Brief:
As a kid I liked t' looks o' t' Jay Hawk but never had one. When Starlight introduced their kit, arrr, I ordered it and it has been sittin' around since. Ahoy! I was up t' me eyeballs in other projects but again found myself in a situation where valuable rocket time was goin' t' waste because I was waitin' for glue or paint t' dry, waitin' for parts, or just plain tired o' sanding. I saw t' Jay Hawk bag beckonin' too me and all o' t' sudden I had another project t' juggle.

T' Jay Hawk is a semi-scale o' t' old target drone. Ya scallywag! It looked simple but nice, me hearties, designed t' fly on 18mm motors and recover with a chute. Ahoy! Blimey! It is marketed as a skill level 2 kit and that seems about right with today's inflated scales.

Construction:
Construction begins by markin' off t' motor tube for t' engine hook, makin' a mark, and then a slit t' insert the hook. Ya scallywag! When t' hook was in place, t' thrust rin' was glued right above it and t' edges were filleted.

T' kit came with two centerin' rings. Both were extremely tight and had t' be sanded and even trimmed a bit with a razor t' slip over t' motor tube. Begad! Begad! Once they did fit, they were glued in place and filleted with yellow glue.

T' fins were o' good quality balsa and were removed from t' parent material. Begad! Although t' instructions made no mention o' this, I rounded t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Well, blow me down! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' little finlets mounted forward were also rounded on the leading, me hearties, me hearties, trailing, shiver me timbers, matey, and outer edges.

T' nose cone was made o' plastic and came in 2 pieces. Unlike t' Estes cones, matey, this one had no visible seam. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! The base was glued into place with a bit o' epoxy I had mixed for another project.

T' outer parts o' t' fins (rudders?) were lightly sanded and then glued along their centerlines t' t' outer edges o' t' fins with a double glue joint o' yellow glue. Arrr! A steel ruler was used t' ensure that t' angle betwixt the two pieces was a right angle.

At this point I added a step since t' kit included a stick on shock cord mount reminiscent o' what Centuri used t' provide. Aye aye! Instead o' doin' this, I wanted t' attach Keelhaul®©™® t' t' motor mount. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I tied a length o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor mount just abaft o' t' forward centerin' rin' and then laid another yellow glue fillet over it to hold it in place. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! When it dried, t' rin' was notched t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™®.

When t' glue on t' shock cord was dry, arrr, me bucko, I passed t' cord through t' motor tube and then swabbed t' inside of t' BT with yellow glue. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I pushed t' motor mount in and had just gotten everythin' aligned when I realized that I had shoved it into t' wrong end. Oops! Blimey! I be able t' pull it back out, matey, clean out t' glue, me bucko, and then reinstalled it correctly.

It might be legitimately asked why it mattered which end o' t' BT t' motor mount was installed in since nothing had been done with t' BT yet. Ya scallywag! T' reason is that Starlight ships its body tubes with t' fin and lug lines already marked. Begad! Well, blow me down! That bein' t' case, it is nice t' have t' main fins at t' same end o' t' rocket as t' motor.

T' first fin be mounted with yellow glue and a double glue joint along one o' t' pre-marked lines. Blimey! When it was in place, it was carefully checked for alignment and t' make sure it extended at t' proper angle. Begad! Aye aye! After t' first fin had dried, ya bilge rat, t' second be placed in t' same manner.

T' forward finlets were likewise applied in t' same manner along t' provided lines. Avast, me proud beauty! T' launch lug was also glued into place along its line. While t' glue was drying, I also went ahead and tied t' provided elastic t' the Keelhaul®©™® anchor.

When t' glue had a full day t' dry, shiver me timbers, I used Tightbond Moldin' and Trim glue t' apply fillets along all t' fin joints and t' launch lug. I cannot stress enough how pleased I am with this product in this role. Begad! (Thanks t' Luke Strawalker o' TRF for tellin' me about it.)

As t' fillets were drying, I went ahead and tied t' nose cone onto elastic. Arrr! Ya scallywag! With that, ya bilge rat, matey, t' construction was done and it was time t' move t' t' finishing.

Finishing:
T' first step in t' finishin' process be t' fill t' grain and I did so usin' Elmer's Wood Filler. It was brushed on and then left for a few days t' dry. Blimey! T' sandin' process was then begun and I was reminded o' t' wisdom o' often doin' this before t' fins are installed. Well, blow me down! Blimey! My big hands and fat fingers had a hard time gettin' into t' crevasses but eventually it was done.

