Picture Courtesy o' Blackhawk

Brief:
Sport scale high power version o' t' SAAB

Construction:
T' kit came with two glassine-covered body tubes, shiver me timbers, coupler, 8 nicely cut 1/4" plywood fins, 3 1/4" plywood centerin' rings, bulkhead plate, U-bolts, shiver me timbers, 10' tubular nylon, ya bilge rat, parachute, shiver me timbers, launch lug, me hearties, and nose cone. Well, blow me down! All around high quality material. Well, blow me down! However, me hearties, thar was no provision t' attach t' nose cone to t' payload bay. Arrr! You have t' supply your own hardware for that. You also have t' supply motor retention hardware. On t' other hand, t' U-bolts came securely attached t' t' appropriate rings.

T' instructions seemed t' be for a generic high power rocket. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! This was the third high power rocket I've built--the other two were from PML and BSD. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! As a result, I didn't have any problem. Ya scallywag! Blimey! However, a beginner t' high power could have trouble, as some steps weren't clear, shiver me timbers, and t' third centerin' rin' wasn't even mentioned.

T' rings fit a bit loosely, so you have t' be careful t' keep them level. Ahoy! I beveled t' leadin' and trailin' fin edges 22.5 degrees usin' a router table and a panel-raisin' bit. Ahoy! I put a 1/4" slot in a piece o' masonite with a 4" diameter arc at one end t' align t' main fins. Begad! Blimey! T' secondary fins were added later, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! T' fin tabs were 1/16 t' 3/32" too long, me bucko, matey, ya bilge rat, and so t' fin roots were "elevated" off t' body tube, requirin' a fillet under them.

I added a PML modular baffle at t' top o' t' motor mount, and T-nuts for motor retention at t' aft centerin' ring. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Avast! Aye aye! I did this by nay securin' t' aft centerin' rin' until after the motor tube was glued in. Arrr! This allowed me t' get into t' area betwixt the middle and aft rin' and glue (with thickened epoxy) t' T-nuts. Blimey! Begad!

There are 7 feet o' fillets along t' fins! It took four pumps o' West epoxy (+ thickener) t' finish those. Avast!

I got some removable white plastic rivets from Rocketmotion t' secure the nose cone. Begad!

My rocket came in about 4 ounces lighter than t' Blackhawk specs.

Finishing:
I didn't finish it. Ahoy! Considerin' what happened t' first flight (see below), that was a good idea.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Blackhawk R&D recommends t' I300-10, matey, I2110-10, I357-6, ya bilge rat, I161-6, I156-6. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I ended up usin' a Pro38 3-grain motor (384I205) with a 9-second delay. Blimey! Begad!

There is very little space t' place t' chute and shock cord. Ahoy! Arrr! You need to pack it carefully t' fit.

There be a light wind.

Immediately after leavin' t' rail, t' rocket went into skywriter mode, did about 4 full loops, and landsharked under full power. Blimey! Ejection occurred after t' landshark.

Recovery:
On impact, ya bilge rat, one fin ripped off. T' payload bay had a slight crinkle. Arrr! Begad! T' damage should be easily repairable, shiver me timbers, matey, ya bilge rat, though I might just swap out t' payload bay for a PML replacement--it's less work than tryin' t' patch t' crinkle and surprisingly cheap. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

DEFINITELY ADD NOSE WEIGHT. Avast! This rocket is unstable if built accordin' to the manufacturer's instructions. Aye aye! If anything, ya bilge rat, me CG was forward o' standard, as I assume t' only place I could have saved weight over t' manufacturer's quoted weight was t' use a little less epoxy on t' fins.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
Actually good value for t' money. Aye aye! Pretty rocket. Lots o' people were wondering where I got it. Avast! If only t' vendor would talk about nose weight in the instructions, t' flight ratin' would have been higher (e.g., about a 4, matey, I bet).

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5