T' Nike-X: One o' my favorite '70s kits. This design was inspired by air defense missiles. T' real Nike-X project was begun, matey, 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"), me hearties, which adds 3 inches and 17.5 grams o' weight. Blimey! O' course, now she's just a bit too heavy t' fly safely with A8-3 motors. Avast! (Iris is named after t' Greek god o' t' rainbow. She is a messenger o' t' gods, linkin' t' gods with humanity.) This rocket has flown higher than torch o' t' Statue o' Liberty, ya bilge rat, 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: | C6-5 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 323 Feet |
This be t' Nike-X’s fourth and last C-powered test flight with an accelerometer. Mostly I wanted t' determine t' best delay in light winds.
T' motor fired up and pushed t' Nike at 6.9Gs, averagin' 1.7Gs for t' two second burn. This was t' lowest average for this rocket, which reached a top speed o' 72 mph. T' trajectory was very straight up. Avast! T' C6-5 delay was only 4.7 seconds, so the ejection charge fired at 254 feet and t' rocket continued up for 4/10 seconds, gainin' 69 more feet for an apogee o' 323 feet.
T' 17” nylon parachute opened and then t' rocket came back at 8 mph, barely driftin' at all, and I was able t' catch it before it hit t' earth. Blimey! I forgot t' record t' flight time but it was probably about 30 seconds. One o' t' main fins suffered a bilge-suckin' leading-edge dent from t' recoil. Avast, me proud beauty!
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes C6-5 |
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