Chuck's Nike Smoke Build

I am beginning my Level 3 build thread. I chose the 10.5 inch Nike Smoke from Polecat Aerospace - What's Up Hobbies.

I have always loved the unique silhouette of the Nike Smoke. The nose cone shoulder makes it a very unique rocket.

Rocket Overview

Name: Nike Smoke
Diameter: 10.5 in.
Length: 11’ 8”
Dry Wt: 29 lbs.
Built Wt: 58 lbs.
Launch Wt: 74 lbs.
Motor: AT M2100G

Below is a few pictures of the parts and a dry fitting of the parts.

The Design:


Initially, I had planned to do a scratch build. I had several designs that I considered. After thoroughly comparing costs and looking at many of the kits available, it was readily apparent that it was more cost effective to build a kit and adapt it to my needs. The design of this rocket is based upon the Polecat Aerospace 10.25 inch Nike Smoke kit from What’s Up Hobbies of Stockton, California. I have always liked the Nike Smoke - from low power days as an adolescent to a Performance Rocketry kit my wife built for her level 1.

The major parts of the kit came were standard, but the threaded rods and U-bolts were upgraded to increase the strength of the recovery system. Also, the rail buttons were upgraded to Unistrut.

Motor Selection

An Aerotech M2100G motor was selected for this launch for several reasons. It is a 98mm motor and there would be no need for an adaptor to adjust to the motor tube used in this build. The maximum take off weight for this motor is 90 pounds. The calculated weight of the rocket without the motor is 58 pounds. The 2100G will allow for extra weight as the build progresses.

very sweet rocket choice!




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Braden

The original kit had ¼” threaded rods and U-bolts. These have been upgraded to improve strength and the ¼” holes were filled with epoxy. All epoxy and other glues were cured completely before the next step is performed. I have estimated a generous weight of 6 lbs. for all adhesives and fillers and 4 lbs. of foam.

Nose cone assembly
1. Two 3/8 inch U-bolts was installed in the nose cone bulkhead. Threads will be locked with JB Weld. Images below show the hole pattern for the 10.5 inch nose cone bulk plate and application of JB weld to lock the U-bolt nuts.

UPscaler said:

very sweet rocket choice!




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Braden

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Thanks. I will post a little history on the nike smoke in a few posts. I find the nike series of rockets fascinating.

Attached is a list or parts used to assembly the nose cone. Notably missing is West Systems Epoxy and Carbon Fiber filler.

cwbullet said:

Attached is a list or parts used to assembly the nose cone. Notably missing is West Systems Epoxy and Carbon Fiber filler.

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going to use the blue and orange chute for a drogue? :tongue:


That's a lot of work in the nosecone! I hope some day I can get my hands on one of these kits!


Braden

Four pounds of 2-part foam (2 pounds per square foot density) was added to the tip of the nose cone to increase strength and add some nose weight to the forward section. This would allow for a larger motor such as an "N".


A garbage can filled with water was used to hold the nose cone upright and to cool the foam as it reacted.

I actually have an image of that chute to post with a review from our last launch. I will try to find it tomorrow night. Thanks for the reminder.

Enough for today. Tomorrow, I will finish the nose cone by gluing in the bulk head.

cwbullet said:

Four pounds of 2-part foam (2 pounds per square foot density) was added to the tip of the nose cone to increase strength and add some nose weight to the forward section. This would allow for a larger motor such as an "N".

A garbage can filled with water was used to hold the nose cone upright and to cool the foam as it reacted.

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That's a great idea when foaming the cone, very ingenious!

My plan is to pick up this very kit next year for my level 3 cert atempt. So I will be following your build pretty closely. Hope al gvoes well.

I'm parking on the Far upwind side of the field!!!:roll:

Just teasing! Looks great so far!

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Eric Foster

With my recent luck, you might be safe at he truck stop.

OMG that's funny!

