The Nike-X: One of my favorite '70s kits. This design was inspired by air defense missiles. The real Nike-X project was begun, but cancelled before it saw the light of day; this is only a suggestion to what the real one would have looked like. The pseudo-second-stage fins and the great Black & White decals are the highlight of the design.
I have modified this kit by adding an altimeter payload bay ("Iris"), which adds 3 inches and 17.5 grams of weight. Of course, now she's just a bit too heavy to fly safely with A8-3 motors. (Iris is named after the Greek god of the rainbow. She is a messenger of the gods, linking the gods with humanity.) This rocket has flown higher than torch of the Statue of Liberty, including its base.
| Flight Date: | 2011-12-04 |
| Rocket Name: | Nike-X |
| Kit Name: | Estes - Nike-X {Kit} (1270) [1975-1984] |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | C6-5 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 282.00 Feet |
I wanted to see how this rocket performs on a C6-5, stupid because in this wind the -3 would be better. I could not take advantage of the extra two seconds of delay because I knew it would turn horizontal into the wind, but I was stubborn. The motor burned for 1.9 seconds, accelerating 1.8 Gs and peaking at 6.8 Gs, reaching a speed of 74 mph. In 2.8 seconds it reached it's apogee of 282 feet, the remaining 2.2 seconds was spend in a downward arch.
The ejection occurred after loosing 67 feet. Under a very tangled parachute it drifted down at 16 mph (should be about 7 mph), but landed safely in the grass 15.7 seconds later. Under a good chute in light winds it should have been aloft for about 50 seconds.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes C6-5 |
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