Found 3.9" Nike Smoke Recommendations [FOUND]

[John Kemker]

A long time ago, in another life, I had a Scotglas 3.9" Nike Smoke that I built. It had a very nice fiberglass nosecone, phenolic airframe (that I 'glassed), and G10 fins. 54mm motor mount and I put an av-bay in it (without lengthening the rocket) and used it to fly Thunderflame research motors in. I really liked that kit, but Scotglas is no longer in business.

What kit would you recommend to replace it with? While I'd prefer a fiberglass airframe, I'm willing to 'glass a phenolic airframe. Don't really want a regular cardboard airframe. 54mm MMT a must. Easy to add an avbay a must. Fiberglass fins MUCH preferred over plywood. Pre-slotted airframe (I suck at putting slots in. I have no table-saw or other tools that would make it easy.)

 

[Titan II]

Whenever they come back in stock or find someone who has one....

https://www.madcowrocketry.com/4-fiberglass-nike-smoke/

 

[Wrightme43]

I don't have any answer. I just wanted to say the Nike Smoke is a very good looking rocket design.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Apogee Level 2 kit
https://www.apogeerockets.com/Rocket_Kits/Skill_Level_4_Kits/Level-2

 

[Neutronium95]

The only company that I'm aware of that makes high power Nike Smoke kits is Composute Warehouse. The Madcow kit was made by Curtis, but now all of the Madcow fiberglass kits are made by Wildman, who doesn't have a Nike Smoke nosecone in his lineup.


Edit: Composite Warehouse has a reputation for taking money and not delivering product. Sometimes Curtis will get orders out in a timely manner, other times he doesn't. You can search on here for people's experiences with him and see if you want to risk it.

 

[sharkbait]

A long time ago, in another life, I had a Scotglas 3.9" Nike Smoke that I built. It had a very nice fiberglass nosecone, phenolic airframe (that I 'glassed), and G10 fins. 54mm motor mount and I put an av-bay in it (without lengthening the rocket) and used it to fly Thunderflame research motors in. I really liked that kit, but Scotglas is no longer in business.

What kit would you recommend to replace it with? While I'd prefer a fiberglass airframe, I'm willing to 'glass a phenolic airframe. Don't really want a regular cardboard airframe. 54mm MMT a must. Easy to add an avbay a must. Fiberglass fins MUCH preferred over plywood. Pre-slotted airframe (I suck at putting slots in. I have no table-saw or other tools that would make it easy.)

I still have my 4” Scotglass Smoke, did exactly the same as you did, has over 50 flights and still going strong with a few minor airframe repairs and probably been repainted 5 or 6 times.

You could check with Ken Allen, he might have a 4” Smoke cone and could get you the tubes and CR’s and have the fins cut.

 

[Zman1961]

I still have my 4” Scotglass Smoke, did exactly the same as you did, has over 50 flights and still going strong with a few minor airframe repairs and probably been repainted 5 or 6 times.

You could check with Ken Allen, he might have a 4” Smoke cone and could get you the tubes and CR’s and have the fins cut.

I talked to Ken at Performance Hobbies not too long ago. The difficult part of the Nike Smoke, as noted above in post #5, is the gel-coated nose cone. I think Ken is keeping a list of interested people. He said he is trying to convince Curtis to make some of the 4 and 5.5 inch nose cones. If there are other Composite Warehouse kits you want, some are available from Performance Hobbies if you don't mind waiting 3-6 weeks, depending on the kit, as noted in Ken's web site. Ken will not charge you until the box is ready to ship, you are allowed to put 0's in the credit card info when you order. He will call you when it's ready. I think he visits Curtis about once per month and helps to put the kits together. I had a very good experience ordering a 4.5 inch full scale Arcas a couple of months ago (from Ken). I am on the list for the Nikes in both sizes. I will not say anything one way or the other about Curtis, but he does have a lot of non-rocketry work going on.

 

[cwbullet]

Email Ken Allen and he will get you one.

