Simple and Easy Tinfoil Rockets

In this instructable I'll be showing you how to make rockets that shoot over 20 feet with aluminum foil and a wooden match.

These rockets might be small but they're impressively powerful and leave a cool trail of smoke. Surprisingly, they’re only powered by one single match head.

WARNING: Though these rockets are fueled by only one match head, you should be careful with them because they do get hot enough to burn fingers and should not be used without adult supervision.

• tinfoil
• a bamboo skewer
• a box of wooden matches; here.
• electrical tape, choose your favorite color.
• scissors
• small pliers
• the template
• a marker

The rockets are powered by one match head, but they only work if you cut off the stick first. So, take the scissors and clip the head off the match, wire cutters can also be used. Cut them over a old T-shirt or a different fabric surface so that they don't bounce all over the place.

Collect the heads and put them into a container so you don't lose them. Discard the matchsticks as these won't be used in this project.

Print out the template, which you can find at the bottom of this step, and cut it out. Fold the foil over and over in a fan fold until you've got a piece about seven sheets thick, then put the template on top and cut out around it with scissors.

This should give you seven identical sheets to make your rocket out of.

To begin making the rocket and base cut the the top 1/8 inch off the tip of the skewer.

Then use your marker and draw a line around the skewer 1-3/8" down from the clipped tip. Set the skewer aside for now, you will need it later.

Take the piece of foil that you are going to use as the rocket body and put the skewer on the left edge up to the marker mark, as shown in the first picture. Curl the foil around the skewer about halfway and then add your match head and keep turning the skewer and rolling the foil around both of them. Continue rolling until all of the foil is wrapped around the rocket, then spin it like you are unwrapping it to loosen the tension on the skewer. IT CAN NOT BE TOO TIGHT OR TOO LOOSE. If it's too tight the rocket will not launch and might just explode. If it's too loose the rocket will launch but it will only go a few feet.

Grab your tape and the rocket body you made in the last step. Fold the tape over as shown in picture one, then cut it into a fin shape like in the second photo. Repeat this two more tines, going down the tape as in photos three, four and five.

Wrap the tape fins around the rocket body and now it should look like a real rocket!

Now make a few more rockets! I made ten in about as many minutes. Once you get the hang of making them they're really easy and quick to make. They're fun to launch and leave a nice long trail of smoke in the air as they fly, too.

Take the box that the matches came in and pull out the tray, poke a hole with a small screwdriver, large needle or something similar about 1/2" below the rim of the tray on one of the short ends right in the middle, like in the second and third pictures. Poke a corresponding hole in the top of the case as in photo four, then slip the back end of the skewer through the holes like shown in the fifth photo. Now when you push the tray back into the case the skewer should move up and when you slide the tray back out the skewer should move downwards! Add a small candle under the rocket to provide heat to launch it and your done.

I hope you had fun making and launching these tiny and powerful rockets, you can store everything in the matchbox and take it out when your ready to fire.

This instructable was inspired by Grant Thompson's match rocket video at The King Of Random, you should check it out here: rocket video

For a slightly more challenging project try powdering the match heads to get more thrust, I tried this on one and it flew five feet more than the ones with just the match head. That's quite a lot considering that all you did was crush up a match head!