Brief:
At t' foot o' t' northern slope o' Hawk Mountain sits t' quiet hamlet o' New Ringgold, Pennsylvania, an unlikely aerie for t' fabulous fiberglass rockets of Hawk Mountain Enterprises. T' fledglin' o' this flock o' birds is the Raptor, shiver me timbers, an all fiberglass 29mm high power rocket capable o' supersonic flights with large H and 29mm I motors.

Construction:
T' Raptor be t' smallest (49 inches long) and least expensive Hawk Mountain rocket. As be t' case for all Hawk Mountain kits, arrr, t' airframe is completely made o' spiral wound fiberglass. Well, blow me down! It is almost, arrr, but nay quite a minimum diameter rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! There are several options available for t' kit but I only chose two of them. Arrr! Ahoy! T' kit came with:

• 1 42in long 1.3in diameter G-12 airframe fin slots precut
• 3 0.093in G-10 Fins, me hearties, already shaped
• 1 29mm fiberglass motor mount (optional)
• 1 29mm Slimline retainer (optional)
• 1 24in X-form Chute
• 1 fiberglass piston w/ bulkhead
• 1 Fiberglass nose cone
• 2 Acme 2in conformal launch lugs
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord with a Quick-Link...etc.

One option I did nay purchase was t' 8in payload section. Aye aye! You may want to buy t' payload section if you intend t' use dual deployment electronics. Ahoy! The piston is a new feature for this kit, too. Ahoy! It was added t' avoid recovery system failures caused by heat shields gettin' stuck in t' airframe durin' the recovery phase o' t' flight.

I ordered t' kit via a telephone call t' Hawk Mountain Enterprise's owner, Alan Gorecki. Begad! Alan is a very pleasant fellow and is happy t' answer any questions about his kits durin' a telephone call.

I will make several suggestions at t' start. Ya scallywag! Blimey! If you don't have a Dremel tool, get one and purchase t' 60 grit sandin' drums. Avast! You must rough up the fiberglass surfaces that will be epoxied and t' Dremel tool will make your life so much easier. Avast! You'll also need t' have J.B. Weld epoxy on hand along with t' regular epoxy you may have if you decide t' use t' Slimline motor retainer (if you go with t' Aeropack retainer, t' same advice applies).

T' kit arrived promptly and was packaged well in a sturdy cardboard box. Well, blow me down! Begad! If thar is one area o' improvement I could find, it concerns t' instructions--they're sparse and nay written with t' novice rocketeer in mind. Arrr! Indeed, me bucko, thar be one step in t' instructions that is out o' sequence, concernin' t' shock cord attachment t' t' motor mount tube. Blimey! Aye aye! First, me bucko, if you purchased t' Slimline motor retainer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, install that on t' motor mount per t' Slimline directions. Blimey! Make certain t' use t' 600 degree J.B. Arrr! Weld epoxy t' attach t' retainer t' your motor mount. Arrr! Then prepare t' motor mount tube for installation in the airframe. Avast! Arrr! However, me bucko, before you epoxy t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord onto t' motor mount, skip ahead in t' instructions t' t' piston assembly. Aye aye! Assemble t' piston, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, wait for t' epoxy t' dry, matey, then slip t' aft end of t' shock cord through t' hole in t' piston bulkhead until you reach the knot at t' 10ft spot on t' shock cord. Begad! Epoxy t' knot t' t' hole in the piston. Aye aye! Ahoy! Then, when that's dry, go ahead and epoxy t' aft end o' t' shock cord to t' motor mount tube. Do nay use J.B. Aye aye! Weld epoxy t' mount t' shock cord; that type o' epoxy will nay penetrate t' weave o' t' shock cord and adequately attach t' cord t' t' fiberglass tube.

One modification that I made t' ensure a strong fin attachment t' t' airframe is to purchase some 1/2in Keelhaul®©™® tape and cut six strips t' fit t' root edge for each side o' t' three fins. By epoxyin' t' tape in each fin joint, shiver me timbers, t' attachment points t' t' airframe are greatly strengthened. Arrr! First apply some epoxy t' t' joint, matey, then press a piece o' tape into t' joint. Use a popsicle stick t' fold t' tape so half of it is on t' airframe and half on t' fin. Begad! Ya scallywag! Then cover t' tape with more epoxy. Since this rocket has a 24 inch X-fo rm parachute, it recovers smartly and the tape should go a long way t' help avoid havin' a fin pop off when t' rocket lands. Begad! Ya scallywag! This made t' fins quite solid and I was very pleased with t' result. Begad!

