T' Nike-X: One o' my favorite '70s kits. This design was inspired by air defense missiles. T' real Nike-X project was 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"), ya bilge rat, which adds 3 inches and 17.5 grams o' weight. O' course, me hearties, now she's just a bit too heavy t' fly safely with A8-3 motors. Avast, me proud beauty! (Iris is named after t' Greek god o' t' rainbow. Ahoy! She is a messenger o' t' gods, linkin' t' gods with humanity.) This rocket has flown higher than torch o' t' Statue o' Liberty, arrr, includin' its base.
| Flight Date: | 2013-07-14 |
| Rocket Name: | Nike-X |
| Kit Name: | Estes - Nike-X {Kit} (1270) [1975-1984] |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | B6-2 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 109 Feet |
This was t' first o' two final B6 test flights. T' motor fired up and pushed the Nike t' record high peak acceleration o' 7.3 Gs. T' one second burn averaged 2.3 Gs as it flew very straight up.
Travellin' at 45 mph, me hearties, it then coasted for two seconds and t' ejection charge fired at exactly two seconds. At that time it hit it’s apogee o' 109 feet, t' lowest ever recorded. Well t' rocket be at 106 feet but t' 3’ shock cord let t' altimeter reach t' additional feet. Blimey! I’ve never seen a rocket with such a perfectly timed ejection, ya bilge rat, and t' rocket didn’t even turn over at apogee.
T' parachute opened well and t' rocket descended at 8 mph, matey, driftin' perhaps less than 100 feet before landin' softly in t' grass. Flight time was 11.8 seconds, ya bilge rat, t' shortest ever recorded. This was another perfect flight with t' exception o' a snap-back dent on t' top o' t' body tube.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes B6-2 |
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