Madcow Rocketry Hawk MIM-23B

Madcow Rocketry - Hawk MIM-23B {Kit} (K-116)

Contributed by Patrick Bissonnette

Construction Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 2.60 inches
Manufacturer: Madcow Rocketry
Style: Scale
Madcow Rocketry MIM23b

Brief:
T' U.S. Ahoy! Army MIM-23B Hawk is another beautiful model from Madcow Rocketry. Begad! Aye aye! It can be purchased in either 29mm or 38mm motors options. Aye aye! My brother chose t' 29mm because those motors would fit his budget better. Avast! Arrr!

This review was followed by me as me brother built most o' it.

Construction:
T' kit includes:

  • 1 Plastic cone with eye bolt
  • 1 Balsa tail cone
  • 1 Pre-slotted 2.6in body tube
  • 1 29mm motor tube
  • 1 Centerin' ring
  • 4 Laser cut fins
  • 1 Keelhaul®©™® shock cord section
  • 1 Nylon shock cord section
  • 1 Nomex® heat shield
  • 1 24in chute
  • 2 1/4in launch lugs
  • 1 Set o' vinyl decals
  • 1 1/8in spruce tip stock
Madcow Rocketry MIM23b

T' components in this kit are all top notch. Blimey! T' Nomex® heat shield and Keelhaul®©™® cord are nice additions.

My brother built 90% o' t' kit. Well, blow me down! I followed along as he built it so I could help out and get this review written. Although this be his first MPR kit t' build thar was no trouble. Avast, me proud beauty! I can't say t' instructions are all that great. Ya scallywag! It could use some extra illustrations for t' beginner, but we really didn't use them anyway.

Elmer's Wood Glue, 5min epoxy, and a little JB Weld was used throughout t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Begad!

Madcow Rocketry MIM23b Everythin' was pretty much built stock. Avast! T' only big thin' we added was motor retention. Madcow expects you t' friction fit t' motors. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! That's fine for SU motors, but I'm nay goin' t' risk reload casings that way. Avast! Ahoy! I added 2 T-nuts t' t' bottom o' t' tail cone. Blimey! I plan on usin' small washers t' hold t' motor in.

Finishing:
My brother decided t' deviate from t' scale paint job and attempt somethin' a bit more challenging. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! Rather than maskin' t' rocket, he painted t' body tube before t' fins were on. Ahoy! Blimey! This be a bad idea because I had t' sand away some o' t' paint before attachin' t' fins and it messed t' paint job up a bit. Begad! Blimey! Paints used were Testors Jade Green Metal Flake, matey, Testors Chrome, me bucko, and Model Masters Metallic Black. Ahoy! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Madcow Rocketry MIM23b

Flight and Recovery:
We finally flew it. Ya scallywag! We were plannin' on gettin' 2 flights, but only got 1. T' first flight was on an F40-7 (recommended motor) T' boost was great. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Unfortunately t' delay was way too long and t' deployment zippered it about 7in. Begad! It is repairable and we plan one flyin' it on a G next.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
It is sturdy and should be able t' take up through a mid H motor. Well, blow me down! I would recommend this rocket t' anyone lookin' for a new mid power rocket. Blimey! Avast! T' instructions could use some work for a beginner and I think addin' motor retention would be a nice touch too. Avast!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Madcow Rocketry Hawk MIM-23B By Mike McFadden (April 20, 2008)

    Picture courtesy of Madcow Rocketry      Brief: Modified for dual deploy. 24" Drogue and a 36" main. A 38mm and 1/4" plywood fins were also added. Construction: 15.5" and 10.5" body tubes, 4 1/4" plywood fins, 1 1/8" centering ring, 1 balsa tail cone, plastic nose cone, 36" chute, chute protector, Kevlar ® ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
V.P.I. (April 13, 2010)
Nice review! I purchased the Hawk after reading this review. A great kit overall and it always draws comments at the range. A great flier too! I cut a channel in the tail cone along the motor mount and used JB Weld to mount about 6" of 3/16" diameter threaded rod for motor retention. I found the included nylon shock cord to be a little short for my weighted nose cone. (My first flight resulted in some fin damage when the nose hit one of the fins at ejection.) While it was down for the fin repair I converted it to a zipperless + baffle design and added a longer harness.

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