Brief:

T' Night Hawk is an awesome (yet simple) 7x29mm cluster rocket made by THOY. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I received this rocket as a Christmas present a few years back. Begad! Blimey! It has very easy construction, and can fly on about any combination o' 1, matey, me bucko, 2, 3, ya bilge rat, 4, me bucko, 5, shiver me timbers, 6, me bucko, ya bilge rat, or 7 29mm motors.

Construction:

T' rocket came in a plastic bag with (1) long 3.9" airframe tube, matey, (1) short 3.9" payload tube, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, (2) centerin' rings, matey, (7) 29mm motor tubes (3 long, 4 short), me hearties, (3) plywood fins, me hearties, me bucko, a steel cable shock cord mount, a 36" fluorescent orange 'chute, a 1" wide black elastic shock cord, shiver me timbers, an ACE 3.9" nose cone, a 3.9" booster/payload coupler, a 1/2" launch lug, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and a plywood bulkhead with an eye hook for shock cord attachment. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' airframe tubin' be thick paper (like LOC tubing), and all o' t' parts were undamaged, and o' good quality.

T' kit had standard construction, arrr, shiver me timbers, and went together smoothly. Ahoy! Blimey! T' only problem I had in construction be installin' t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, me hearties, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, matey, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! When I did this, me bucko, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, and therefore left a nasty gap along t' fin root. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I solved t' problem by fillin' t' gap with putty, me hearties, but I do nay know if I aligned t' tubes incorrectly, or if t' tabs were cut too long. Either way, t' rocket still went together very well, shiver me timbers, and looked very nice. It is quite large, too, (about 5 feet tall) so it stands out.

Finishing:
In t' year betwixt construction and t' first flight o' this rocket, it went through three different paint schemes. Aye aye! I finally ended up with an all black body, matey, with U.S. Air Force decals on it. Aye aye! I painted it with sanded grey primer, and Krylon spray paint. I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, me hearties, arrr, and covered up t' nasty, me bucko, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Begad! Hey... Begad! Begad! I know it sounds cheap, me hearties, but it worked!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight o' t' Night Hawk be at t' ROCC (Rocketry O' Central Carolina) November, matey, 2000 launch. I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Avast, me proud beauty! T' motors were friction fitted into place, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. So... Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I consulted some people, me hearties, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Avast! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. Begad! He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Despite this, I took them, and loaded them into t' rocket, me bucko, and wired them in parallel. Then, me hearties, arrr, 5...4...3...2...1... LIFTOFF! All three motors lit, matey, and t' rocket ROARED off o' t' t' pad on an awesome column o' black smoke.

Recovery:

T' rocket ejected at apogee, but t' 'chute be a bit too small, arrr, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. Well, blow me down! So... Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, t' fins, me hearties, and t' fin roots. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' process be messy, matey, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Ya scallywag! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Avast! Well, blow me down! Blimey! So, matey, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! Then, matey, me bucko, t' rocket was once again primed, sanded, and painted. I painted it just gloss black this time, matey, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, t' slow down recovery speed, I left t' 36" 'chute on t' main body, arrr, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, so that each section could descend slowly, me bucko, and separately. Ahoy! Blimey! I also attached rail guides, ya bilge rat, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Aye aye! Blimey! Now it be time for flight two. Ahoy! T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, me hearties, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Ya scallywag! This time around, ya bilge rat, I made sure I got good igniters, arrr, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. Begad! Blimey! T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, and t' Night Hawk roared off o' t' rail into t' sky on a light trail o' Blue Thunder smoke with a little blue flame at ignition (I had t' look hard, shiver me timbers, though). T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. T' flight be great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

PROS: T' Night Hawk looks sharp, is easy t' build, arrr, and flies great on about any motor combination you can think of... Avast! but make sure you build it strongly! CONS: T' chute is a bit too small, shiver me timbers, you must make sure you line t' motor tube gaps with t' fin slots, ya bilge rat, and t' flight cost is goin' t' be more than single motor flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5