See you soon!
Eric

I too have several PoleCat kits ,Jack is a great fellow to deal with.I built the 4" version of the PoleCat Nike Smoke and enjoyed the build, as well as their 4" Jayhawk and now their 5.5" pershing II.

My next kit from them will be some thing huge !

I`ll be watching your build with great interest ,as it`s already caught my attention not to mention a great looking rocket.

Keep up the great posts ,they indeed will come in handy for many !

Cheers

Paul

Mach speeds shouldnt be an issue as far as the nose cones structural integrity. Are you foaming the nose cone to strengthen for recovery impact? They are pretty stout on their own or do you need the weight regardless?

The foam is mostly weight to ensure I can launch it with an N motor on our field and avoid the 10,000 foot waiver.

Makes sense. As long as you need the weight you might as well use something to add to the structural integrity in case it lands cooky or under a tangled chute.

Hmm... Normal 2-part foam isn't that heavy (2lbs/cu-ft). Seems like you'd've been better off with epoxy and some "seaworthy" lead sinkers.

cwbullet said:

The foam is mostly weight to ensure I can launch it with an N motor on our field and avoid the 10,000 foot waiver.

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I only needed about 2-4 lbs in the nose. It seems like a good way to meet my needs. I can see your point though. The 4 lbs actually made it more stable. Various additions to the base - made the lower part of the rocket 4 lbs heavier than expected so I added 4 lbs to the nose. The combined 8 lbs makes the rocket stay under waiver even with a N.

The bulkhead was epoxied at the apex of the shoulder. A fillet of chopped carbon fiber and epoxy was added to further secure the bulkhead in place. The bulkhead was coated with epoxy mixed with grey pigment to protect the wood and aid in clean-up after flights.


Slow epoxy is applied to the inside of shoulder of the foam filled nose cone.

The bulkhead is placed in the shoulder of the foam filled nose cone.

After the epoxy dries, a fillet of carbon fiber and slow epoxy will be applied to reinforce the bulkhead in place (not pictured).

Coming along well I doubt you will have any trouble with the up part. Getting the main out at the right time and fully inflated is the challenge.

BTW, I have a 98/7680 case if you wish to borrow it.

The next step was to set up the build of the booster section. The centering rings are dry fitted on the motor tube and their positions are marked a pencil. The AFT centering ring is installed flush with the end of the motor tube. The middle is placed a fin height away from the bottom ring. The forward centering ring will be 2 inches from the forward end of the motor tube.

See photos below.

The initial kit came with a paper motor tube - I upgraded it to blue tube. I did not like the way the paper tube easily frayed.

The forward 2 inches will be reinforced with Kevlar tape. A fillet of epoxy and chopped carbon fiber will be applied around the outside of the motor tube. The Forward centering ring was applied aft to the forward centering ring position. The, I applied epoxy to the motor tube for both the forward centering ring and kevlar tape reinforcement. The Kevlar tape was applied to the forward 2 inches of the motor tube.

The centering ring was then slid forward against the kevlar tape - the excess epoxy followed.

The aft side of the forward centering ring is now epoxied with a thin fillet of epoxy and carbon fiber filler.

A generous amount of epoxy and chopped carbon fiber will be applied to the middle centering ring pencil marks on the inside of the booster section. The middle centering ring will be slid between the pencil marks. Epoxy and carbon fiber were used as an adhesive. I ahem been asked how much carbon fiber - a Pinch per cup of epoxy.

Looks good! I like the Kev/tape wrap at the top of the tube. That will help with wear a lot

Chuck, Very nice build! You doing the L3 at Freedom Launch?

Eric Foster

Eric,

I am trying not to rush it. I finish it and leave it up to my TAP. I could have it done by then. I want to make sure everything is perfect.

It will not be a high flyer, but it should be fun to watch. It will go about 4000 feet. I like launches I can follow with my camera.

That being said, I only need 8-9 feet of rail to have a stable flight. Our unistrut with work.

Chuck