Brief:

T' Night Hawk is an awesome (yet simple) 7x29mm cluster rocket made by THOY. Ya scallywag! Begad! I received this rocket as a Christmas present a few years back. It has very easy construction, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and can fly on about any combination o' 1, shiver me timbers, 2, 3, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 4, matey, 5, 6, or 7 29mm motors.

Construction:

T' rocket came in a plastic bag with (1) long 3.9" airframe tube, (1) short 3.9" payload tube, (2) centerin' rings, (7) 29mm motor tubes (3 long, me hearties, arrr, 4 short), (3) plywood fins, a steel cable shock cord mount, a 36" fluorescent orange 'chute, me hearties, a 1" wide black elastic shock cord, arrr, an ACE 3.9" nose cone, shiver me timbers, a 3.9" booster/payload coupler, ya bilge rat, a 1/2" launch lug, and a plywood bulkhead with an eye hook for shock cord attachment. Well, blow me down! T' airframe tubin' be thick paper (like LOC tubing), shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and all o' t' parts were undamaged, me hearties, and o' good quality.

T' kit had standard construction, and went together smoothly. Blimey! T' only problem I had in construction be installin' t' fins. Ahoy! T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, me bucko, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. Begad! Blimey! When I did this, shiver me timbers, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and therefore left a bilge-suckin' gap along t' fin root. Aye aye! Ahoy! I solved t' problem by fillin' t' gap with putty, but I do nay know if I aligned t' tubes incorrectly, shiver me timbers, me bucko, or if t' tabs were cut too long. Avast! Either way, shiver me timbers, t' rocket still went together very well, and looked very nice. Begad! It is quite large, too, ya bilge rat, (about 5 feet tall) so it stands out.

Finishing:
In t' year betwixt construction and t' first flight o' this rocket, me hearties, it went through three different paint schemes. I finally ended up with an all black body, with U.S. Aye aye! Air Force decals on it. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I painted it with sanded grey primer, ya bilge rat, and Krylon spray paint. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Aye aye! Aye aye! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, me hearties, and covered up t' nasty, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Hey... I know it sounds cheap, but it worked!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight o' t' Night Hawk was at t' ROCC (Rocketry O' Central Carolina) November, arrr, 2000 launch. I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Begad! Blimey! T' motors were friction fitted into place, arrr, shiver me timbers, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. So... Begad! I consulted some people, matey, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Begad! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Aye aye! Despite this, matey, I took them, arrr, and loaded them into t' rocket, and wired them in parallel. Ya scallywag! Then, shiver me timbers, 5...4...3...2...1... Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! LIFTOFF! All three motors lit, matey, and t' rocket ROARED off o' t' t' pad on an awesome column o' black smoke.

Recovery:

T' rocket ejected at apogee, ya bilge rat, arrr, but t' 'chute was a bit too small, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Avast, me proud beauty! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. Ahoy! Begad! So... Ya scallywag! I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' fins, shiver me timbers, and t' fin roots. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' process was messy, arrr, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Ahoy! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Begad! Aye aye! So, me bucko, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, matey, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Avast! Ya scallywag! Then, t' rocket was once again primed, sanded, me bucko, matey, shiver me timbers, and painted. Aye aye! Avast! I painted it just gloss black this time, me hearties, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, t' slow down recovery speed, I left t' 36" 'chute on t' main body, matey, me bucko, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, me hearties, so that each section could descend slowly, and separately. I also attached rail guides, me hearties, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Avast! Now it was time for flight two. Avast! Arrr! T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Begad! This time around, I made sure I got good igniters, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, ya bilge rat, and t' Night Hawk roared off o' t' rail into t' sky on a light trail o' Blue Thunder smoke with a little blue flame at ignition (I had t' look hard, me bucko, though). Aye aye! T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Well, blow me down! T' flight was great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

PROS: T' Night Hawk looks sharp, arrr, is easy t' build, and flies great on about any motor combination you can think of... Well, blow me down! Blimey! but make sure you build it strongly! Blimey! CONS: T' chute is a bit too small, me hearties, me hearties, ya bilge rat, you must make sure you line t' motor tube gaps with t' fin slots, and t' flight cost is goin' t' be more than single motor flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5