Introduction:

T' Pratt Hobbies D region Tomahawk is a sport scale model o' t' NASA soundin' rocket. Blimey! It gets it's name from t' D-Region o' t' ionosphere, matey, which is about 75 t' 95 km above t' earth. Avast! This rocket is still in use by NASA to send instrument payloads into that region for scientific study. Aye aye! T' finished rocket is just over 26 inches tall and has t' distinction o' handlin' 18mm, 24mm, shiver me timbers, and 29mm rocket motors through t' use o' t' adapters provided with the kit. Begad!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

T' kit arrived in t' familiar clear plastic bag with no shippin' damage to any o' t' parts. Begad! T' body tube is considerably stiffer than your standard Estes tube, as it is designed t' take t' force o' a "G" motor. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! There are various lengths and sizes o' tubes for t' body and motor mount adapters, Centerin' rings, a plastic pre-weighted nose cone, Kevar shock cord, Nomex® cloth heatshield, me hearties, streamer material, arrr, a self adhesive decal, and fins laser cut from "Lite Ply" plywood. Avast! Arrr! T' fins are especially nice, bein' light, strong, and all cut exactly t' same. Ahoy! This saves time in t' finishin' o' the fins. Begad!

T' instructions come on two sheets o' yellow paper stapled together. Begad! There are few illustrations and they rely on t' text t' guide you through the construction o' t' kit. Ahoy! Begad! This is fine since this is nay a beginners rocket kit. T' instructions need t' be read carefully, arrr, so as nay t' miss any o' t' steps, as thar are sometimes several steps grouped together. Ahoy! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' instructions are laid out in a logical order, and thar be one template for fin alignment on the body tube.

T' construction o' t' Tomahawk is fairly easy and straight-foward. Ya scallywag! There are no tools needed, arrr, arrr, only glue, arrr, tape and sandpaper. T' kit is basically an 18" body tube with four fins, shiver me timbers, and a shorter upper body tube that attaches to t' nose cone. Arrr! At t' junction o' t' two body tubes is where t' rocket comes apart for recovery. Begad! They have a unique method for attachin' t' fins to the body tube that works extremely well. I be skeptical at first, but had to try it since it was in t' instructions. Avast! Ya scallywag! They apply glue t' t' root o' the fins, ya bilge rat, touch it t' t' body tube, matey, matey, and then remove it and set it aside. Begad! Once all of t' fins are done this way, then another layer o' glue is applied t' t' fin and t' attachment t' t' body tube is remarkable quick and strong, arrr, so quick, you can do all four fins in a matter o' minutes with white glue. Arrr! The instructions give you t' option o' sandin' a sharp edge on t' fins. Begad! Ya scallywag! Do this as it improves t' looks o' t' rocket and t' Lite Ply hold t' sharp edge sanded into it. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' instructions call for mountin' t' nose cone on t' nose cone shoulder, but that be already done in this kit. T' nose cone and the shoulder are pre- assembled, shiver me timbers, me hearties, weighted, me hearties, and filled with expandin' foam t' keep the nose weight in place. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Unfortunately t' nose cone was nay on straight when the kit arrived. Begad! One call t' Pratt Hobbies and a replacement be in t' mail, now that's great service. Begad! I then experimented with t' crooked nose cone. Aye aye! I ran a sharp knife blade around t' base o' t' nose cone and separated it from the shoulder. T' two parts stayed together since t' expandin' foam was still intact. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I then took t' upper main body tube and t' nose cone, ran liquid styrene plastic cement (the type that comes in a bottle with a brush) around the base o' t' nose cone. Blimey! Before that set, I then glued t' nose cone and shoulder into t' upper main body tube and held it together until t' glue set. This worked very well, arrr, me hearties, as t' nose cone be now glued t' t' shoulder as well as t' upper body tube, and also aligned properly. T' kit also includes two sizes o' launch lugs, 1/8" and 3/16" for low power and mid power motors. Blimey! I attached both t' t' rocket for future versatility. Avast! Arrr! T' motor mount adapters are simple t' construct, matey, arrr, and you have t' option o' leavin' them loose or gluin' them in place if you only intend t' use one size motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! There are instructions for both methods with t' kit. Aye aye! T' rocket is very strong when completed, it has t' be t' survive t' kick o' a "G" motor. Avast!

T' instructions on finishin' t' rocket are brief and t' t' point. Avast! The rocket is white, three fins are black and one red. T' self adhesive decal is then applied t' t' top o' t' rocket and you are done. Ahoy! I did nay like the color saturation o' t' decal, matey, it looks like an Avery label that is fed through an ink jet printer, so I masked and painted t' stripes on t' top o' the rocket as well. Arrr! This takes a little longer, but t' results are worth it. Avast! Begad! The final result is a sharp lookin' rocket that looks very close t' pictures I have seen o' t' real thing.

