Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

For someone who is used t' Estes kits, ya bilge rat, me bucko, this thin' is huge. Blimey! Ya scallywag! For people in HPR, me bucko, this isn't so big. Aye aye! This rocket stands 4' 9.4" tall, matey, and is 4" in diameter. Ahoy! As o' now, matey, I don't know what t' exact weight is, but I it is around 3 1/5 lbs (Loaded weight was 4.5 lbs). Arrr! Aye aye! A lot o' t' weight is in t' payload section. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' heavy bulkhead and t' 10 oz. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! My original idea (Which changed) be t' following: It will have a timer t' air start t' main G64 Aerotech reload. Begad! T' flight plan is as follows (hopefully): Ignition o' t' 8 D11-P's with a car battery. Aye aye! At a either .5 or 1 second, t' timer (or thermalite) ignites t' G64, and boosts it higher. Ya scallywag! T' main motor's ejection will hopefully deploy t' chute. Avast, me proud beauty! If t' main motor doesn't light, matey, t' timer will ignite an ejection charge, me bucko, me hearties, and push the chute out. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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, 1997. Arrr! After talkin' t' some people, I decided that boostin' on t' D's and airstartin' t' G be a bilge-suckin' idea because composites are harder t' light. Blimey! So I needed a more powerful engine. An announcement was made askin' if anyone could help me, and Frank Noble was willin' t' help me with me project. Begad! Aye aye! I ran a computer altitude sim, and found that an H140 SU would work, shiver me timbers, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Avast! So, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, ya bilge rat, and fly it on an H180. Frank loaded t' motor, and explained how t' drill t' delay t' t' right length. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! He showed me how to use teflon tubes and thermalite t' ignite t' D11's.

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