Brief:
As a kid I liked t' looks o' t' Jay Hawk but never had one. Well, blow me down! When Starlight introduced their kit, shiver me timbers, I ordered it and it has been sittin' around since. Avast! I was up t' me eyeballs in other projects but again found myself in a situation where valuable rocket time was goin' t' waste because I was waitin' for glue or paint t' dry, waitin' for parts, ya bilge rat, or just plain tired o' sanding. I saw t' Jay Hawk bag beckonin' too me and all o' t' sudden I had another project t' juggle.

T' Jay Hawk is a semi-scale o' t' old target drone. Begad! Blimey! It looked simple but nice, arrr, shiver me timbers, designed t' fly on 18mm motors and recover with a chute. It is marketed as a skill level 2 kit and that seems about right with today's inflated scales.

Construction:
Construction begins by markin' off t' motor tube for t' engine hook, makin' a mark, ya bilge rat, and then a slit t' insert the hook. When t' hook be in place, t' thrust rin' be glued right above it and t' edges were filleted.

T' kit came with two centerin' rings. Avast! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Both were extremely tight and had t' be sanded and even trimmed a bit with a razor t' slip over t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Once they did fit, they were glued in place and filleted with yellow glue.

T' fins were o' good quality balsa and were removed from t' parent material. Blimey! Although t' instructions made no mention o' this, arrr, arrr, I rounded t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Blimey! T' little finlets mounted forward were also rounded on the leading, trailing, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and outer edges.

T' nose cone be made o' plastic and came in 2 pieces. Arrr! Blimey! Unlike t' Estes cones, this one had no visible seam. Aye aye! The base be glued into place with a bit o' epoxy I had mixed for another project.

T' outer parts o' t' fins (rudders?) were lightly sanded and then glued along their centerlines t' t' outer edges o' t' fins with a double glue joint o' yellow glue. Avast! A steel ruler was used t' ensure that t' angle betwixt the two pieces was a right angle.

At this point I added a step since t' kit included a stick on shock cord mount reminiscent o' what Centuri used t' provide. Instead o' doin' this, arrr, I wanted t' attach Keelhaul®©™® t' t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I tied a length o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor mount just abaft o' t' forward centerin' rin' and then laid another yellow glue fillet over it to hold it in place. Aye aye! When it dried, t' rin' was notched t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™®.

When t' glue on t' shock cord was dry, ya bilge rat, matey, I passed t' cord through t' motor tube and then swabbed t' inside of t' BT with yellow glue. I pushed t' motor mount in and had just gotten everythin' aligned when I realized that I had shoved it into t' wrong end. Oops! Blimey! I was able t' pull it back out, me bucko, clean out t' glue, shiver me timbers, and then reinstalled it correctly.

It might be legitimately asked why it mattered which end o' t' BT t' motor mount was installed in since nothing had been done with t' BT yet. Well, blow me down! T' reason is that Starlight ships its body tubes with t' fin and lug lines already marked. Arrr! Ahoy! That bein' t' case, it is nice t' have t' main fins at t' same end o' t' rocket as t' motor.

T' first fin was mounted with yellow glue and a double glue joint along one o' t' pre-marked lines. Begad! When it was in place, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, it was carefully checked for alignment and t' make sure it extended at t' proper angle. Aye aye! After t' first fin had dried, me hearties, t' second be placed in t' same manner.

T' forward finlets were likewise applied in t' same manner along t' provided lines. Begad! T' launch lug was also glued into place along its line. Avast! While t' glue was drying, ya bilge rat, arrr, I also went ahead and tied t' provided elastic t' the Keelhaul®©™® anchor.

When t' glue had a full day t' dry, matey, I used Tightbond Moldin' and Trim glue t' apply fillets along all t' fin joints and t' launch lug. Begad! Aye aye! I cannot stress enough how pleased I am with this product in this role. Arrr! (Thanks t' Luke Strawalker o' TRF for tellin' me about it.)

As t' fillets were drying, I went ahead and tied t' nose cone onto elastic. Ya scallywag! With that, t' construction was done and it was time t' move t' t' finishing.

Finishing:
T' first step in t' finishin' process was t' fill t' grain and I did so usin' Elmer's Wood Filler. Well, blow me down! It was brushed on and then left for a few days t' dry. Ahoy! Arrr! T' sandin' process was then begun and I was reminded o' t' wisdom o' often doin' this before t' fins are installed. Avast! Begad! My big hands and fat fingers had a hard time gettin' into t' crevasses but eventually it was done.

