Picture Courtesy o' Blackhawk

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

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

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

T' rings fit a bit loosely, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I put a 1/4" slot in a piece o' masonite with a 4" diameter arc at one end t' align t' main fins. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' secondary fins were added later, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Begad! T' fin tabs were 1/16 t' 3/32" too long, arrr, 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, me hearties, and T-nuts for motor retention at t' aft centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Blimey! Blimey! I did this by nay securin' t' aft centerin' rin' until after the motor tube be glued in. This allowed me t' get into t' area betwixt the middle and aft rin' and glue (with thickened epoxy) t' T-nuts.

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

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

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

Finishing:
I didn't finish it. Blimey! 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, I2110-10, matey, I357-6, I161-6, I156-6. I ended up usin' a Pro38 3-grain motor (384I205) with a 9-second delay. Ya scallywag!

There is very little space t' place t' chute and shock cord. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! You need to pack it carefully t' fit. Aye aye! Blimey!

There was a light wind.

Immediately after leavin' t' rail, shiver me timbers, t' rocket went into skywriter mode, did about 4 full loops, ya bilge rat, and landsharked under full power. Ahoy! Ejection occurred after t' landshark.

Recovery:
On impact, arrr, matey, one fin ripped off. Avast, me proud beauty! T' payload bay had a slight crinkle. 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. I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

DEFINITELY ADD NOSE WEIGHT. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This rocket is unstable if built accordin' to the manufacturer's instructions. If anything, me bucko, me CG was forward o' standard, ya bilge rat, 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. Arrr! Lots o' people were wondering where I got it. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! If only t' vendor would talk about nose weight in the instructions, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' flight ratin' would have been higher (e.g., me hearties, about a 4, I bet).

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5