Brief:

T' Night Hawk is an awesome (yet simple) 7x29mm cluster rocket made by THOY. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I received this rocket as a Christmas present a few years back. Aye aye! It has very easy construction, ya bilge rat, and can fly on about any combination o' 1, me hearties, me bucko, 2, me hearties, 3, shiver me timbers, 4, 5, shiver me timbers, 6, me bucko, or 7 29mm motors.

Construction:

T' rocket came in a plastic bag with (1) long 3.9" airframe tube, arrr, (1) short 3.9" payload tube, (2) centerin' rings, (7) 29mm motor tubes (3 long, 4 short), me bucko, arrr, (3) plywood fins, a steel cable shock cord mount, a 36" fluorescent orange 'chute, a 1" wide black elastic shock cord, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, an ACE 3.9" nose cone, arrr, a 3.9" booster/payload coupler, me hearties, ya bilge rat, a 1/2" launch lug, and a plywood bulkhead with an eye hook for shock cord attachment. T' airframe tubin' was thick paper (like LOC tubing), and all o' t' parts were undamaged, me bucko, and o' good quality.

T' kit had standard construction, arrr, and went together smoothly. Blimey! Avast! T' only problem I had in construction was installin' t' fins. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, arrr, matey, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. When I did this, ya bilge rat, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, shiver me timbers, and therefore left a bilge-suckin' gap along t' fin root. Ya scallywag! I solved t' problem by fillin' t' gap with putty, ya bilge rat, but I do nay know if I aligned t' tubes incorrectly, me bucko, or if t' tabs were cut too long. Begad! Either way, t' rocket still went together very well, ya bilge rat, and looked very nice. It is quite large, me bucko, me bucko, too, (about 5 feet tall) so it stands out.

Finishing:
In t' year betwixt construction and t' first flight o' this rocket, ya bilge rat, it went through three different paint schemes. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I finally ended up with an all black body, with U.S. Air Force decals on it. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I painted it with sanded grey primer, ya bilge rat, and Krylon spray paint. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, and covered up t' nasty, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Hey... Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I know it sounds cheap, but it worked!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight o' t' Night Hawk be at t' ROCC (Rocketry O' Central Carolina) November, shiver me timbers, 2000 launch. Begad! Begad! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Avast! T' motors were friction fitted into place, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. Aye aye! So... Aye aye! I consulted some people, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Well, blow me down! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. Ahoy! Avast! He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Despite this, I took them, and loaded them into t' rocket, me hearties, and wired them in parallel. Avast, me proud beauty! Then, 5...4...3...2...1... LIFTOFF! All three motors lit, matey, and t' rocket ROARED off o' t' t' pad on an awesome column o' black smoke.

Recovery:

T' rocket ejected at apogee, but t' 'chute was a bit too small, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. Blimey! Blimey! So... Avast! Blimey! I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, me hearties, t' fins, matey, shiver me timbers, and t' fin roots. Avast, me proud beauty! T' process was messy, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Begad! Begad! Blimey! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Blimey! So, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Then, me hearties, t' rocket be once again primed, me hearties, sanded, and painted. I painted it just gloss black this time, me hearties, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, shiver me timbers, t' slow down recovery speed, I left t' 36" 'chute on t' main body, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, so that each section could descend slowly, and separately. Avast, me proud beauty! I also attached rail guides, arrr, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Now it be time for flight two. T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, shiver me timbers, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). This time around, me hearties, I made sure I got good igniters, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. Well, blow me down! T' second flight be at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Blimey! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, and t' Night Hawk roared off o' t' rail into t' sky on a light trail o' Blue Thunder smoke with a little blue flame at ignition (I had t' look hard, arrr, though). Blimey! Blimey! T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, ya bilge rat, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! T' flight be great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

PROS: T' Night Hawk looks sharp, arrr, ya bilge rat, matey, is easy t' build, ya bilge rat, and flies great on about any motor combination you can think of... Well, blow me down! Begad! but make sure you build it strongly! CONS: T' chute is a bit too small, you must make sure you line t' motor tube gaps with t' fin slots, and t' flight cost is goin' t' be more than single motor flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5