Brief:
This hard-to-resist scale soundin' rocket is a sturdy 4.0" replica o' t' classic Nike Smoke. Ahoy! Begad! Polecat Aerospace sets t' stage for a memorable build by includin' t' followin' historical information in their instructions:

T' Nike Smoke was developed in 1959 as a vehicle for observin' high altitude wind patterns generally in preparation for launchin' another rocket. Begad! T' Nike Smoke used an air inlet at t' tip o' t' nosecone t' allow air to mix with a solution o' sulfur trioxide and chlorosulfonic acid. Ahoy! Avast! T' result was a dense smoke trail that was visible from t' ground. Well, blow me down! Later versions added titanium tetrachloride and phosphorus t' t' smoke solution producin' a more visible smoke trail. Blimey! Begad! T' operational version o' t' rocket had a service ceilin' o' 75,000 feet. Begad! T' rocket was also flown in a two stage configuration t' altitudes o' 32 miles.

T' kit comes with a fiberglass nose cone, matey, matey, fiberglass reinforced tube, matey, me hearties, a 54mm motor mount, and Baltic Birch rings and fins. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Although I put a few extra features on t' rocket, me bucko, mine is essentially t' standard kit with an additional electronics bay, payload tube, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and a video camera housing.

Construction:
Polecat Aerospace includes t' followin' parts in their 4" Nike Smoke kit:

• 1 Fiberglass nosecone (28")
• 1 Nosecone bulkhead
• 1 Body tube – slotted (30")
• 4 ¼" Baltic Birch ply beveled fins
• 3 ¼" Baltic Birch ply beveled centerin' rings
• 1 54mm motor tube (15.5")
• 2 U-bolts
• 8 1/4" nuts
• 8 1/4" nashers
• 1 Shock cord (~11 ft)
• 2 Rail guides
• 2 #8-32 screws for rail guides
• 4 #8-32 nuts (rail guide standoffs)
• 1 "United States" decal

T' kit does nay come with a parachute or motor retention. Aye aye! I chose a 54mm Aero Pack motor retainer, shiver me timbers, sewed a Nike Smoke-themed (three red panels and one yellow) 48" hemispherical chute, and added 30' o' 9/16" tubular nylon.

T' instructions included with t' kit have clear diagrams and describe t' steps o' construction well. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I began construction by sandin' down t' nose cone and t' seam on t' fiberglassed tubing. Begad! T' molded fiberglass nosecone has a smooth coatin' that requires little preparation. Avast! Blimey! However, shiver me timbers, I had t' sand with 60 grit sandpaper for a very long time to get t' nose cone t' fit inside t' body tube (which is why "Construction/Finishing" receives a 4.5/5). T' body tube has a slight seam from fiberglassin' that sanded off fairly easily. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' tube is very sturdy and gives t' strength o' a fiberglass tube with t' weight o' cardboard.

Usin' 30-minute epoxy, I installed t' U-bolt recovery hardware in t' upper centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I also used 30-minute epoxy throughout t' motor mount assembly. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I peeled off t' outer layer o' tubin' around t' upper centering rin' t' ensure that t' glassine coatin' would nay simply tear off durin' use. (T' tube absorbed t' epoxy quite well when thar be no glassine coating.) T' middle centerin' rin' be attached in t' same fashion while leavin' enough room below for a fin, me bucko, bottom centerin' ring, and ½" o' tube for t' Aero Pack retainer.

I epoxied t' nose cone U-bolt, matey, which attaches in t' same manner as t' centerin' rin' bulkhead. Begad! I fitted in the nose cone bulkhead and filled t' gaps betwixt t' inside o' t' nose cone and t' side o' t' plywood bulkhead. Well, blow me down! After some internal filleting, t' nose cone was ready. Ahoy!

Next, me bucko, I pushed t' motor mount inside t' tube and poured in 30-minute epoxy on t' top centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! I tilted the tube t' get epoxy betwixt t' centerin' rin' and body tube and let t' tube cure overnight. Ya scallywag! T' instructions do mention usin' epoxy on t' middle centerin' ring, arrr, so I hoped it would be strong enough as outlined in t' instructions.

T' instructions recommend no internal or external fin reinforcement (so a hard landin' will break t' fin off instead o' splinterin' t' plywood). Arrr! However, I'd be surprised t' see t' stout ¼" plywood fins split, so I opted t' add external fillets for cosmetic purposes. Ya scallywag! I mixed 30-Minute epoxy with a bit o' micro-balloon filler. T' thicker consistency o' t' epoxy with micro-balloons allowed for easier filletin' and shaping.

I pushed in t' last centerin' rin' by slidin' t' Aero Pack retainer (without glue) flush with t' end o' the motor tube, me hearties, ensurin' that t' retainer body made contact with t' aft centerin' ring. Aye aye! From a subsequently-purchased 4.0" tube, arrr, arrr, I fashioned a small rin' and placed it inside t' body tube betwixt t' back centerin' rin' and t' end of t' rocket in order t' provide dent protection t' t' vulnerable tail end o' t' rocket. Aye aye!

