Brief:

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

Construction:

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

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

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight o' t' Night Hawk was at t' ROCC (Rocketry O' Central Carolina) November, 2000 launch. Aye aye! Blimey! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, me bucko, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). T' motors were friction fitted into place, me bucko, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! So... Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I consulted some people, matey, me bucko, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Ahoy! Blimey! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Despite this, I took them, matey, ya bilge rat, matey, and loaded them into t' rocket, arrr, ya bilge rat, and wired them in parallel. Then, 5...4...3...2...1... Begad! Blimey! LIFTOFF! Blimey! All three motors lit, 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, matey, shiver me timbers, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Begad! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. So... Avast! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, t' fins, and t' fin roots. T' process be messy, ya bilge rat, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Avast! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Begad! So, me hearties, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Then, me bucko, me hearties, t' rocket was once again primed, sanded, and painted. I painted it just gloss black this time, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, me hearties, t' slow down recovery speed, matey, 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, matey, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Avast, me proud beauty! Now it be time for flight two. Arrr! T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, matey, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). This time around, I made sure I got good igniters, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. Avast, me proud beauty! T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Aye aye! 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, though). Arrr! T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Ahoy! T' flight was great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5