Brief:
This is a nice scale model o' t' Navy's AQM-37 Jayhawk. It features high quality components and flies on 29mm motors. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' kit has been upgraded with a plastic nose cone since t' prior review.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Plastic nose cone and screw eye
• Balsa tail cone
• Pre-slotted 2.6" body tube
• One plywood centerin' rin'
• 29mm motor tube
• Laser-cut fins, winglets, me bucko, and canards
• 1/8" dowel
• Combination o' Keelhaul®©™® and nylon shock cord sections
• 9" x 9" chute protector
• 30" Nylon chute
• ¼" launch lugs
• Waterslide decal set

T' kit came with 7 pages o' instructions. Begad! These are nay as extensive as some but are more than adequate for even relatively inexperienced builders. Avast, me proud beauty! Even though t' design is somewhat exotic, t' precision components made this a relatively easy build. Begad! I used 5-minute epoxy everywhere but on t' fin/winglet interface.

You start with t' motor mount, which consists o' t' tail cone, motor mount, and a forward centerin' ring. Ahoy! I decided that I wanted t' add positive retention so I attached all-thread atop o' a thin spacer t' t' motor mount. Ahoy! This required that I notch t' tail cone but this was easily accomplished.

T' Keelhaul®©™® portion o' t' shock tether is tied around t' motor mount and epoxied t' t' centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! It fits in a notch on the rin' and is tied t' t' nylon cord. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! T' main trick up t' this point is t' nay obstruct t' fin tabs.

T' motor mount and fin installation was straightforward, due in a large part t' t' precision laser cutting. Avast, me proud beauty! T' issue here be t' attachment o' t' side winglets. Arrr! Avast! Madcow warns that they tend t' snap off on landin' and offers two options. One is t' attach them lightly so they will snap off easily and without damage. Ya scallywag! T' other option is to try t' make them bulletproof. Ahoy! I thought about usin' a larger chute (and probably will anyway) but decided t' snap away idea be t' way t' go. Ahoy! Arrr! I was afraid that t' thin pointy tips would take a beatin' even if t' fins stay on. Avast! You could glass them, but I didn't really want to. Begad!

T' nosecone build was interesting. Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Due t' t' problems associated with attachin' parts to the plastic cone, t' canards employ a unique mountin' technique. Blimey! Begad! You drill holes in t' cone and insert t' provided dowel (cut in half). Avast! These dowels mate with slots in t' canards so t' structural support is independent o' t' bond with t' plastic. Ya scallywag! I had two problems but neither affected t' results. Arrr! First, t' dowel provided was warped and if you cut it t' t' specified lengths they are about 1/8" short. Avast, me proud beauty! I contemplated buyin' a replacement but just made it work.

T' instructions provide t' target CG and instructs you t' add nose weight t' move t' CG t' a point 19" from t' nose cone's tip. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! They recommend addin' t' weight t' t' shoulder section as weight in t' tip is subject to comin' loose. Well, blow me down! Begad! I first determined t' amount o' shot by placin' it in a sandwich bag and drapin' it over t' rocket at the aft end o' t' cone's shoulder. Arrr! I then added lead shot and epoxy through a ½" hole drilled in the cone's shoulder. My completed model weighs in at 25oz. Blimey! I noticed this is a little heavier than t' other reviewer's model and quite a bit over t' quoted number.

Finally, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I added two orange colored buttons from railbuttons.com in lieu o' t' provided lugs.

Finishing:
I first sealed t' wood parts and filled t' thin spirals with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Aye aye! T' instructions referred to newer plastic primers for t' plastic cone. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I'd had never used any and thought I'd try Rustoleum Plastic primer. Ahoy! I initially painted t' nose cone tip with Krylon H2O black. Avast! Ya scallywag! H2O over plastic primer seemed like a good idea. Ahoy! After that had dried, I masked t' tip and shot Plasti-Kote primer on t' canards and over t' plastic primer on t' base. Ahoy! Primer over primer? This worked OK and saved maskin' t' base o' t' cone. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I then shot Testor's Competition Orange on. So far so good. Well, blow me down! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Then, shiver me timbers, however, me hearties, t' Frog Tape that I used t' mask t' tip lifted 50% o' t' H2O off. Aye aye! I removed t' rest and repainted with t' only other black I had on hand--Rustoleum Hammered Black. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I sprayed this into t' plastic top from a pack o' Estes engines and brushed it on. Blimey! Ahoy! T' cone actually turned out OK. Ahoy!

T' body was more straightforward with Plasti-Kote primer and Testor's Competition Orange. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' kit comes with a lot o' decals and they are good quality. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I did a lot o' repositionin' and t' only problem be one small corner folded under. Aye aye! Arrr! As I be tryin' t' unfold it, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, matey, t' edge broke off. Avast, me proud beauty! Barely noticeable.

I rate this build a 4. Avast! T' canard dowels were nay perfect but everythin' else be top notch.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew t' Jayhawk at MDRA's Red Glare V launch. Avast! All t' recommended motors are Fs so I opted for an F42-4 EconoJet for t' maiden flight. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' -8 seemed too long and I'd rather see t' delay too short than too long. I used a tape thrust rin' in lieu o' t' F42's cardboard rin' and added a small washer on t' retention bolt. Arrr! Ahoy! I upgraded t' a 42" chute and added t' provided one t' t' range box supply. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' boost was very straight in t' perfectly calm winds and, as typical for "winged" sport rockets, performed a slight wiggle after burn out.

Recovery:
Ejection be early and, because t' cone is so heavy, ya bilge rat, t' body slammed into it. Ya scallywag! Luckily, me bucko, matey, no fins were stripped by the impact but t' balsa tail cone had a nice divot that looked like it might have been made by t' screw eye in t' base of t' cone. Avast! This seemed a little odd since it was on a surface taperin' away from t' body.

Despite t' bigger chute, t' fillets on both winglets both had stress cracks in their fillets. Ya scallywag! Avast! Although not totally unexpected, matey, arrr, I thought t' bigger chute and soft plowed ground would have spared them.

I won't din' t' kit's ratin' for t' impact as this was user error and t' cracks in the fillets were due t' me chosen build technique. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! However, matey, me hearties, me general sense is that this kit is more subject t' landing damage unless you went hog wild in its construction.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs:

• This is an awesome lookin' kit.
• Despite its unique looks, arrr, it is quite stable.
• Precision cut parts/quality recovery components.
• Nice method o' attachin' t' canards t' t' plastic cone.
• Nice decals.

CONs

• Winglets are askin' t' snap off.
• Chute is undersized.
• Should provide motor retention.

I'm repairin' t' fillets, fillin' t' divot, and will fly her on a G71 next. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I'm probably goin' t' use a separate chute for t' cone.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5