This months Elektor magazine has an article that may be of interest to Microhybrid owners and also to UKAYRoC mentors and team organisers. It is by Dr. Jurgen Giersch from Germany and is entitled "Rocket Engine Test Rig: Kitchen scales make thrust measurement a piece of cake."

The article describes how to modify an ordinary set of kitchen scales and turn them in to a load cell with data capture module so that you can measure the thrust of small rocket motors and create your own thrust curves. just the job for those looking to test home made fuel grains in their microhybrids, confirm the accuracy of published thrust curves for the kinds of motors one might use in a UKAYRoC rocket or even, dare one say it, generate thrust curves for the smaller end of the Congreve range (should we ever see them on the market again).

The magazine is the April 2009 Issue of "Elektor" and is available from good newsagents. http://www.elektor.com/

The software for the project and a template for the PCB can be found here http://www.elektor.com/080027

Cheers Mike 8-{>