Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

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

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

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

T' Ninja flew for t' first time on July 20, ya bilge rat, 1997. Well, blow me down! Blimey! After talkin' t' some people, me hearties, arrr, I decided that boostin' on t' D's and airstartin' t' G was 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. I ran a computer altitude sim, and found that an H140 SU would work, matey, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Begad! Aye aye! So, me hearties, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, and fly it on an H180. Ahoy! Frank loaded t' motor, and explained how t' drill t' delay t' t' right length. Ahoy! He showed me how to use teflon tubes and thermalite t' ignite t' D11's.

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