Longest hangtime for vertically-propelled rocket?

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jdulles
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Me and a few friends are having a contest to see who can create a rocket that has the longest hangtime when shot out by air pressure built up in a container. I thought about doing a parachute, but that's risky considering that it could slow down the rocket when it is ascending and it might not deploy smoothly.
When we shoot it off, we are actually allowed to use the angle of our choosing. Theoretically, straight up would create the largest vertical displacement. But I was thinking of shooting it at like a 60 degree angle instead of a rocket, have it be a plane that glides slowly down.
The other thing I thought of was shooting straight up and having flaps that are aerodynamic when shooting up and then open up when descending because of the air pushing up on them. That would create resistance similar to a parachute.

Anyway, I was wondering if anybody had any ideas. Thanks in advance.
 
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You have the right idea - shoot it at an angle. Another option is to have some sort of parachute mechanism. Beware though, that launching with compressed fluid (air, CO2, etc.) tends to be rather unpredictable.