After t' sanding, t' rocket got a trip t' t' spray booth and was primed with Kilz. Arrr! That too got a day t' dry and it needed some more sanding. Avast! Ya scallywag! Instead o' sprayin' on more primer though, matey, me hearties, I gave it a coat o' regular white paint. After another day for t' white t' dry, T' rocket be painted with several thin coats o' fluorescent red until the color built up deeply.

T' application o' t' decals started off easy with t' puttin' on o' t' USAF roundels on either o' t' vertical stabilizers. Avast! Aye aye! Then came a hatch just abaft o' t' nose cone. Another hatch was placed on t' dorsal surface betwixt the fins. Ahoy! Abaft o' t' forward hatch be placed a thick dashed line. Arrr! And behind that went t' name, "Jayhawk". Even with t' name but on t' sides instead o' t' top or bottom were placed t' larger US roundels. Ahoy! A thicker dashed line was provided t' be placed around t' BT aft, well within t' fin area. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I cut t' stripe in half and placed one half on t' dorsal surface. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' other half was again cut in half t' fit around t' launch lug and both halves were placed on t' ventral surface. Blimey! Probably t' most difficult decal t' apply was a red stripe that ran around t' nose and twice contained t' text, "target". Ahoy! It was nay really hard but needed some workin' t' get properly into place. Avast! I managed t' finally get t' ends o' t' stripe t' meet up and then realized I had placed it with t' text upside down in relation t' t' rest o' t' rocket. Arrr! After that be t' first o' t' "mystery" pieces. Well, blow me down! It was a little blue circle with a cross in t' middle. I have no idea what it represents but t' placement was clearly shown on t' face card on t' dorsal surface near t' hypothetical apex o' t' angle formed by t' fins. Begad! Arrr! I placed t' solid blue stripe just t' t' aft o' t' roundels and name. Well, blow me down! I be t' learn later that this was too far forward. Begad! Ya scallywag! A set o' 4 decals represented t' ailerons. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! These were placed top and bottom on both o' t' fins.

At this point I be left with 3 decals. 2 were yellow stripes that were obviously intended t' wrap around t' BT. T' third was a long skinny hatch like thing. Avast! Aye aye! All t' decals thus far had been placed by lookin' at t' facecard. The problem was I couldn't see t' yellow stripes on t' facecard or t' little hatch-like thing. Begad! I fired off a question to Starlight Rockets on TRF and smartly got a reply. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' yellows were t' go just for and aft o' t' solid blue. Aye aye! T' hatch thin' was moot since it managed t' blow away and be never seen again. Arrr! T' yellows were applied, closer together than they should have been because o' me placement o' t' blue, shiver me timbers, and t' decal application was complete.

T' decals were all good quality waterslides. If I were t' change anything, me hearties, matey, I think I would add some white backin' t' t' decals t' make them stand out a bit more against t' painted body but that may be incorrect for this model. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I simply don't know. Avast! Blimey! Mr. Avast! Blimey! Jablonski o' Starlight has informed me that t' instructions o' this and several other kits o' their line are due t' be upgraded with more explicitness in t' placement o' t' decals. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! That might be nice, but for t' most part, shiver me timbers, matey, t' locations were evident from t' face card and anyone wantin' t' be a stickler for accuracy can always use Google.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' maiden flight o' t' Jay Hawk be on an A8-3. Ahoy! Blimey! I installed a 9" nylon chute, arrr, inserted t' motor and took it out t' t' pad. It was favorably received by t' few who had arrived by that point. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' boost went well and, bein' a light rocket, me bucko, arrr, went pretty far for an A. Arrr! Blimey! Ejection occurred at apogee, arrr, possibly just before and t' chute deployed. Avast! Blimey! It drifted down gently and was ready t' be flown again. Aye aye! Blimey! A video o' t' first flight can be seen here.

For t' second flight I chose a B6-4 and prepped t' rocket as before. Avast, me proud beauty! By this time, me hearties, however, a few more people had arrived and t' Jay Hawk received some more favorable comments out at t' pad. Begad! Arrr! T' flight be again impressive in terms o' straightness and altitude. Begad! T' chute deployed and t' rocket drifted down in what looked like a perfect landing. Avast! When I got t' rocket back, ya bilge rat, though, me hearties, me bucko, it had apparently had a hard landing. Part o' one fin had snapped off. Well, blow me down! It will be repaired. Well, blow me down! A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a nice little rocket that looks good and flies well. Aye aye! Blimey! I cannot blame t' broken fin on t' kit; sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Besides, t' chute I used was smaller than t' recommended one.

Persons wishin' t' keep track o' this rocket are invited t' check it out here.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5