Balloon Rocket Fins

thingiverse

My kids and I were bored one day and wondered what would happen if we added a few rocket fins to a regular latex balloon. This is the result. It doesn't really fly all that well, due to the poor aerodynamics of a balloon, but still does tend to improve accuracy and distance. **Update 2018-11-04** I created a new parametric version in FreeCAD which allows the manipulation of several different measurements. You can tweak the wall thickness, the size of the fins, and the several diameters and lengths along the body. A couple of benefits include the ability to define a nozzle or more restrictive airway and it makes it easy to create versions that print well in vase mode. I made a few new models with some various parameters, and included those as well as the original FreeCAD document. Much like the original version, these new versions don't really fly all that well either.