronics, the measured values were: atmospheric pressure, rotation, acceleration, temperature on top of the nose cone, as well as the temperature of the rockets surrounding air and a Doppler-measurement. A barometric altimeter was also present. All data was recorded to be downloaded into the computer when the rocket was recovered. However, the rocket did not parachute and has not been found to this day. The probable cause was pyro-technical. Since then our rockets have had multiple pyro-technical systems.

  • N10

    N10 Name: N10
    Type: Midget C
    Motor: K1800
    Launch: NLD3, ASK 't Harde, 19 August 1994

    The N10 was the first flight of the K1800 motor, later upgraded to the K2000 motor. The rocket itself was the modified N9, which was launched three months earlier. The flight was successful.

  • N9

    N9 Name: N9
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLD2, ASK 't Harde, 27 May 1994

    The N9 was our first rocket with a two-stage parachute system and its main purpose was to test it. After reaching the top of the flight a (small) drogue chute was deployed, and only at a few hundred metres high the (big) main chute was deployed. This way the rocket lands closer to the launching site. The flight was a success.

  • N8

    N8 Name: N8
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: WWLC 1993, Bourges, 29 August 1993

    The N8 was our first rocket, which had an onboard computer. This computer was based on the 80C552 processor and was designed by one of our members. It could measure acceleration, rotation, onboard temperature and could trigger the separation of the parachute hatch. A month earlier the N8 had flown as the N4 and was repaired and rebuild for the Bourges launch. The main difference was that the N8 was longer to accommodate more electronics. The flight was a success and the N8 rotated around its vertical axis once each 8 seconds.

  • N7

    N7 Name: N7
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLD2, ASK 't Harde, 27 May 1994

    The N7 was a rocket made by three youth members of the NAVRO. The purpose of this project was to introduce amateur rocketry to NAVRO youth members, who had been building model rockets for some years. The rocket was built with assistance of experienced members. The launch was a success and the rocket was recovered almost intact. Even the parachute hatch was found.

  • N6

    N6 Name: N6
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLD2, ASK 't Harde, 27 May 1994

    The N6 was built to test if the recovery transmitter would survive a crash. Kees Jan Groenendijk put much effort in building the rocket. The rocket had no parachute. As you might have guessed, the transmitter did not survive the crash. The N6 was never found and is now entertaining worms.

  • N5 "Partiarius"

    N5 Name: N5 "Partiarius"
    Type: Midget A
    Motor: K600
    Launch: WWLC 1993, Bourges, 29 August 

    The N5 was the private project of Vincent Kouer with some assistance of other NAVRO members. He had obtained an aluminium tube, which had to fly. The tube was said to be a part of a Fokker 100's fuel pipe (The Fokker 100 is a 100 man passenger aircraft that was built by Fokker Aircraft, which is now bankrupt...).
    The N5 was designed for the K600 motor. The flight was a success, except for the recovery transmitter, which did not function. The N5 was found anyway. The N5 reached a maximum speed of 221m/s and an altitude of 1800 metres.

  • N4

    N4 Name: N4
    Type: Midget B
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLD1, ASK 't Harde, 6 August 1993

    After success of the N3 and its K600 motor, the N4 was a more advanced rocket and was the prototype of the Midget B/C rockets. It had a recovery transmitter and a timer for the parachute, but no further electronics. A new feature for us was that the parachute was behind an hatch. Such a hatch opens when the rocket parachutes, instead of a detachable nose cone. The flight was a success.

  • N3

    N3 Name: N3
    Type: Midget A
    Motor: K600
    Launch: NLC2, ASK 't Harde, 26 September 1992

    The N3 was the first rocket to fly with our own K600 Kalinitrox composite rocket motor. It was a small rocket, built just to test the motor in flight. The flight was a success, as far as we could know at the time. The N3 had no recovery transmitter and it wasn't found that day. This flight was also the first flight of a composite rocket motor developed in The Netherlands.
    A year later at our next launch the military presented us the rocket they had found when they cleared the shooting range. We were very pleased with the return of the N3 and since it is proudly on display.

  • N2 "Vindicta Pluvii Tubi"

    N2 Name: N2 "Vindicta Pluvii Tubi"
    Type: N2
    Motor: Isard
    Launch: Mourmelon, 24 August 1991

    The N2 was very similar to the N1 and even reused surviving parts of the N1. Unlike the N1, the N2 flew successful. Not only it landed almost unscratched, the NAVRO also won the Prix Joseph Mercier, a safety award. "Vindicta Pluvii Tubi" means quite appropriately "Revenge of the Rain-pipe".

  • N1 "Pluvius Tubus"

    N1 Name: N1 "Pluvius Tubus"
    Type: N1
    Motor: Bambi
    Launch: Mourmelon, 28 August 1990

    The N1 is the first amateur rocket built by the NAVRO. "Pluvius Tubus" is latin for "Rain-pipe". It was launched at the National French Launching Campaign. After 0.7 seconds the French Bambi motor that was used, destroyed the rocket. This was a great disappointment, but it was one of the reasons to develop our own rocket motors.
    The French government provided rockets motors to amateurs free of charge under supervision of the CNES (the French NASA), to stop amateurs making their own rocket motors. Unfortunately these are developed from military rocket motors and are smokeless. As user you don't have any control on the quality of the motor.

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