MAKE Projects: Compressed Air Rocket (PDF) - send this 25-cent rocket hundreds of feet in the air. You can build this easy launcher and rocket with common hardware store items in an afternoon. All the parts for this simple but impressive air rocket and launcher are cheap and easy to find. Building it is a breeze and the modifications are endless. It's legal in a big city, reusable, clean, and can be launched even in high winds on a small field.

Folks are quite taken by the 200- to 300-foot flights fueled by 18 or so bicycle pumps of compressed air. Whether you're launching on your own or with a whole group of rocketeers, watch the crowds gather … 3, 2, 1, and away!

This project first appeared on the pages of Make: Technology on Your Time Volume 15. Includes embedded video.