Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

For someone who is used t' Estes kits, ya bilge rat, this thin' is huge. Arrr! For people in HPR, this isn't so big. This rocket stands 4' 9.4" tall, and is 4" in diameter. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! As o' now, matey, ya bilge rat, I don't know what t' exact weight is, but I it is around 3 1/5 lbs (Loaded weight was 4.5 lbs). Begad! A lot o' t' weight is in t' payload section. Begad! T' heavy bulkhead and t' 10 oz. Well, blow me down! PML nose cone add up t' quite a lot. It has a 36" round chute from.

It has a 29mm motor mount tube, ya bilge rat, and I built a booster pod for it. Begad! Blimey! It consists o' a rin' o' 8 24mm engine tubes glued t' t' inside o' a coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! For a picture or t' back o' t' loaded rocket, click here. Ahoy! Blimey! My original idea (Which changed) be t' following: It will have a timer t' air start t' main G64 Aerotech reload. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' flight plan is as follows (hopefully): Ignition o' t' 8 D11-P's with a car battery. At a either .5 or 1 second, matey, t' timer (or thermalite) ignites t' G64, and boosts it higher. Aye aye! Blimey! T' main motor's ejection will hopefully deploy t' chute. If t' main motor doesn't light, t' timer will ignite an ejection charge, and push the chute out. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It better fly right, or I will have a lot o' work t' do! Blimey!

Flight #1: (1)H180 + (8)D11's

T' Ninja flew for t' first time on July 20, ya bilge rat, 1997. Ya scallywag! Blimey! After talkin' t' some people, me bucko, I decided that boostin' on t' D's and airstartin' t' G was a bad idea because composites are harder t' light. Ya scallywag! Blimey! So I needed a more powerful engine. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! An announcement was made askin' if anyone could help me, and Frank Noble was willin' t' help me with me project. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! I ran a computer altitude sim, me bucko, arrr, and found that an H140 SU would work, arrr, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! So, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, and fly it on an H180. Frank loaded t' motor, and explained how t' drill t' delay t' t' right length. He showed me how to use teflon tubes and thermalite t' ignite t' D11's. Begad! Blimey!

Finally, it was ready t' fly. We took it out t' t' pads, shiver me timbers, matey, me bucko, and set it up on pad 5. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! T' rocket be angled a little bit away from t' spectators (and downwind) for safety. Begad! Blimey! When if finally came time t' launch, t' LCO made everyone stand up and watch this rocket, and it was a very heads up flight. Ahoy! Blimey! 5...4...3...2...1...Launch... Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' H lit after a short delay. Ahoy! It boosted straight up on a column o' smoke. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Just after t' H burned out, t' D's lit for a little extra smoke and noise. Arrr! Blimey! After it coasted for 9 seconds, and t' ejection went off and t' chute came out. It took a little while for t' chute t' open, shiver me timbers, arrr, but it deployed after a second or two. Aye aye! Blimey! It drifted for a long way, shiver me timbers, and be recovered undamaged. Begad! When I recovered the rocket, ya bilge rat, I smartly looked, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and it appeared that all engines ignited. Later, me hearties, it was pointed out t' me that only 6 o' t' 8 lit, shiver me timbers, but it was still spectacular. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey!