T' Nike-X: One o' my favorite '70s kits. Avast, me proud beauty! This design was inspired by air defense missiles. Ahoy! T' real Nike-X project be begun, but cancelled before it saw t' light o' day; this is only a suggestion t' what t' real one would have looked like. The pseudo-second-stage fins and t' great Black & White decals are t' highlight o' t' design.
I have modified this kit by addin' an altimeter payload bay ("Iris"), which adds 3 inches and 17.5 grams o' weight. Ya scallywag! O' course, now she's just a bit too heavy t' fly safely with A8-3 motors. (Iris is named after t' Greek god o' t' rainbow. She is a messenger o' t' gods, arrr, linkin' t' gods with humanity.) This rocket has flown higher than torch o' t' Statue o' Liberty, includin' its base.
| Flight Date: | 2011-12-04 |
| Rocket Name: | Nike-X |
| Kit Name: | Estes - Nike-X {Kit} (1270) [1975-1984] |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | C6-5 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 282 Feet |
I wanted t' see how this rocket performs on a C6-5, stupid because in this wind t' -3 would be better. Ya scallywag! I could nay take advantage o' t' extra two seconds o' delay because I knew it would turn horizontal into t' wind, but I was stubborn. T' motor burned for 1.9 seconds, me bucko, acceleratin' 1.8 Gs and peakin' at 6.8 Gs, reachin' a speed o' 74 mph. Blimey! In 2.8 seconds it reached it's apogee o' 282 feet, t' remainin' 2.2 seconds was spend in a downward arch.
T' ejection occurred after loosin' 67 feet. Begad! Under a very tangled parachute it drifted down at 16 mph (should be about 7 mph), arrr, but landed safely in t' grass 15.7 seconds later. Blimey! Under a good chute in light winds it should have been aloft for about 50 seconds.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes C6-5 |
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