xx Nike Smoke by Polecat Aerospace 5.5" diameter 75" high

[user 34969]

I'm selling my Nike Smoke. Last time it flew was in 2004. 54mm motor mount. I haven't been into rocketry for some time now, so thought that maybe I could find a home for some of my stuff as I don't plan on getting back into in the near future. I built this myself with to accept the Slimline Avionics Bay. Since one end of the bay closure threaded retainer ring is glued to the rocket, I wanted to throw this in too along with a Public Missiles Co-Pilot altimeter. None of this stuff has been in use since 2004. One problem though. The three sections of the rocket sat in my garage...well...since 2004 and now they don't slide into each other anymore. Will not fit. I'm guessing that over time the outer air frame contracted with the heat and cold all these years. Not sure how to fix that except (and I'm just thinking out loud here), put it into a high humidity area and maybe encourage the material to swell back into it's original shape. Please don't laugh. Well...maybe a giggle would be OK. At any rate with this problem, I'm not sure what to sell it for or if it's even sellable. If nothing else, the SlimLine retaining ring could be salvaged from the rocket and the avionics bay could still be used. I can't verify the operation of the altimeter either since it has not been used since...well...you guessed it, 2004. At any rate, if any of you are interested, have any ideas or input and might want to throw an offer out there, I would be happy to consider it. Thanks. Bill

I just joined this yesterday so that I might be able to sell some of my old gear. I got into rocketry in the late 90s, but haven't been involved since around 2005. My name is Bill Van Auken and my NAR membership expired in 2009. My NAR# was 77835 and I was HPR cert level 2. I live in NorCal now, but when I first got involved in rocketry, I was living in SoCal. I went to many launches with my good buddy Sam out in the desert near Lucerne Valley on a dry lake bed which was hosted by the Rocketry Organization of CA. They had monthly launch meets and every year they had a big one called RocStock. Good times. I finally decided to try and sell off some of my old stuff to someone that can use and enjoy it as I have other hobbies now and I don't plan on getting back into rockets in the near future. Heck...I can't remember anything that I learned, so I'd have to start all over again.