Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

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

It has a 29mm motor mount tube, me bucko, and I built a booster pod for it. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! It consists o' a rin' o' 8 24mm engine tubes glued t' t' inside o' a coupler. Well, blow me down! For a picture or t' back o' t' loaded rocket, click here. My original idea (Which changed) was t' following: It will have a timer t' air start t' main G64 Aerotech reload. Aye aye! Blimey! T' flight plan is as follows (hopefully): Ignition o' t' 8 D11-P's with a car battery. Avast! Begad! Blimey! At a either .5 or 1 second, t' timer (or thermalite) ignites t' G64, matey, and boosts it higher. Aye aye! T' main motor's ejection will hopefully deploy t' chute. Arrr! Blimey! If t' main motor doesn't light, t' timer will ignite an ejection charge, and push the chute out. Avast, me proud beauty! It better fly right, shiver me timbers, 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, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, 1997. Blimey! After talkin' t' some people, I decided that boostin' on t' D's and airstartin' t' G be a bad idea because composites are harder t' light. So I needed a more powerful engine. Begad! An announcement was made askin' if anyone could help me, and Frank Noble was willin' t' help me with me project. Avast, me proud beauty! I ran a computer altitude sim, matey, matey, me bucko, and found that an H140 SU would work, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Well, blow me down! So, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, me hearties, arrr, and fly it on an H180. Begad! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

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