Picture Courtesy o' Blackhawk

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

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

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

T' rings fit a bit loosely, shiver me timbers, so you have t' be careful t' keep them level. Well, blow me down! I beveled t' leadin' and trailin' fin edges 22.5 degrees usin' a router table and a panel-raisin' bit. Ahoy! Arrr! I put a 1/4" slot in a piece o' masonite with a 4" diameter arc at one end t' align t' main fins. Avast! Avast! T' secondary fins were added later, shiver me timbers, arrr, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Aye aye! T' fin tabs were 1/16 t' 3/32" too long, and so t' fin roots were "elevated" off t' body tube, shiver me timbers, 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. Ya scallywag! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Avast, me proud beauty! I did this by nay securin' t' aft centerin' rin' until after the motor tube was glued in. This allowed me t' get into t' area betwixt the middle and aft rin' and glue (with thickened epoxy) t' T-nuts. Avast! Aye aye!

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

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

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

Finishing:
I didn't finish it. Avast! Well, blow me down! Considerin' what happened t' first flight (see below), that be a good idea.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Blackhawk R&D recommends t' I300-10, arrr, I2110-10, I357-6, I161-6, I156-6. I ended up usin' a Pro38 3-grain motor (384I205) with a 9-second delay. Blimey! Aye aye!

There is very little space t' place t' chute and shock cord. Avast! You need to pack it carefully t' fit. Well, blow me down!

There was a light wind.

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

Recovery:
On impact, one fin ripped off. Ya scallywag! T' payload bay had a slight crinkle. Begad! T' damage should be easily repairable, 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. Begad! Blimey! I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

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

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5