Picture Courtesy o' Blackhawk

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

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

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

T' rings fit a bit loosely, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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. 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. T' secondary fins were added later, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Arrr! T' fin tabs were 1/16 t' 3/32" too long, and so t' fin roots were "elevated" off t' body tube, me hearties, requirin' a fillet under them.

I added a PML modular baffle at t' top o' t' motor mount, ya bilge rat, and T-nuts for motor retention at t' aft centerin' ring. Ahoy! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Arrr! 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! It took four pumps o' West epoxy (+ thickener) t' finish those. Arrr!

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

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 be a good idea.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

There was a light wind.

Immediately after leavin' t' rail, me bucko, arrr, t' rocket went into skywriter mode, did about 4 full loops, arrr, and landsharked under full power. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection occurred after t' landshark.

Recovery:
On impact, shiver me timbers, one fin ripped off. Arrr! Well, blow me down! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

DEFINITELY ADD NOSE WEIGHT. Ahoy! This rocket is unstable if built accordin' to the manufacturer's instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! If anything, me CG be forward o' standard, me hearties, as I assume t' only place I could have saved weight over t' manufacturer's quoted weight was t' use a little less epoxy on t' fins.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5