The Nike-X: One of my favorite '70s kits. This design was inspired by air defense missiles. The real Nike-X project was begun, but cancelled before it saw the light of day; this is only a suggestion to what the real one would have looked like. The pseudo-second-stage fins and the great Black & White decals are the highlight of the design.
I have modified this kit by adding an altimeter payload bay ("Iris"), which adds 3 inches and 17.5 grams of weight. Of course, now she's just a bit too heavy to fly safely with A8-3 motors. (Iris is named after the Greek god of the rainbow. She is a messenger of the gods, linking the gods with humanity.) This rocket has flown higher than torch of the Statue of Liberty, including 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 the first of two final B6 test flights. The motor fired up and pushed the Nike to record high peak acceleration of 7.3 Gs. The one second burn averaged 2.3 Gs as it flew very straight up.
Travelling at 45 mph, it then coasted for two seconds and the ejection charge fired at exactly two seconds. At that time it hit it’s apogee of 109 feet, the lowest ever recorded. Well the rocket was at 106 feet but the 3’ shock cord let the altimeter reach the additional feet. I’ve never seen a rocket with such a perfectly timed ejection, and the rocket didn’t even turn over at apogee.
The parachute opened well and the rocket descended at 8 mph, drifting perhaps less than 100 feet before landing softly in the grass. Flight time was 11.8 seconds, the shortest ever recorded. This was another perfect flight with the exception of a snap-back dent on the top of the body tube.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes B6-2 |
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