Superscale Ninja
(Contributed - by Eric Speckman)  

For someone who is used t' Estes kits, me bucko, this thin' is huge. Well, blow me down! For people in HPR, ya bilge rat, this isn't so big. This rocket stands 4' 9.4" tall, me bucko, and is 4" in diameter. Aye aye! As o' now, me hearties, I don't know what t' exact weight is, but I it is around 3 1/5 lbs (Loaded weight was 4.5 lbs). A lot o' t' weight is in t' payload section. Ya scallywag! Begad! 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and I built a booster pod for it. Avast! It consists o' a rin' o' 8 24mm engine tubes glued t' t' inside o' a coupler. Arrr! For a picture or t' back o' t' loaded rocket, ya bilge rat, arrr, click here. Ya scallywag! My original idea (Which changed) was t' following: It will have a timer t' air start t' main G64 Aerotech reload. Arrr! T' flight plan is as follows (hopefully): Ignition o' t' 8 D11-P's with a car battery. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! At a either .5 or 1 second, t' timer (or thermalite) ignites t' G64, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and boosts it higher. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' main motor's ejection will hopefully deploy t' chute. If t' main motor doesn't light, matey, t' timer will ignite an ejection charge, 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, 1997. Begad! Avast! 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. Arrr! So I needed a more powerful engine. Ahoy! Arrr! An announcement was made askin' if anyone could help me, shiver me timbers, and Frank Noble was willin' t' help me with me project. Blimey! I ran a computer altitude sim, me bucko, and found that an H140 SU would work, but t' motor dealer did nay have any. Well, blow me down! So, arrr, I was able t' borrow a reload casing, and fly it on an H180. Begad! Frank loaded t' motor, and explained how t' drill t' delay t' t' right length. Avast! He showed me how to use teflon tubes and thermalite t' ignite t' D11's. Arrr!

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