Brief:

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

Construction:

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

T' kit had standard construction, me bucko, and went together smoothly. Blimey! T' only problem I had in construction was installin' t' fins. T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, arrr, me hearties, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, matey, matey, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When I did this, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, and therefore left a nasty gap along t' fin root. Ahoy! Begad! I solved t' problem by fillin' t' gap with putty, me hearties, me hearties, but I do nay know if I aligned t' tubes incorrectly, me bucko, or if t' tabs were cut too long. Blimey! Either way, t' rocket still went together very well, ya bilge rat, and looked very nice. Arrr! Arrr! 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, matey, me hearties, it went through three different paint schemes. Avast! I finally ended up with an all black body, with U.S. Avast! Air Force decals on it. Begad! I painted it with sanded grey primer, matey, and Krylon spray paint. I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, and covered up t' nasty, shiver me timbers, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Hey... I know it sounds cheap, shiver me timbers, 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. I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, arrr, ya bilge rat, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). T' motors were friction fitted into place, arrr, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. Begad! So... I consulted some people, ya bilge rat, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Blimey! Ahoy! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. Well, blow me down! He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Blimey! Despite this, I took them, and loaded them into t' rocket, and wired them in parallel. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Then, matey, 5...4...3...2...1... Aye aye! Begad! LIFTOFF! 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, arrr, but t' 'chute be a bit too small, ya bilge rat, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Arrr! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! So... Begad! Avast! I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, t' fins, and t' fin roots. Begad! T' process was messy, shiver me timbers, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Begad! Begad! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. So, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Then, arrr, t' rocket be once again primed, me bucko, sanded, and painted. Avast! I painted it just gloss black this time, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, arrr, 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. Ahoy! I also attached rail guides, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Now it was time for flight two. T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, ya bilge rat, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Arrr! Well, blow me down! 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. Arrr! T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Begad! 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). T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, me bucko, me hearties, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. T' flight was great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

PROS: T' Night Hawk looks sharp, arrr, is easy t' build, matey, shiver me timbers, and flies great on about any motor combination you can think of... Avast, me proud beauty! but make sure you build it strongly! CONS: T' chute is a bit too small, shiver me timbers, 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