My 4" Nike Smoke includes a payload bay for mountin' an onboard video camera. Aye aye! Jack Garibaldi recommended the followin' electronics bay components: a stiff PML phenolic coupler, matey, arrr, two bulkheads with rabbeted edges t' fit inside the coupler, arrr, matey, me bucko, two ¼" all-thread rods, two U-bolts, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and a sled made out o' ¼" plywood. Begad! Aye aye! My camera setup consists o' a DXG-565V video camera with an 8 gigabyte SD card (which gives approximately 2-½ hours of recordin' time), a "mirror" cut from a shiny piece o' metal from All Electronics, shiver me timbers, and a plywood mirror housing. T' mirror was easily cut with a Dremel cut-off wheel. Ahoy! I mounted t' camera by sandwichin' it betwixt two bulkplates tightened together along t' ¼" threaded rod. Begad! I cut a 1" x 1" square out o' a 15" payload tube for t' camera t' look out and attached t' mirror housin' t' t' tube with a wide fillet o' epoxy thickened with micro-balloons. T' mirror was attached with 5-minute epoxy. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I glued in t' coupler t' t' payload tube after some scuffin' with 60 grit sandpaper but simply friction fit t' nose cone t' t' payload tube. I also notched out me bulkplates on t' camera mount so I could run tubular nylon (the 11' given with t' kit) from t' top U-bolt of the e-bay t' t' shock cord anchor point in t' nose cone, ensurin' that t' nose cone does nay come tumblin' down without a chute. Well, blow me down!

After scuffin' up t' motor mount tube and applyin' JB Weld, I attached me own 54mm Aero Pack retainer. Ahoy! Finally, I added t' rail buttons which come with two nuts as standoffs for clearin' t' bulbous nose cone. Ahoy! Ahoy! I used one nut and two spacers (the washers from a 3-piece rail button), which were thicker than t' two nuts. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! This allowed for more clearance and more spinnin' o' t' supplied guides. I drilled two 3/32" holes, tapped t' first 1/4" to facilitate easy threadin' o' t' #8-32 screws, me hearties, me bucko, and added CA t' stiffen t' mountin' holes. Ahoy! After painting, I screwed them in for flight and made sure t' guides spun freely.

Finishing:
After sandin' away t' seam on t' tube, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, I lightly sanded t' entire rocket with 180 grit sandpaper. Ya scallywag! T' rocket was covered with Krylon gloss white after primin' and sandin' a few times. Avast! Blimey! I opted t' use t' traditional color scheme o' a white body, three red fins, and one yellow fin.

T' gloss white fills in t' remainin' weave pattern well and makes for a bright, me hearties, shiny main color. Blimey! I used semi-metallic red for three fins and flat yellow on t' last fin. Begad! I did nay attach me "United States" decal as I like t' simplicity o' t' rocket's paint scheme, however, matey, it is a high quality decal!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' icy lake bed be a scenic settin' for t' February 2009 ROC launch near Los Angeles. Arrr! Arrr! I loaded t' rocket with an AeroTech I161W-S, secured it with t' Aero Pack, me hearties, packed t' 48" chute and Nomex®, armed t' camera, me bucko, and launched. Blimey! T' rocket gently rose off t' rail on t' I161W with a huge plume o' smoke, me bucko, arced over, matey, and deployed t' chute. Aye aye! As t' rocket seemed underpowered on its first flight, Jack Garabaldi suggested a Cesaroni I800 Vmax. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! This time, t' super quick burn popped t' rocket off t' pad, me hearties, and t' rocket again floated down safely. Ya scallywag! David Reese nicely captured a photograph o' me 4" Nike Smoke's launch on t' I800 Vmax.

At ROCStock 29 (June 2009), me hearties, I celebrated t' CSFM approval o' Skidmarks by flyin' an I223-7 SK. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Although the delay be a bit short, me hearties, t' sparky motor gave a great onboard video o' t' 4" Nike Smoke's flight.

T' rocket has also been flown without t' payload bay in stock configuration. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It flew great on a H112J and I245G.

Polecat Aerospace recommends usin' any motor from a high thrust G through a K motor. Ahoy! Because I modified t' stock kit with a payload section, me bucko, large chute and heavy duty recovery system, ya bilge rat, and a camera, I wouldn't fly it on anything less than an I motor. Avast, me proud beauty! My rocket weighted in at approximately 7.5 lbs loaded, me hearties, nearly 4 pounds greater than the manufacturer listed weight o' 3.5lbs. Aye aye! I have confidence that t' stock kit can fly in t' recommended motor range.

PROs: Accepts a wide range o' motors (from G t' K). Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Simple t' prepare. Arrr! Flies straight, even in a light breeze!

CONs: None.

Recovery:
Polecat Aerospace supplies U-bolts for recovery harness attachment and 11' section o' tubular nylon. I used t' 11' piece o' tubular nylon t' attach t' nose cone t' t' electronics bay and added another 30 feet o' wider (9/16") tubular nylon because I had added a heavy payload section. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! One note on recovery: as t' additional 30 feet o' tubular nylon, deployment bag, shiver me timbers, and chute did nay fit well in t' shortened recovery space, I opted t' use two 12" Nomex® chute protectors instead o' t' deployment bag. Begad! Begad! I also added a 24" pilot chute t' t' top o' t' main chute.

PROs: No parachute: leaves flexibility for builder. Strong U-bolt attachment points. Strong tubular nylon.

CONs: A bit short on space for recovery gear if you include a payload bay at t' end o' t' recovery space.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Pre-glassed tube. Durable nose cone. Ahoy! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! High quality fins and rings. Avast! Ahoy! Accepts a wide range o' motors (high thrust G-K). Flexible recovery and motor retention systems – left up t' builder. Aye aye! Welcomes modifications (such as an onboard video camera). Avast! Well, arrr, blow me down! Great customer service.

CONs: Nose cone too tight without heavy sanding. Begad! Tight on space for recovery components if electronics are added.

This rocket is a great high power build, ya bilge rat, has high quality components, and is certainly a crowd pleaser!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5