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: | 2013-07-14 |
| Rocket Name: | Nike-X |
| Kit Name: | Estes - Nike-X {Kit} (1270) [1975-1984] |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | B6-2 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 118 Feet |
This final low-power test flight will conclude the test flights of the Nike-X. On this flight, the motor fired up and only peaked the acceleration to 6.3 Gs, the
lowest recorded, but in the 8/10 second burn it averaged 2.5 Gs, the highest recorded. This was a quick-burning motor for sure. The flight trajectory was very straight in the calm winds.
Even with the quick burn, it only reached a top speed of 43 mph, which was a new record-slowest. After a 2.1 second delay, the ejection fired at 112 feet, and for the next 2/10 seconds the rocket slowed to reach an apogee of 118 feet, six feet higher than the ejection point.
The reliable Nylon parachute opened and let the Nike descend at 8 mph, drifting maybe only 10-20 feet. I was able to catch it before it touched down. Flight time was 12.1 seconds. This was the last of four very successful flights today.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes B6-2 |
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