Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

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

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

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

T' Ninja flew for t' first time on July 20, shiver me timbers, 1997. Ahoy! After talkin' t' some people, matey, 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. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! 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, me bucko, and found that an H140 SU would work, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Blimey! Blimey! So, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, and fly it on an H180. Well, blow me down! 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!

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