Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Cosmodrome Rocketry |
Brief:
The Nike Smoke is a great rocket with a lot of extra parts for an awesome scale
look. If bought directly from Cosmodrome, you get motor retention and a better
shock cord system. It flies great on everything from F to H.
Construction:
One body tube and a very impressive 16" nose cone made of balsa. The nose
cone comes with a plastic anchor for the nose eyebolt. The shock cord is 12
feet of 5/32" bungee cord. The shock cord mount is preassembled and it is
made of 1/16" metal wire that connects to the centering ring.
The construction is straightforward but you have to cut your own fin slots. One thing that may be hard to do is shaping the knife edge fins, however, I decided not to do this. I used couplers to increase the tube strength.
PROs: Strong to the motor mount fin assembly, pretty good instructions.
CONs: You have to cut your own fin slots
Finishing:
Comes with one decal and is pretty easy to finish. The nose cone will need
extra sanding sealer unless you use finishing epoxy to coat it, which is
something I recommend because balsa dents easily.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight:
I have not flown it yet but reviews say it flies great. Motor retention is a
threaded rod sticking out of the back with a washer and a nut holding the motor
in place. All it needs is a little wadding for the cord and I used a Kevlar®
pad to protect the chute. I will be flying it soon on an H180 and I will but an
update on how it flies.
Recovery:
The kit comes with a 24" chute very similar to the Top Flight 24"
chutes. I added a lot of extra weight so I need to use a 30" parachute. If
you plan to fly high, stay with the 24" because of drift. Even if the kit
is built stock though, the 24" chute will still have it come down a little
fast. I would use a 28" chute if you plan on using something that won't go
high or if there is little wind.
Flight Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary:
This is a great rocket. The tubes though, are thin so if you are planning on
using a big motor you should consider using coupler reinforcement. Great for
small flights to 750' or neck snapping acceleration on a H180 or H220. It won't
break Mach though. I recommend buying direct from Cosmodrome so you get all the
extras that some of the dealers don't have yet. I bought mine from Discount
Rocketry because Cosmodrome ran out of nose cones. My kit had the old recovery
system and shock cord mount. Luckily, Mike at Cosmodrome was nice enough to
send me one at no extra charge.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
( Contributed - by Craig Cline - 05/01/01) Brief: This is a very cool mid and high power scale kit of the Nike Smoke that is a lot of fun to build and fly. It can make a good second mid-power rocket with scale looks and can be used to transition to level 1 high power. Construction: The kit came in a bag with all parts in good condition. The first thing that stands out is the awesome ...
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J.B. (April 1, 2000)