 

[mtnmanak]

As already noted, the nosecone is the blocker. Curtis is the only one who makes one in FG (right now) and he hasn't made any in ages. The likelihood of him doing a Nike nosecone run anytime soon seems extremely low. Last time I was at his shop, I talked to him about it for myself and he said he had no plans to make any Nike nosecones in any size in the near future. Kenny can't get them because he gets them from Curtis, so Performance Hobbies is in the same boat as the rest of us.

Your best bet would be to post up a "wanted" thread in the Yard Sale section and see if anyone has a 4" Nike Smoke nosecone for sale. If you can get the nosecone, the other parts are very easy to obtain or make.

 

[cwbullet]

As already noted, the nosecone is the blocker. Curtis is the only one who makes one in FG (right now) and he hasn't made any in ages. The likelihood of him doing a Nike nosecone run anytime soon seems extremely low. Last time I was at his shop, I talked to him about it for myself and he said he had no plans to make any Nike nosecones in any size in the near future. Kenny can't get them because he gets them from Curtis, so Performance Hobbies is in the same boat as the rest of us.

Your best bet would be to post up a "wanted" thread in the Yard Sale section and see if anyone has a 4" Nike Smoke nosecone for sale. If you can get the nosecone, the other parts are very easy to obtain or make.

Have you asked Ken if he has one? At out last launch, he had 3 nose cones in his truck that were rather old. You might be surprised by what he has in storage.

 

[Rob Campbell]

Dragon Rocketry has one with a 3D printed nosecone. However, it's a cardboard airframe tube.

 

[DragonRocketry]

I have a 4" kit with a 3D printed nose cone. I can do it with glassed LOC tubes as I am slowly getting glassed tubes made. Fins would still be 1/4" baltic birch ply and I can upgrade the kit to a 54mm mount.

 

[Donnager]

I have a Madcow Nike Smoke with the gelcoated fins.

The nose has a partition in the bottom with a vent, but it was made when I didn't build as well as I currently do. The nose has a 1/4-20 thread rod through the top with a SS acorn nut on the top.

If you like, I can send you the nose, or the entire rocket (it will include a 54mm Aeropack), without recovery. It does have one crooked fin, and has had a repair from a hard landing, but it is properly axially aligned, and has flown J's straight.

I am trying to get rid of some stuff. If you are interested, I will send the whole rocket to you for the cost of shipping and packaging +$100. If you only want the nose, I can send it, and keep the Aeropack, and find another home for the fin can, and we can come up with a lower price.

PM me if you are interested.

 

[mtnmanak]

Have you asked Ken if he has one? At out last launch, he had 3 nose cones in his truck that were rather old. You might be surprised by what he has in storage.

I didn't ask him about the 4" nosecones (I still have one from Madcow that is in good shape), but I did ask if he had any of the 5.5" NS Nosecones and he didn't have any. He told me he was trying to get Curtis to make more, but he wasn't having any luck either. I was planning to see Kenny this weekend at the URRG launch, but that one got scrubbed. Hopefully the November launch goes as planned and I will see him then.

 

[cwbullet]

I didn't ask him about the 4" nosecones (I still have one from Madcow that is in good shape), but I did ask if he had any of the 5.5" NS Nosecones and he didn't have any. He told me he was trying to get Curtis to make more, but he wasn't having any luck either. I was planning to see Kenny this weekend at the URRG launch, but that one got scrubbed. Hopefully the November launch goes as planned and I will see him then.

I have one of the 5.5 kits to build. I am toying with building extra long for dual deployment.

 

[Art Upton]

I have one of the 5.5 kits to build. I am toying with building extra long for dual deployment.

Put the Apogee Altimeter in the nose cone as an Ebay. My Curtis 5.5 I setup that way.

Use JLCR for the main , then no extra length needed.

 

[mtnmanak]

I have one of the 5.5 kits to build. I am toying with building extra long for dual deployment.

I very much recommend building it out with a payload bay. It is easy to fly single deploy without the payload bay and then add in the PB for a dual deploy flight. I built my 4" NS that way.

