PS 2 Nike Smoke ??

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Andy Greene

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Anyone build and or flow one yet ??
I did a quick search but didnt see anything-
I have one otw and wondered if anyone has any tips ??
Im already planning better chute retention and rail buttons- but would like to hear some thoughts on the fins , upgrades- ect .
 
It's a great kit, I built it just as you are planning. The plastic fins are pretty strong when assembled, though I'm not planning on pushing them past the max recommended motor of a G80. I left the rear centering ring off when building until after the fins were in place, just so I could add some small internal fillets. Those were probably overkill anyway, given the interlocking nature of the fin mounting. I also mounted the rear rail button while the rear centering ring was off. I have a video of mine flying on a G64 that I need to upload to Youtube.

Two Smokes.jpg

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Looks great Ryan, that answers my color question as well- lol.
Can you post a pic of where you placed your rail buttons ?
Have you flown it yet , and what motor/motors did you try ?
 
Flown twice now, both flights were on Aerotech G64-7Ws, which were perfect and put it nearly out of sight. Used a Chute Release both times with great recovery on the stock parachute. I'll get video of that and my rail button setup shortly. I made my own airfoiled rail button standoffs out of 1/8" ply, then decided that they still kept the rail a little close and worried about the rail rubbing on the nose cone, so I added some small standoffs from Apogee. I'll get a pic of that as soon as I can put baby down for a bit.
 
Here's the video of my flights on the G64.

[video=youtube;_cFdBx532bo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cFdBx532bo[/video]
 
Here are my rail button locations and setups.

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Too sexy. My wife and I have the PSII versions in the build pile. The small ones are in our short list for AC Supply.
 
Hey Ryan, how tall are your standoffs? I've got this kit as well and am planning on using buttons. Thanks!
 
It's 1/8 ply plus 1/8 delrin or whatever material that is from Apogee. 1/8 works but there's enough play between the buttons and the rail to allow the nose to drag a little. 1/4" total is probably longer than needed; 3/16" would probably be just right.
 
It's 1/8 ply plus 1/8 delrin or whatever material that is from Apogee. 1/8 works but there's enough play between the buttons and the rail to allow the nose to drag a little. 1/4" total is probably longer than needed; 3/16" would probably be just right.

Great, thanks.
 
I have flown mine once on a G64-7, flew great! I did make a few changes, though. I didn't like the body tube, I thought it was too flimsy, so I 'glassed it with a Soller Composites sleeve. I also used about 10' of 3/16" Kevlar as the recovery harness, used rail buttons with an extra spacer, and left out the motor block. I may try an H128 in it.

Phil L.
 
Mine has flown on a number of Hobbyline G's ..but so far the G75J in the 29/180 case has been a great boost and flight !

Kenny
 
Awesome input guys - THANK YOU , my kit should arrive Friday -cant wait.
Lets me know Im on the right page as far as my plans , the stand off issue is appreciated :cool:
I will stick to Estes G-Motors for the first flight , then find a happy medium for my CTI Case .
Its really just a matter of how I paint it now- you guys rocked all the other ? marks ............
THANK YOU .
 
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Nothing against the original paint layout - but its boooring to me - lets see what my mind sim can come up with ...........lol
 
I've flown my PSII NS on the RMS 29/40-120 motor using the G76G-10
I CA'd the fins with medium thickness CA, making sure to have liberal coverage. I've seen a video where the fins can split open under high dynamic pressure.. and don't want that to happen. I probably overbonded the fin can, using 30 min epoxy on well roughened fins and paper. Decent fillets using 30 min epoxy and microballons. I went with rail buttons backed with well nuts. Probably the biggest mod I made was to add a perforated bulkhead/chute shelf/shock cord anchor. Below are a few photos of the more interesting stuff.. and a plot from a flight on a G76G-10

Estes Nike Smoke PSII on G76G-10
JLAltimeter3 data, JL Chute Release set to 300 ft.
FlightGraph.jpg

A few shots during build:
IMG_0592.jpgIMG_0583.jpgIMG_0587.jpg
 
I've flown my PSII NS on the RMS 29/40-120 motor using the G76G-10
I CA'd the fins with medium thickness CA, making sure to have liberal coverage. I've seen a video where the fins can split open under high dynamic pressure.. and don't want that to happen. I probably overbonded the fin can, using 30 min epoxy on well roughened fins and paper. Decent fillets using 30 min epoxy and microballons. I went with rail buttons backed with well nuts. Probably the biggest mod I made was to add a perforated bulkhead/chute shelf/shock cord anchor. Below are a few photos of the more interesting stuff.. and a plot from a flight on a G76G-10

Estes Nike Smoke PSII on G76G-10
JLAltimeter3 data, JL Chute Release set to 300 ft.
View attachment 296629

A few shots during build:
View attachment 296628View attachment 296626View attachment 296627

Awesome share -can you elaborate on the perforated bulkhead /shelf/anchor setup ???
Thank You ......:cool:
 
