Nell (Goddard) from Arkansas [by FlisKits]

[Crawf56]

I am using a B4-2. This is the smallest recommended motor. It barely worked; I really suggest a B6-2 or a C6-3.

Ignition!

 

[Crawf56]

Cleared the tower.

 

[Crawf56]

Flight continues. Using a Canon EOS Rebel SL1 for pics.

 

[Crawf56]

Headed for apogee.

 

[Crawf56]

Parachute deploy. Note how close the Nell is to the ground.

 

[Crawf56]

Touch down.

 

[Crawf56]

Here are the un-cropped pics of the parachute deployment, so you can see how close the Nell was to the ground when the chute popped.

 

[Crawf56]

I think part of the reason the chute deployed so low is my launchpad setup.

This 1/4" x 48" rod is at quite an angle. I normally use it for RC Rocket Glider launches at an RC airfield.

The safety rules at the airfield stipulate that you do NOT let your aircraft (or rocket glider) cross the flightline. So, I am launching at a fair angle (5 to 10 degrees?) to get the rocket glider out over the runway.

A more 'straight up' launch rod setup would have got the Nell higher. Still, I think I will stick with B6-2 or C6-3 motors in the future.

 

[Tom Flint]

Seems like a pretty accurate re-creation of the flight of the original Goddard rocket which only went 41 feet high.

 

[jflis]

The only scale model rocket kit that can out perform the actual rocket…

 

[Crawf56]

Launch of my Nell at Memphis, TN, on 5/27/2023. C6-3 motor.

 

[Hobie1dog]

thanks for the video

 

[Lord Rory Gin]

I have had this kit for a couple of years, and finally decided to build it.

The "Nell" was the first liquid fuel rocket flown by Robert Goddard. It is being sold by FlisKits, though at the moment (7/21/22), it is not in stock.

I have a bone to pick with Fliskits - this ISN'T Nell. Goddard did not name his early rockets. (Source: Rocket Man by David A. Clary).

The name Nell wasn't given to Goddard's rockets until after a launch on July 17, 1929 or 3 years AFTER his initial rocket flew (March 16, 1926). And each version had a different configuration as Goddard would often tinker with the design right up to launch. The motor was relocated to the bottom of the rocket in future versions. Larry Mansur (one of Goddard's small group who joined him in 1928) reacted when he read a negative newspaper article by saying "They ain't done right by our Nell." Salvation Nell was a popular play at the time. So Nell became the name for Goddard's rockets from that point until he later began to name the series. There is a picture from Clark University Archives that shows the 1929 crashed rocket and it doesn't look anything like the 1926 version. https://commons.clarku.edu/archives_gallery/10/

I suppose the name Nell is as good as any though for marketing a model rocket since the original lacked a name at all.

 

[Ez2cDave]

I have a bone to pick with Fliskits - this ISN'T Nell. Goddard did not name his early rockets. (Source: Rocket Man by David A. Clary).

The name Nell wasn't given to Goddard's rockets until after a launch on July 17, 1929 or 3 years AFTER his initial rocket flew (March 16, 1926). And each version had a different configuration as Goddard would often tinker with the design right up to launch. The motor was relocated to the bottom of the rocket in future versions. Larry Mansur (one of Goddard's small group who joined him in 1928) reacted when he read a negative newspaper article by saying "They ain't done right by our Nell." Salvation Nell was a popular play at the time. So Nell became the name for Goddard's rockets from that point until he later began to name the series. There is a picture from Clark University Archives that shows the 1929 crashed rocket and it doesn't look anything like the 1926 version. https://commons.clarku.edu/archives_gallery/10/

I suppose the name Nell is as good as any though for marketing a model rocket since the original lacked a name at all.

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/nell/

 

[Lord Rory Gin]

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/nell/

Despite the fact that the name wasn't given to Goddard's rockets until 3 years after? Looks like somebody trying to rewrite history to me.

 

[Ez2cDave]

Despite the fact that the name wasn't given to Goddard's rockets until 3 years after? Looks like somebody trying to rewrite history to me.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/95-years-ago-goddard-s-first-liquid-fueled-rocket

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/50th/Goddard-rocket.jpg.html

 

[Crawf56]

Well, the model rocket works GREAT!.

 

[NTP2]

If only there was a cabbage patch…