Brief:

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

Construction:

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

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

Finishing:
In t' year betwixt construction and t' first flight o' this rocket, shiver me timbers, it went through three different paint schemes. I finally ended up with an all black body, with U.S. Arrr! Air Force decals on it. Begad! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I painted it with sanded grey primer, and Krylon spray paint. Aye aye! I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Begad! Arrr! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, and covered up t' nasty, me hearties, me hearties, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Well, blow me down! Hey... Begad! Blimey! I know it sounds cheap, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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, matey, 2000 launch. Arrr! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Aye aye! T' motors were friction fitted into place, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. So... Aye aye! I consulted some people, arrr, shiver me timbers, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Blimey! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. Blimey! He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Despite this, ya bilge rat, I took them, and loaded them into t' rocket, arrr, and wired them in parallel. Then, 5...4...3...2...1... Blimey! LIFTOFF! All three motors lit, shiver me timbers, 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, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Begad! Blimey! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. Ahoy! Blimey! So... Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, t' fins, me bucko, and t' fin roots. Avast! Blimey! T' process was messy, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Ahoy! Blimey! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! So, arrr, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, arrr, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Aye aye! Blimey! Then, me hearties, t' rocket be once again primed, shiver me timbers, sanded, and painted. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I painted it just gloss black this time, shiver me timbers, 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, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, me bucko, arrr, me bucko, so that each section could descend slowly, matey, me hearties, matey, and separately. I also attached rail guides, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Begad! Blimey! Now it was time for flight two. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! This time around, ya bilge rat, I made sure I got good igniters, arrr, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. Begad! Blimey! T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Aye aye! Blimey! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, shiver me timbers, arrr, 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). Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, me bucko, matey, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Begad! Blimey! T' flight was great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5