Brief:

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

Construction:

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

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

Finishing:
In t' year betwixt construction and t' first flight o' this rocket, matey, ya bilge rat, it went through three different paint schemes. Arrr! I finally ended up with an all black body, arrr, shiver me timbers, me hearties, with U.S. Air Force decals on it. Blimey! I painted it with sanded grey primer, matey, matey, and Krylon spray paint. Arrr! I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Begad! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, arrr, and covered up t' nasty, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Hey... Aye aye! 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, me hearties, 2000 launch. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motors were friction fitted into place, me bucko, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. So... Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I consulted some people, ya bilge rat, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Aye aye! Blimey! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. Ahoy! Blimey! He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Arrr! Blimey! Despite this, arrr, I took them, and loaded them into t' rocket, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and wired them in parallel. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Then, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 5...4...3...2...1... Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! LIFTOFF! Blimey! All three motors lit, me bucko, and t' rocket ROARED off o' t' t' pad on an awesome column o' black smoke.

Recovery:

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5