Brief:
This is a nice scale model o' t' Navy's AQM-37 Jayhawk. Arrr! It features high quality components and flies on 29mm motors. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! 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, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! These are nay as extensive as some but are more than adequate for even relatively inexperienced builders. Blimey! Begad! 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, arrr, which consists o' t' tail cone, me bucko, shiver me timbers, motor mount, me hearties, and a forward centerin' ring. Aye aye! Blimey! I decided that I wanted t' add positive retention so I attached all-thread atop o' a thin spacer t' t' motor mount. Blimey! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! It fits in a notch on the rin' and is tied t' t' nylon cord. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! 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. Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' issue here be t' attachment o' t' side winglets. Blimey! Madcow warns that they tend t' snap off on landin' and offers two options. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! One is t' attach them lightly so they will snap off easily and without damage. T' other option is to try t' make them bulletproof. Blimey! I thought about usin' a larger chute (and probably will anyway) but decided t' snap away idea be t' way t' go. Begad! I was afraid that t' thin pointy tips would take a beatin' even if t' fins stay on. Begad! You could glass them, but I didn't really want to. Ahoy!

T' nosecone build was interesting. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Due t' t' problems associated with attachin' parts to the plastic cone, arrr, t' canards employ a unique mountin' technique. You drill holes in t' cone and insert t' provided dowel (cut in half). Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! These dowels mate with slots in t' canards so t' structural support is independent o' t' bond with t' plastic. I had two problems but neither affected t' results. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! First, t' dowel provided be warped and if you cut it t' t' specified lengths they are about 1/8" short. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! They recommend addin' t' weight t' t' shoulder section as weight in t' tip is subject to comin' loose. 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I then added lead shot and epoxy through a ½" hole drilled in the cone's shoulder. Begad! Blimey! My completed model weighs in at 25oz. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I noticed this is a little heavier than t' other reviewer's model and quite a bit over t' quoted number.

Finally, arrr, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' instructions referred to newer plastic primers for t' plastic cone. Ahoy! I'd had never used any and thought I'd try Rustoleum Plastic primer. I initially painted t' nose cone tip with Krylon H2O black. H2O over plastic primer seemed like a good idea. Avast, me proud beauty! After that had dried, me bucko, I masked t' tip and shot Plasti-Kote primer on t' canards and over t' plastic primer on t' base. Avast, me proud beauty! Primer over primer? This worked OK and saved maskin' t' base o' t' cone. Aye aye! I then shot Testor's Competition Orange on. Aye aye! So far so good. Begad! Then, matey, however, t' Frog Tape that I used t' mask t' tip lifted 50% o' t' H2O off. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I removed t' rest and repainted with t' only other black I had on hand--Rustoleum Hammered Black. Arrr! I sprayed this into t' plastic top from a pack o' Estes engines and brushed it on. Avast! Avast! T' cone actually turned out OK. Begad! Avast!

T' body was more straightforward with Plasti-Kote primer and Testor's Competition Orange. T' kit comes with a lot o' decals and they are good quality. Well, blow me down! I did a lot o' repositionin' and t' only problem was one small corner folded under. Arrr! As I was tryin' t' unfold it, t' edge broke off. Blimey! Aye aye! Barely noticeable.

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew t' Jayhawk at MDRA's Red Glare V launch. Avast! Blimey! All t' recommended motors are Fs so I opted for an F42-4 EconoJet for t' maiden flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' -8 seemed too long and I'd rather see t' delay too short than too long. Aye aye! Blimey! I used a tape thrust rin' in lieu o' t' F42's cardboard rin' and added a small washer on t' retention bolt. Ya scallywag! Avast! Blimey! I upgraded t' a 42" chute and added t' provided one t' t' range box supply. Ya scallywag! 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 was early and, because t' cone is so heavy, shiver me timbers, t' body slammed into it. Begad! Blimey! Luckily, 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. Ahoy! This seemed a little odd since it was on a surface taperin' away from t' body. Avast! Blimey!

Despite t' bigger chute, shiver me timbers, t' fillets on both winglets both had stress cracks in their fillets. Although not totally unexpected, 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. Blimey! Begad! However, me general sense is that this kit is more subject t' landing damage unless you went hog wild in its construction. Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs:

• This is an awesome lookin' kit.
• Despite its unique looks, 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, shiver me timbers, fillin' t' divot, and will fly her on a G71 next. Avast, me proud beauty! I'm probably goin' t' use a separate chute for t' cone.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5