Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

For someone who is used t' Estes kits, ya bilge rat, this thin' is huge. Aye aye! For people in HPR, this isn't so big. Ya scallywag! This rocket stands 4' 9.4" tall, and is 4" in diameter. Begad! Begad! As o' now, I don't know what t' exact weight is, me hearties, but I it is around 3 1/5 lbs (Loaded weight was 4.5 lbs). Avast! A lot o' t' weight is in t' payload section. Ahoy! Begad! T' heavy bulkhead and t' 10 oz. Well, blow me down! Begad! 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. It consists o' a rin' o' 8 24mm engine tubes glued t' t' inside o' a coupler. Blimey! For a picture or t' back o' t' loaded rocket, click here. Ahoy! My original idea (Which changed) was 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. Avast! Begad! At a either .5 or 1 second, t' timer (or thermalite) ignites t' G64, and boosts it higher. Aye aye! T' main motor's ejection will hopefully deploy t' chute. Ya scallywag! If t' main motor doesn't light, matey, t' timer will ignite an ejection charge, and push the chute out. Avast! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! After talkin' t' some people, arrr, I decided that boostin' on t' D's and airstartin' t' G was a bad idea because composites are harder t' light. Begad! So I needed a more powerful engine. An announcement was made askin' if anyone could help me, me bucko, and Frank Noble was willin' t' help me with me project. Avast! I ran a computer altitude sim, and found that an H140 SU would work, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Blimey! So, matey, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, and fly it on an H180. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Frank loaded t' motor, and explained how t' drill t' delay t' t' right length. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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, me bucko, and set it up on pad 5. T' rocket be angled a little bit away from t' spectators (and downwind) for safety. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! When if finally came time t' launch, me bucko, matey, me hearties, t' LCO made everyone stand up and watch this rocket, and it was a very heads up flight. Avast! Well, matey, blow me down! 5...4...3...2...1...Launch... Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' H lit after a short delay. Blimey! It boosted straight up on a column o' smoke. Arrr! Just after t' H burned out, me hearties, arrr, t' D's lit for a little extra smoke and noise. Aye aye! Begad! After it coasted for 9 seconds, shiver me timbers, and t' ejection went off and t' chute came out. Well, blow me down! 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, and be recovered undamaged. When I recovered the rocket, I smartly looked, and it appeared that all engines ignited. Ahoy! Begad! Later, arrr, it was pointed out t' me that only 6 o' t' 8 lit, but it be still spectacular. Aye aye!