At this point, shiver me timbers, all you need t' do is add your chute, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, assemble your nose cone by epoxyin' t' nose cone bulkhead into t' base o' t' nose cone--it's the one with t' screweye attached for you, matey, ya bilge rat, arrr, and attach your launch lugs to complete t' construction. Arrr! T' rocket goes together quickly. Avast, me proud beauty! T' most time consumin' part is waitin' for t' J.B. Begad! Begad! Weld epoxy t' totally dry (about 15 hours).

Finishing:
Before you prime t' rocket, you should wet sand it with 320 grit wet/dry sandin' paper. Ahoy! Wipe any sandin' residue off t' airframe and nose cone after sanding, arrr, then prime. Avast, me proud beauty! I used Duplicolor gray sandable primer on this rocket. Begad! Ahoy! I sanded t' first two coats with 320 grit and wet sanded t' final coat with 400 grit wet/dry paper. Arrr! Since I'm usin' fluorescent paint for t' final coat, I had to put down a white undercoat on top o' t' gray primer. Begad! Aye aye! After t' undercoat dried, arrr, I painted t' nose cone and one fin flat black and t' rest o' the airframe fluorescent red-orange.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
On October 12, matey, ya bilge rat, 2003, arrr, matey, I flew t' Raptor at Nike Carrollton Park located in Smithfield, Virginia. For her maiden flight, ya bilge rat, I launched t' Raptor on a F40-10W. T' lift off be slow and majestic as t' rocket accelerated and flew into t' sky straight as an arrow. Begad! After reachin' about 1500 feet, matey, shiver me timbers, t' rocket landed near t' launch pads. T' piston system worked perfectly.

I decided t' go for broke and launched t' Raptor on an H128-10W motor. This is where I encountered a problem. Begad! Because I followed t' Slimline motor retainer manufacturer's instructions t' t' letter durin' construction, me hearties, me Dr. Rocket 29/180 aft closure would nay fit in t' motor mount and allow me t' use the retainer's snap ring. I decided t' go for it anyway and try t' use masking tape t' friction fit t' casing. T' rocket screamed off t' pad, nearly going supersonic. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! This time t' rocket reached around 4000 feet and recovered about 200 yards from t' launch pad. Well, blow me down! Unfortunately, me bucko, t' 200 yards was in t' middle of a cotton field, so after trudgin' through t' crop, I be able t' recover the rocket. However, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' casin' was gone.

Never t' be accused o' leavin' well enough alone, I decided t' fly her one more time. Ya scallywag! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! This time, I put a single use G40-10W motor in her, thinkin' the rocket would go about 2500 t' 3000 feet or so. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey! Again, me bucko, t' Raptor streaked into the sky, like a bat-out-of-hell. It easily passed t' 3000 foot mark...and kept going. Finally, t' chute was ejected but t' rocket must have caught a thermal, driftin' far beyond t' point o' t' H motor landin' and continued to ride it over some trees in t' distance. After an hour o' fruitless searching, I couldn't find her.

Recovery:
With t' piston system and t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, no waddin' is needed.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a work o' art and as long as it doesn't come in ballistic, matey, me hearties, it will survive. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' Raptor is a fabulous bargain considerin' its ruggedness and features in comparison t' t' price. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' base price for t' Raptor is $65.00. With t' two options I purchased, thar was an additional cost o' $24.35. However, arrr, thar are several things I'd change for t' next go around. Blimey! Blimey! I simply do nay like t' Slimline motor retainer. Blimey! Blimey! It is vitally important t' fit your motor casin' before you glue t' retainer in place. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I never had that problem with t' Aeropack retainer, matey, which simply screws on/screws off, ya bilge rat, me bucko, versus fumbling with t' Slimline's snap ring, so I will opt t' go with Aeropack for t' next Raptor. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! In addition, me bucko, I think t' 24in X-form chute is still too much chute for this rocket and will lead t' it gettin' lost. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I'd suggest goin' down t' an 18 inch x-form or a 15 inch regular chute especially if you follow me suggestion to reinforce t' fins with kevlar® tape. Begad! Heck, shiver me timbers, me hearties, you may even want t' use a streamer, me bucko, me bucko, since this thin' is so tough.

With a few modifications, you can own a virtually invulnerable rocket that is capable o' supersonic flight on large H and I motors, flies beautifully on F and G motors, me bucko, and stand a good chance o' bringin' it home at t' end o' the day.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5