Hawk Mountain Enterprises Transonic

Hawk Mountain Enterprises - Transonic {Kit}

Contributed by Darren Wright

Rating
(Contributed - by Darren Wright)

Brief:
A 38mm minimum diameter all fiberglass rocket o' unparalleled quality.

Rocket Pic

Construction:
T' rocket airframe is spiral wound solid fiberglass tubing. Ya scallywag! T' kit included the main airframe plus a payload section, with a fiberglass coupler and plywood bulkhead. Aye aye! Blimey! T' nose cone is solid resin, with no castin' marks. Arrr! T' fins are the molded Acme 38mm fin canister. Motor retention is provided by an AeroPak 38mm aluminum retainer. T' shock cord is Keelhaul®©™®, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' chute by Rocketman, and Alan also included a Nomex® heat shield. Alan even included t' Acme conformal launch lugs.

Rocket PicFor a rocket that can break Mach 1 without a sweat, this is one easy rocket t' put together. Begad! Blimey! T' hardest part is milling out t' bottom o' t' fin canister t' fit over t' AeroPak retainer....just cosmetic. Arrr! T' whole kit can be easily put together in t' time it takes 30min epoxy t' dry. Arrr! Just make sure that you sand all o' t' areas t' be epoxied....remember, it's fiberglass, me hearties, and has t' be grooved. Because o' t' fin canister, this kit is as easy as t' Estes E2X kits....I would consider it "almost ready t' fly"!

Finishing:
What can I say? Solid fiberglass...no spiral lines, a nose cone without any injection marks....this rocket is almost pristine. Ya scallywag! T' fin canister be t' only part that needs a little work. Arrr! Well, blow me down! But a coat o' finishin' epoxy, and you are in business.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I've flown it 3 times now. Arrr! I195J, I211W, I435T. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' 195J came in ballistic because o' a bad ejection charge. Avast, me proud beauty! Alan sent me a new airframe and it has been rebuilt. Blimey! T' I435T broke mach. Avast, me proud beauty! Because o' t' Nomex® shield, no waddin' is required. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' flight was arrow straight right up t' 5000' and came down quite fast on that tiny chute. Begad! I'd love t' see one o' t' bigger Kosdon motors in this tiny thing.

Recovery:
T' chute is small, but still tough t' get into t' frame. Alan suggests using a twistin' motion t' slip it into t' frame. Ahoy! Blimey! I packed t' cord in first, and then t' chute lines, me bucko, followed by t' chute. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' recovery is very fast on the tiny chute, but that is intended because o' t' super high flights. Ahoy! Blimey! T' Acme canister can take quite a beating, shiver me timbers, however. Ahoy! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Rocket Pic

Summary:
This has got t' be t' highest quality kit I have put together t' date. Begad! Ahoy! Alan took every great product on t' market and put a kit together. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' only problem is that I want t' fly a 54mm J800! Guess what....the Transonic II be t' 54mm version! T' kits are, arrr, however, shiver me timbers, very expensive. Ya scallywag! But, me bucko, shiver me timbers, thar's always room for the Ferrari. Arrr! Blimey!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Hawk Mountain Enterprises Transonic By Stephen Pellegrino

    Brief: A high altitude, 38mm minimum diameter, fiberglass, mach capable rocket. Very high quality parts. Construction: 2 fiberglass 38mm diameter body tubes. One main tube and one payload section. Includes a fin can made of high impact plastic and fiberglass. Approximately 8ft of 3/8" Kevlar ® strap, and a Kevlar ® reinforced Nomex ® heat pad. A Rocketman ...

Flights

Comments:

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S.S. (May 1, 2001)
I have flown the Transonic about 6 times now and it is a great rocket. Several things-it takes some dexterity to glue the shock cord to the inside of the airframe- I glued mine farther down the tube than recommended to leave more room for the chute-I used a dowel with sand paper on it to scuff up the inside of the airframe. It is VERY important to get the fin can on squarely-straight, it is easy to do if you take some time. I also came up with positive nose cone retention to the payload section I used plastic gromets-that are removable. The components are top quality and the instructions are excellent-they even include some altitude simulations. I recommend the Transonic highly-along with Hawk Mountain-their service is great.
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P.B. (June 1, 2001)
I have the Raptor & Transsonic 2. I scratch built the Transonic 1 but wanted a longer frame 60" so I used and extra tube and coupler. If you want more 'chute room don"t glue the shockcord to anything. Run the shockcord through air frame, double it over and sew with Kevlar thread. Glue with CA to hold in place while sewing. Shockcord fold is about 1/4". Slid in your Aerotech motor, pull shockcord to motor aft closer folded over tab point to nozzle and screw on an Aeropack retainer. Now you have a nice smooth surface inside your air frame with lots of extra inches for 'chute & whatever. The whole shockcord is now removable for inspection and replacement. It works. 18 flights on same shockcord. Must use flat shockcord. Works on any rocket with an Aeropack retainer.

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