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Awesome share -can you elaborate on the perforated bulkhead /shelf/anchor setup ???
Thank You ......:cool:

I didn't take any photos before installing the bulkhead/shelf/anchor in my Nike Smoke, however, I have a similar bulkhead in my Estes PSII Leviathan. The Nike Smoke has my "new and improved" version. The new version is different from the photos below. I used 2 layers of 1/8" light plywood bonded with a thin layer of epoxy. I cut a slightly different perforation pattern, and drilled a careful 3/16" hole in the center. I then laminated both sides with lightweight 2 oz fiberglass. Finally, I added a small eyebolt with a washer and a nylock nut on the back, leaving it free to swivel in the hole. Here are some details of the version one unit, which is a nice perforated parachute shelf, single 1/8" plywood layer laminated with 2 oz fiberglass on either side. Very strong, very light. Perfect for the function!

Use light plywood to build a bulkhead and drill/cut/dremmel out a perforation pattern. If you want to mount the shock cord anchor in the bulkhead, be careful not to cut too many holes too close together. Best to copy the pattern in my Nike Smoke shown above. And drill a center hole just large enough for the eyebolt.
IMG_0329.jpg

Cutting squares of 2oz Fiberglass cloth
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Used 20min finishing epoxy to saturate FG cloth onto both sides of bulkhead
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Use small pcs of mylar to act as a release on both sides of the wet bulkhead.
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I put the layup between 2 pcs of plywood
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then put a brick on top to apply pressure. this will force out most of the epoxy resin, but leave just the right amount to get FULL strength out of the fiberglass:
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I baked it at 180f for about 20 minutes.. and as that temperature and time, it fully cured and was ready to cut the excess cloth.
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trimming cloth and cured excess resin (do this right after taking out of the oven.. as the epoxy is slightly soft still)
IMG_0349.jpg

A piece of art! time to install that baby.
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Here's my version 1 installed in my L1 certification rocket, a Leviathan using the stock elastic, but with epoxy and glass reinforcing the teabag mount. I think the version 2 bulkhead/shelf/shockcord anchor version is FAR better than this shock cord mount.. but both have worked fine.
IMG_0361.jpg

Hope that helps.
 
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One last thing...

The Nike Smoke has a weak point.. it's the side of the tube at the base. Imagine it landing and hitting at the typical angle on the bottom edge of the body tube... ding.. dent. Now do that about 10 times and your Nike Smoke might be looking a little ragged on the bottom.

Since I'd shifted my recovery gear a bit forward by installing the chute shelf/shock cord anchor bulkhead, I had plenty of margin to add a little weight to the base of the rocket, to strengthen the bottom edge of the body tube. Here I simply added 2 layers of 6oz Fiberglass between the after centering ring and the bottom edge of the body tube. So far it's held up fine, and there's no damage visible. Here's some build shots of that area:

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Here's mine - same as at the end of the smoke gallery. I felt the usual paint is a bit boring and since my club is on a "black dirt" farm (yup, the region is know for it's black dirt), I didn't think a white nose cone would remain white for too long. It flies very nicely on F44-8W Economax motors (cheap and easy too)...should get 1000' on that, so I highly reco this for it's first flight. Mine tends to be a bit unpredictable on where it will land (moreso than my other rockets...maybe it's the conical nose?), so I don't launch it off on anything higher than a G since I don't like spending hours searching for a rocket. :)

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Here's a pic of the rail buttons I installed. i just epoxied in blind nuts and used longer bolts along with a spacer collar (I think made of one of the center sections of a red rail button). It's 1/4" raised.
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So , I got my kit a few days ago- the fins are done - surprisingly strong once assembled. Not gonna do a build thread, will post some pics of the process everyone has already seen here as I go -
Same mods everyone already knows about for the most part.....

Dry fit looks really good.
 
So , its pretty much built - playing with colors now, not sure if I will be happy color wise , till I see it done.
Will post some pics in the next few days once Im happy with the paint choice :rolleyes:
What a Great kit , I had concerns about the plastic fins , but once I build and sealed them- they are strong as can be .
Just got home from work and momma is gone for a few- sand / paint - sand / paint while I can :blush:
So whats the best source for my rail buttons and what can expect to spend ?

Andy
 
I like the buttons from Apogee as they include blind nuts for the bolts to thread into. They are a few bucks for a set.
 
It's 1/8 ply plus 1/8 delrin or whatever material that is from Apogee. 1/8 works but there's enough play between the buttons and the rail to allow the nose to drag a little. 1/4" total is probably longer than needed; 3/16" would probably be just right.

I just stacked 2 buttons using a longer screw. Looks wonky, works fine
 
So here is where I'm at so far - still kicking around accents . The checker board band I have is about 1/2 inch too short, of course, so Im thinking about masking off my own checker band .
Lets hear it - good bad or ugly ??
Still thinking about a red band at the base of the nc where it meets the bt . And a silver nose cone tip maybe 1/2 long or so.

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