Flight/Recovery Rating: 4 out o' 5

T' recovery method for t' Tomahawk is by Streamer. Ahoy! T' kit comes with a four foot long three inch wide section o' yellow plastic "CAUTION" tape, ya bilge rat, t' type seen at construction sights. Aye aye! Arrr! The Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is also four feet long, and attached t' t' body tube coupler in t' nose cone section. Ahoy! Arrr! T' attachment t' t' lower section is by tyin' the cord t' a section o' body tube approximately one inch square with a hole in it, and then gluin' that into t' lower body tube. Be sure t' bow t' mount outwards since one side will nay touch t' wall if you don't. Arrr! On t' cord is threaded a piece o' flameproof yellow Nomex® cloth. Blimey! Aye aye! This is a nice feature that eliminates t' use o' wadding, and t' risk o' fire as well.

Be sure that you read t' instructions on preppin' t' Tomahawk for flight. T' adapters are tricky and t' heatshield needs t' fill t' body tube and protect t' bottom o' t' streamer. Ya scallywag! T' motors that you can use sound like a laundry list o' available motors on t' market! T' only ones missin' are those from Apogee Components. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' ones that Pratt has flown durin' testin' are; 18mm: Estes A8-3, ya bilge rat, me hearties, B6-4, ya bilge rat, C6-7, Aerotech RMS C6-7, D13-7, D24- 10T, me bucko, matey, and E27-4T, 24mm: Estes D12-7, me hearties, Aerotech E15-7, F24-10, Aerotech RMS D15-7T, arrr, E18-7, E28-7 and F12-5J, ya bilge rat, 29mm: Estes/NCR Dark Star F52-7, Aerotech Econojet G35-7, Aerotech RMS F22-5J, ya bilge rat, me bucko, F40-10, ya bilge rat, F52-11, me hearties, G33-7J and G64-10. What a list! T' stability o' a higher power rocket is o' concern, so Pratt has included t' Center o' pressure measurement for this rocket. Ya scallywag! If you are usin' t' larger motors, arrr, you will want to verify stability before you launch. Begad! Begad! Heavier motors may require extra nose weight t' move t' center o' gravity forward past t' center o' pressure. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! All motors are retained usin' friction fit. Ahoy!

Since I wanted t' see how this model flies on t' lower end o' motors I tried an A8-3 first. Ya scallywag! There be a slight breeze and t' Tomahawk weathercocked into t' wind easily. Begad! T' ejection charge fired halfway back t' t' ground, sendin' t' motor mount out t' aft and t' streamer, me hearties, thankfully, out the front as well. Arrr! I would have hated t' have this rocket become a lawn dart on the first flight. Avast! Avast! T' altitude could nay have been more than 100 feet. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' next motor I tried be t' venerable C6-5. This be better, as t' rocket went t' an altitude closer t' 300 feet. Unfortunately it also weathercocked and was headin' down when t' ejection charge went off. Momentarily t' rocket was tangled in t' streamer and then it freed itself and dropped tail first. Unfortunately it landed in a parkin' lot and one o' t' fins took t' brunt of the force. Aye aye! Arrr! There be a 1/2" square section o' t' fin that shattered. I fixed t' fin by gluin' a piece o' balsa t' t' fin and sandin' it into shape. This will nay be nearly as strong as t' Lite Ply fin, but it looks better. By the way t' pictures were taken after t' repair.

A few observations on t' small engine performance are in order. Since this is a nose heavy rocket, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, that weathercocks easily on small motors, shiver me timbers, launch the Tomahawk with t' wind, matey, ya bilge rat, nay into t' wind. Begad! This will allow t' rocket t' be closer t' vertical when t' ejection charge fires. Blimey! Also t' Tomahawk comes down rather fast, shiver me timbers, do nay launch it over a parkin' lot or hard ground, as it will damage t' fins on landing. Begad! Aye aye! Make sure that you carefully read t' instructions on t' motor mount adapters. Aye aye! Arrr! I missed a step which caused me t' try t' friction fit one too many adapters, arrr, which be responsible for t' motor mount being ejected on t' first flight. Blimey! Finally, t' bigger motor t' better. Begad! The "C" worked much better than t' "A", and I am sure t' rest of t' alphabet will be even better. Begad! If you do decide t' use t' larger motors, make sure that you use plenty o' trackin' powder, ya bilge rat, and have t' recovery crew standin' by. Blimey!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Everythin' considered this is a rather unique rocket. Ya scallywag! T' parts are o' high quality, ya bilge rat, t' selection o' motors is vast, and t' kit looks great when finished. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I do nay suggest t' lower power motors, as they do nay allow this rocket t' really fly, but it would be a great demonstration rocket t' show the relative powers o' a large variety o' motors. Considerin' t' price ($12.95 last I looked), matey, t' quality far exceeds t' cost. Avast! Add t' ability o' the Tomahawk t' fly on any motor from 18mm t' 29mm, you will be able t' fly it under any circumstances, t' excuse "I don't have t' right motor" will nay work on this rocket! T' main detraction is that t' instructions could be clearer, one extra sheet would make a world o' difference, and the small motors are marginal in their performance. Ahoy! Other than those two nits, this is a great kit for t' experienced builder that would like t' "ease into" mid power rocketry.