Polecat Aerospace 5.5" Nike Smoke

[Ozymandias]

Although I'm not a big scale modeler I've always loved the Nike Smoke. Last Christmas, I got a Polecat Aerospace 5.5" Nike Smoke as a gift from my mother. This is a builder's kit. If you want to tackle this bird, make sure you have at least a weekend to get it together. It might take a week or more depending on how you end up painting it. The version of the kit I had has a gel coated fiberglass nose cone which required litterally hours of sanding and hand fitting to make it fit on the airframe. I talked to the kit's manufacturer and they told me they have switched to a new, more precise mold so you don't have to sand as much. The rocket's airframe is glassed paper tube with pre-done slots for the plywood fins. The fins come beveled and look very nice. Polecat gives you ample room for any size motor you might want to fly. The mount tube occupies about 75% of the airframe. The parachute can be packed into the remainder with little effort. This is one of the most beefy kits I have ever built. Polecat Aerospace designs its kits for the abuse of flying in the deserts and dry lakebeds of the Pacific Southwest. I've flown my Nike several times on full K motors with no problems. I've even seen Polecat Nike Smokes fly on baby-M motors with little modification. The thing is rock-solid. Polecat chose to leave the parachute and motor retention up to the builder. I like to use safety wire but an Aeropack would probably be even better. For laundry I use a rocketman R4C which brings the rocket down fast but without damage. This is a great kit. Thanks Andy! I give it 10 thumbs up. Here's a picture of my Nike Smoke "Smokey" flying on a Cesaroni Pro 54 K660.

 

[eugenefl]

I responded to your "Hello Everyone" post a minute ago, but FYI you'll be able to fly that bird easily at the NEFAR launches just up the road from Daytona. Rocketry is everywhere!

Great liftoff shot! As a newly crowned moderator, I suppose it's my duty to give you a heads up with the inline image posting. It's not a real thorn in anyone's side, but there are a few dial-up users out there and for some it can be a chore to get all of the images to display in a timely manner. Here at TRF we love pictures, but we also love the dial up users! As an alternative, you can link to the picture or attach it to the post. (filesizes are limited to <100k.)

Once again, welcome to TRF.

 

[marvSRG]

Nice review and nice pic!!! Great quality and awesome view of the mach diamonds!

 

[lalligood]

Welcome to TRF! Another (Central) Florida-based TRFer too There are 2 great clubs within a couple of hours from Daytona. NEFAR is ~30min NE up in Flagler County. See https://www.nefar.net/ for more information.

Then just a little ways SW of Melbourne is Spaceport Rocketry Association (SRA).

We have a few folks who launch fairly regularly at both sites, which is entirely do-able since NEFAR launches on the 2nd Saturday of every month & SRA launches on the third Saturdays!

Those Polecat Nike Smokes are indeed awesome. One of the guys at SRA just this past Saturday launched one on a J570. Sweet!!!

 

[Ryan S.]

nice pic

 

[marvSRG]

Dude! I just realized something...you're one day older than me. Ha. Way cool.

 

[Ryan S.]

ha


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