 

[MoreCowbell]

The challenge with the Smoke is the relatively short airframe and long nose cone. A decent-sized 54mm mount occupies nearly the whole airframe. My solution is to put a 75mm mount in the 4" version. With a 2-grain 75mm motor, takes it over 10K. Put in a short avbay and dual deployment is easy, with room in the NC for the GPS tracker. And a 75mm motor in a 4" airframe just looks really good, not to mention the more dramatic flame from the bigger motor. IMO a 5.5" Smoke is begging for a 98mm motor. These solutions keep the rocket to scale, no need to stretch it.

So if and when you obtain a 4' kit, keep this in mind.

As you can see by my avatar, I like the Smoke. That one is 3/4 scale, with a 150mm "O" motor.

 

[jmasterj]

Curtis' 5.5 Nike Smoke nose cone is a masterpiece and built for HED. Mine is unfortunately damaged, though probably not irreparably, and I've resigned myself to never getting a replacement from Curtis.

 

[AlexBruccoleri]

Maybe if a group places an order through Ken, Curtis will make a batch. My build pile is a bit excessive now but I could join for just a nose cone.

 

[cwbullet]

Maybe if a group places an order through Ken, Curtis will make a batch. My build pile is a bit excessive now but I could join for just a nose cone.

That is a good idea. I can talk to Ken face to face at our NOV launch if it is desired. 5.5 or 4 inch?

 

[AlexBruccoleri]

I would go with one of each. Note I am not looking for an existing one since others are searching. I am only looking to join a pre-order to get Curtis to make a batch.

 

[NOLA_BAR]

Curtis' 5.5 Nike Smoke nose cone is a masterpiece and built for HED. Mine is unfortunately damaged, though probably not irreparably, and I've resigned myself to never getting a replacement from Curtis.

I have his 4” version, and agree about the nose cone. The whole kit is masterfully done. I purchased it several years ago for a L2 project, but only just started to work on it.

For HED, how did you work out attaching an anchor to the forward end of the nose cone? I have a couple ideas using fiberglass bulkhead, but haven’t really worked it out.

 

[jmasterj]

I have his 4” version, and agree about the nose cone. The whole kit is masterfully done. I purchased it several years ago for a L2 project, but only just started to work on it.

For HED, how did you work out attaching an anchor to the forward end of the nose cone? I have a couple ideas using fiberglass bulkhead, but haven’t really worked it out.

Haven't built it, was bummed about the damage and moved to other projects. Drilling in an eyebolt would be my first choice, but I'd need a very long bit.

 

[Titan II]

For HED, how did you work out attaching an anchor to the forward end of the nose cone?

I just epoxy a length of Kevlar shock cord to the inside of the cone. Same concept as attaching a shock cord to a motor mount. I have done this on several rockets, including this 4" HED Smoke. Simple, strong, light, and takes up negligible space (generally important when doing HED).

 

[NOLA_BAR]

I just epoxy a length of Kevlar shock cord to the inside of the cone. Same concept as attaching a shock cord to a motor mount. I have done this on several rockets, including this 4" HED Smoke. Simple, strong, light, and takes up negligible space (generally important when doing HED).
View attachment 610709

I did not think about doing that! Well it’s just way too simple!

 

[John Kemker]

I just got a PM from someone who has offered me a Scotglas Smoke that needs repair. All I have to do is pay for shipping. So, for now, we'll call this "Found (Pending)."

 

[Zman1961]

That is a good idea. I can talk to Ken face to face at our NOV launch if it is desired. 5.5 or 4 inch?

I did my L2 on the 4 inch version, still my favorite HPR rocket. The gel coat on the nose cone is getting a bit beat up. I actually would like both the 4 inch and 5.5 inch, complete kits.

 

[ep29030]

If you are ordering a batch of Smoke nosecones, I would purchase a 5.5” one.

 

[John Kemker]

If you are ordering a batch of Smoke nosecones, I would purchase a 5.5” one.

That would be my next choice, once I get a 4" Smoke flying.

Still waiting on a reply from the person who offered to ship a Scotglas Smoke to me for price of shipping.