Brief:
At t' foot o' t' northern slope o' Hawk Mountain sits t' quiet hamlet o' New Ringgold, Pennsylvania, ya bilge rat, an unlikely aerie for t' fabulous fiberglass rockets of Hawk Mountain Enterprises. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! T' fledglin' o' this flock o' birds is the Raptor, 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! As be t' case for all Hawk Mountain kits, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' airframe is completely made o' spiral wound fiberglass. Begad! Begad! It is almost, but nay quite a minimum diameter rocket. Aye aye! Arrr! There are several options available for t' kit but I only chose two of them. Avast! Begad! T' kit came with:

• 1 42in long 1.3in diameter G-12 airframe fin slots precut
• 3 0.093in G-10 Fins, 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 be t' 8in payload section. Avast, me proud beauty! You may want to buy t' payload section if you intend t' use dual deployment electronics. Ya scallywag! The piston is a new feature for this kit, shiver me timbers, too. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! It be 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. 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. Arrr! Well, blow me down! If you don't have a Dremel tool, ya bilge rat, me hearties, get one and purchase t' 60 grit sandin' drums. Blimey! Begad! You must rough up the fiberglass surfaces that will be epoxied and t' Dremel tool will make your life so much easier. Blimey! 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, matey, t' same advice applies).

T' kit arrived promptly and was packaged well in a sturdy cardboard box. Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! Indeed, thar be one step in t' instructions that is out o' sequence, matey, concernin' t' shock cord attachment t' t' motor mount tube. Aye aye! First, if you purchased t' Slimline motor retainer, install that on t' motor mount per t' Slimline directions. Blimey! Make certain t' use t' 600 degree J.B. Ahoy! Weld epoxy t' attach t' retainer t' your motor mount. Ahoy! Then prepare t' motor mount tube for installation in the airframe. Arrr! However, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, before you epoxy t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord onto t' motor mount, skip ahead in t' instructions t' t' piston assembly. Assemble t' piston, wait for t' epoxy t' dry, me bucko, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Epoxy t' knot t' t' hole in the piston. Avast, me proud beauty! Then, shiver me timbers, me bucko, when that's dry, go ahead and epoxy t' aft end o' t' shock cord to t' motor mount tube. Begad! Blimey! Do nay use J.B. 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, t' attachment points t' t' airframe are greatly strengthened. Aye aye! First apply some epoxy t' t' joint, then press a piece o' tape into t' joint. Ahoy! Begad! Use a popsicle stick t' fold t' tape so half of it is on t' airframe and half on t' fin. Avast, me proud beauty! 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! Begad! This made t' fins quite solid and I be very pleased with t' result. Begad!

At this point, all you need t' do is add your chute, 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, and attach your launch lugs to complete t' construction. Avast! T' rocket goes together quickly. Blimey! T' most time consumin' part is waitin' for t' J.B. Aye aye! Weld epoxy t' totally dry (about 15 hours).

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
On October 12, 2003, me hearties, I flew t' Raptor at Nike Carrollton Park located in Smithfield, matey, Virginia. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! For her maiden flight, me bucko, I launched t' Raptor on a F40-10W. Ahoy! T' lift off be slow and majestic as t' rocket accelerated and flew into t' sky straight as an arrow. Avast! After reachin' about 1500 feet, t' rocket landed near t' launch pads. Begad! Well, blow me down! 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. Because I followed t' Slimline motor retainer manufacturer's instructions t' t' letter durin' construction, me Dr. Rocket 29/180 aft closure would nay fit in t' motor mount and allow me t' use the retainer's snap ring. Well, blow me down! I decided t' go for it anyway and try t' use masking tape t' friction fit t' casing. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket screamed off t' pad, nearly going supersonic. Begad! This time t' rocket reached around 4000 feet and recovered about 200 yards from t' launch pad. Avast, me proud beauty! Unfortunately, t' 200 yards be in t' middle of a cotton field, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, so after trudgin' through t' crop, I was able t' recover the rocket. However, t' casin' be gone.

Never t' be accused o' leavin' well enough alone, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I decided t' fly her one more time. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This time, I put a single use G40-10W motor in her, matey, thinkin' the rocket would go about 2500 t' 3000 feet or so. Blimey! Blimey! Again, matey, t' Raptor streaked into the sky, like a bat-out-of-hell. Aye aye! Blimey! It easily passed t' 3000 foot mark...and kept going. Aye aye! Blimey! Finally, t' chute be 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. Begad! Blimey! 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, arrr, it will survive. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Raptor is a fabulous bargain considerin' its ruggedness and features in comparison t' t' price. T' base price for t' Raptor is $65.00. With t' two options I purchased, shiver me timbers, thar be an additional cost o' $24.35. However, arrr, thar are several things I'd change for t' next go around. Avast! Blimey! I simply do nay like t' Slimline motor retainer. Ahoy! Blimey! It is vitally important t' fit your motor casin' before you glue t' retainer in place. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I never had that problem with t' Aeropack retainer, shiver me timbers, matey, which simply screws on/screws off, versus fumbling with t' Slimline's snap ring, so I will opt t' go with Aeropack for t' next Raptor. In addition, matey, I think t' 24in X-form chute is still too much chute for this rocket and will lead t' it gettin' lost. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! 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. Blimey! Heck, you may even want t' use a streamer, since this thin' is so tough. Ahoy!

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5