Estes Nike Smoke 38mm Build

Thanks to Thirstybarbarian I was able to get one of the Estes Nike Smoke kits for $25.

I already have a Leviathan for small field flights so I thought I might try something different with this one. I've always liked long burn motors and I saw Aerotech's post about the new H45DMS motor and it got me thinking. It should fly great in this lightweight kit. I measured and weighed all of the parts and then simmed it in OpenRocket. The top speed only 25mph more than a G80 and 25mph less than an H128. It will only need ~1.5oz of weight added to the nose at the tip or 3oz at the base. I think adding it to the base might be a better idea with this long nosecone and thin body tube.

The other reason for using this kit is that I'll have less than $50 in the rocket so if I lose it I won't be too heartbroken.

View attachment Estes Nike Smoke 38mm.rkt

Alright!
I want one.
Let's see plenty of pics now Chris.

JP

How you get it so cheap..?


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Fry's had them on closeout.

I got the centering rings drawn up this morning. I'm going to try cutting them on my CNC mill tonight. It's a metal cutting machine so it doesn't have the RPM of a CNC router. It might tear the edges of the rings, but I figured it's worth a shot. I also sent the drawings to a couple shops to quote for laser cutting.

I really, really, really wanna build one! I scratchbuilt built a D/E powered version of the old Centuri 'Smoke! Its one of my FAVORITE rockets!Would love to see more pics if possible!

I didn't have enough material to make the centering rings, but I did a test cut and it came out really nice. I'll pick up some wood tomorrow on my way home. Oh yeah, I also glued one fin together using thin CA and wound up with my finger glued to the fin. I guess I need to pick up some thick CA too. Along with swapping the motor mount I'm going to add a kevlar shock cord glued directly to the motor mount. I'm also going to add a couple T nuts to the rear centering ring for some kind of retainer.

Chris,

Wow those fin slots are real close to the ID edge. I've in the past did a little notch in the fin so there was more material on the centering ring. Just an idea to think about.

-Carl-

Hi Carl,

The fins are two piece plastic with a notched tab. They key into the middle ring. I could make the notch in the ring smaller I'll just have to cut the fin tab a little deeper.

Your quote on cutting them was by far the best I received. However, I'm as impatient as the next rocketeer and I happen to have a small CNC mill. I've never cut any wood on it before and wasn't sure how it would work out since it doesn't turn anywhere near as fast as a CNC router. I tried cutting some scrap 1/8th plywood on it last night and it came out great. I'm going to buy some plywood today and try cutting a set of rings tonight. If they don't turn out I'll order them from you.

I cut the rings tonight. They came out pretty clean and fit inside the body tube much better than the sloppy stock rings.

I also ordered some 1/8"Kevlar for the shock cord from Fudducker today.


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Still working on mine. Got all the bottom and body tube assembled. Running an ejection baffle in mine. Set up for 38mm J motor. The body tube is laminated. Fins were beefed up using Aeropoxy to prevent flexing at high speed. All I have to do is paint it and install the chute. The rocket is single deploy. Altimeter and GPS tracking is carried in the nose cone. With the longer motor tube assmbly and ejection baffle, the shock cord and chute are a tight fit but everything fit with no problems. Will fly it this summer soon as the winds calm down.

Wow, you're going whole hog on yours. I would have built mine stock, but there really aren't any long burn 29mm motors available. My goal is to keep it as light and cheap as possible. That way I can slap a SU or DMS motor in it and if I don't recover it I won't be too heartbroken. I should have less than $50 into the kit when I'm done.

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I realized that I uploaded the wrong file for the rocket. The original file I posted was for the stock mount. I uploaded the correct version this morning.

DELETED...

I built mine stock but with a Kevlar bridle. Wish I would have cut and glued a coupler in the rear BT below CR or fiberglassed it inside there - already crimped up from landing . I did have a most excellent flight on a G75J at the last Plaster / Hamster dance launch I was at.

Will try to modify for altimeter also and will use 9v to add weight forward - this would be a good rocket to practice a cable cutter with .. will build another with 38mm if I break or lose this one.

Kenny

I'm not sure exactly what happened but it looks like my sim file was screwed up. I just remeasured the fins and re-entered them into OR and not it says I only need 2 oz in the nose to get 1 caliber of stability. I'll post the corrected file later tonight.

I posted the updated file in my original post. The stability looks good with only 2.5 oz added to the nose.

It's showing a very high velocity at deployment for an H45-10 (too early.) You'll need to get a -15 and cut the delay.

Well the DMS motors come with a 14 second delay so it shouldn't be a problem.

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I got the fins glued together and sanded down with 400 grit. I also added the 2.5 oz of weight to the nose.

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I received the 1/8" Kevlar from Fuddrucker yesterday. It looks really nice and his price was great. I made a bridle and tied it into the forward centering ring. I have a loop that will stick out of the top of the body tube by about an inch.

I also cut down the fin tabs and mounted the T nuts on the rear centering ring for motor retention.

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I got the motor mount tube from a club member yesterday. I glued the front and center rings to the MMT. I also decided to add blocks to mount rail guides to. I glued the mount into the body tube this morning.

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I got the fins and rear centering ring epoxied in place. I also cut some motor retainers out of some .055" FR4 scrap. I made one each for 24mm, 29mm, and 38mm.




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All that is left is attaching the launch lugs and/or rail guides. I'm leaning towards both.

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ChrisAttebery said:

I got the fins and rear centering ring epoxied in place. I also cut some motor retainers out of some .055" FR4 scrap. I made one each for 24mm, 29mm, and 38mm. View attachment 167040


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Click to expand...

Yeaaaa, you should definitely market those to other rocketeers! They look great!

patelldp said:

Yeaaaa, you should definitely market those to other rocketeers! They look great!

Click to expand...

DITTO!

JP

Thanks guys. I'll have to check into having them cut. I can cut a couple on my machine, but it really can't run at the correct RPM to cut them in quantity. The smell of it cutting makes me itch like crazy too.

I started priming the Nike this week. Compared to the white tubes used in the other PSII kits this tubing has some serious grooves in it. It's going to take a ton of filling and sanding.

I finished the paint over the weekend. The paint isn't perfect, but it's flyable. I don't want to put any more energy into it since there's a chance I'll lose it on the bigger motors I want to fly in it. The maiden will be at Dairy Aire in Fresno on the 17th. I haven't decided which motor I will fly it on yet but I'm leaning towards the CTI G54 long burn (3s). That will put it over 2000'.

Looks good Chris!
I want one...

JP