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. Ya scallywag! It has very easy construction, me bucko, and can fly on about any combination o' 1, 2, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 3, arrr, ya bilge rat, 4, 5, me bucko, 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, me bucko, (2) centerin' rings, me bucko, me hearties, (7) 29mm motor tubes (3 long, 4 short), (3) plywood fins, matey, a steel cable shock cord mount, a 36" fluorescent orange 'chute, shiver me timbers, a 1" wide black elastic shock cord, an ACE 3.9" nose cone, ya bilge rat, a 3.9" booster/payload coupler, ya bilge rat, a 1/2" launch lug, matey, and a plywood bulkhead with an eye hook for shock cord attachment. Begad! T' airframe tubin' be thick paper (like LOC tubing), and all o' t' parts were undamaged, and o' good quality.

T' kit had standard construction, and went together smoothly. T' only problem I had in construction was installin' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, arrr, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! When I did this, shiver me timbers, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, me bucko, and therefore left a bilge-suckin' gap along t' fin root. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Begad! Either way, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' rocket still went together very well, and looked very nice. Arrr! Avast! Blimey! It is quite large, too, (about 5 feet tall) so it stands out.

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight o' t' Night Hawk be at t' ROCC (Rocketry O' Central Carolina) November, ya bilge rat, matey, 2000 launch. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, arrr, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motors were friction fitted into place, matey, shiver me timbers, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. Ya scallywag! Blimey! So... Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I consulted some people, me bucko, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Despite this, me bucko, I took them, arrr, and loaded them into t' rocket, me hearties, and wired them in parallel. Ahoy! Blimey! Then, arrr, 5...4...3...2...1... Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! LIFTOFF! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All three motors lit, 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, me hearties, but t' 'chute was a bit too small, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Ahoy! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. Blimey! So... I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, arrr, t' fins, and t' fin roots. Avast, me proud beauty! T' process be messy, arrr, ya bilge rat, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Blimey! Begad! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Ahoy! Begad! So, arrr, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Then, matey, matey, t' rocket be once again primed, sanded, and painted. Avast! I painted it just gloss black this time, me bucko, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, me bucko, me hearties, t' slow down recovery speed, ya bilge rat, I left t' 36" 'chute on t' main body, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, shiver me timbers, so that each section could descend slowly, and separately. Ahoy! I also attached rail guides, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Now it be time for flight two. T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, matey, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This time around, I made sure I got good igniters, arrr, me bucko, 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. Aye aye! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, shiver me timbers, 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 hearties, matey, though). Ya scallywag! T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, matey, me bucko, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Begad! T' flight was great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

PROS: T' Night Hawk looks sharp, ya bilge rat, is easy t' build, me hearties, 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, me bucko, 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