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, 8 nicely cut 1/4" plywood fins, 3 1/4" plywood centerin' rings, bulkhead plate, U-bolts, 10' tubular nylon, parachute, me bucko, launch lug, ya bilge rat, and nose cone. Arrr! All around high quality material. However, thar was no provision t' attach t' nose cone to t' payload bay. Begad! You have t' supply your own hardware for that. Ya scallywag! You also have t' supply motor retention hardware. Begad! Blimey! On t' other hand, t' U-bolts came securely attached t' t' appropriate rings.

T' instructions seemed t' be for a generic high power rocket. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. However, a beginner t' high power could have trouble, as some steps weren't clear, me bucko, and t' third centerin' rin' wasn't even mentioned. Ahoy! Aye aye!

T' rings fit a bit loosely, so you have t' be careful t' keep them level. I beveled t' leadin' and trailin' fin edges 22.5 degrees usin' a router table and a panel-raisin' bit. Blimey! I put a 1/4" slot in a piece o' masonite with a 4" diameter arc at one end t' align t' main fins. Blimey! T' secondary fins were added later, arrr, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Begad! Begad! T' fin tabs were 1/16 t' 3/32" too long, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and so t' fin roots were "elevated" off t' body tube, arrr, requirin' a fillet under them.

I added a PML modular baffle at t' top o' t' motor mount, matey, and T-nuts for motor retention at t' aft centerin' ring. Aye aye! Arrr! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Aye aye! I did this by nay securin' t' aft centerin' rin' until after the motor tube be glued in. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! 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. Aye aye! Arrr!

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. Considerin' what happened t' first flight (see below), that was a good idea.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Blackhawk R&D recommends t' I300-10, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I2110-10, arrr, I357-6, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I161-6, I156-6. Begad! I ended up usin' a Pro38 3-grain motor (384I205) with a 9-second delay.

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

There was a light wind.

Immediately after leavin' t' rail, ya bilge rat, 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. Begad! T' payload bay had a slight crinkle. Avast, me proud beauty! T' damage should be easily repairable, ya bilge rat, 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

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

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5