After t' sanding, shiver me timbers, t' rocket got a trip t' t' spray booth and be primed with Kilz. Avast, me proud beauty! That too got a day t' dry and it needed some more sanding. Begad! Well, blow me down! Instead o' sprayin' on more primer though, I gave it a coat o' regular white paint. After another day for t' white t' dry, T' rocket was painted with several thin coats o' fluorescent red until the color built up deeply.

T' application o' t' decals started off easy with t' puttin' on o' t' USAF roundels on either o' t' vertical stabilizers. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Then came a hatch just abaft o' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Another hatch was placed on t' dorsal surface betwixt the fins. Arrr! Begad! Abaft o' t' forward hatch was placed a thick dashed line. Aye aye! And behind that went t' name, "Jayhawk". Even with t' name but on t' sides instead o' t' top or bottom were placed t' larger US roundels. A thicker dashed line be provided t' be placed around t' BT aft, well within t' fin area. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I cut t' stripe in half and placed one half on t' dorsal surface. Ya scallywag! T' other half was again cut in half t' fit around t' launch lug and both halves were placed on t' ventral surface. Probably t' most difficult decal t' apply be a red stripe that ran around t' nose and twice contained t' text, "target". It be nay really hard but needed some workin' t' get properly into place. Ya scallywag! I managed t' finally get t' ends o' t' stripe t' meet up and then realized I had placed it with t' text upside down in relation t' t' rest o' t' rocket. Ahoy! After that was t' first o' t' "mystery" pieces. Avast! It be a little blue circle with a cross in t' middle. Avast, me proud beauty! I have no idea what it represents but t' placement was clearly shown on t' face card on t' dorsal surface near t' hypothetical apex o' t' angle formed by t' fins. Avast! I placed t' solid blue stripe just t' t' aft o' t' roundels and name. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I be t' learn later that this was too far forward. Ahoy! A set o' 4 decals represented t' ailerons. These were placed top and bottom on both o' t' fins.

At this point I was left with 3 decals. Blimey! Ahoy! 2 were yellow stripes that were obviously intended t' wrap around t' BT. T' third was a long skinny hatch like thing. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! All t' decals thus far had been placed by lookin' at t' facecard. Avast, me proud beauty! The problem was I couldn't see t' yellow stripes on t' facecard or t' little hatch-like thing. Begad! Begad! I fired off a question to Starlight Rockets on TRF and smartly got a reply. Aye aye! T' yellows were t' go just for and aft o' t' solid blue. Ya scallywag! T' hatch thin' was moot since it managed t' blow away and was never seen again. Avast, me proud beauty! T' yellows were applied, me hearties, closer together than they should have been because o' me placement o' t' blue, ya bilge rat, and t' decal application was complete.

T' decals were all good quality waterslides. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! If I were t' change anything, I think I would add some white backin' t' t' decals t' make them stand out a bit more against t' painted body but that may be incorrect for this model. Begad! I simply don't know. Avast, me proud beauty! Mr. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Jablonski o' Starlight has informed me that t' instructions o' this and several other kits o' their line are due t' be upgraded with more explicitness in t' placement o' t' decals. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! That might be nice, but for t' most part, t' locations were evident from t' face card and anyone wantin' t' be a stickler for accuracy can always use Google.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' maiden flight o' t' Jay Hawk was on an A8-3. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I installed a 9" nylon chute, inserted t' motor and took it out t' t' pad. Aye aye! It was favorably received by t' few who had arrived by that point. T' boost went well and, bein' a light rocket, me hearties, went pretty far for an A. Ejection occurred at apogee, arrr, possibly just before and t' chute deployed. Avast, me proud beauty! It drifted down gently and was ready t' be flown again. Begad! A video o' t' first flight can be seen here.

For t' second flight I chose a B6-4 and prepped t' rocket as before. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! By this time, however, a few more people had arrived and t' Jay Hawk received some more favorable comments out at t' pad. Aye aye! Begad! T' flight be again impressive in terms o' straightness and altitude. Aye aye! T' chute deployed and t' rocket drifted down in what looked like a perfect landing. Blimey! Aye aye! When I got t' rocket back, arrr, though, it had apparently had a hard landing. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Part o' one fin had snapped off. Avast! Ya scallywag! It will be repaired. Ahoy! Aye aye! A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This be a nice little rocket that looks good and flies well. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I cannot blame t' broken fin on t' kit; sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Ahoy! Besides, t' chute I used was smaller than t' recommended one.

Persons wishin' t' keep track o' this rocket are invited t' check it out here. Well, blow me down!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5