Brief:
As a kid I liked t' looks o' t' Jay Hawk but never had one. Well, blow me down! When Starlight introduced their kit, I ordered it and it has been sittin' around since. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I was up t' me eyeballs in other projects but again found myself in a situation where valuable rocket time was goin' t' waste because I was waitin' for glue or paint t' dry, waitin' for parts, me hearties, or just plain tired o' sanding. Well, blow me down! I saw t' Jay Hawk bag beckonin' too me and all o' t' sudden I had another project t' juggle.

T' Jay Hawk is a semi-scale o' t' old target drone. Well, blow me down! It looked simple but nice, me hearties, me bucko, designed t' fly on 18mm motors and recover with a chute. Arrr! It is marketed as a skill level 2 kit and that seems about right with today's inflated scales.

Construction:
Construction begins by markin' off t' motor tube for t' engine hook, makin' a mark, and then a slit t' insert the hook. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! When t' hook be in place, shiver me timbers, t' thrust rin' was glued right above it and t' edges were filleted.

T' kit came with two centerin' rings. Arrr! Both were extremely tight and had t' be sanded and even trimmed a bit with a razor t' slip over t' motor tube. Once they did fit, me hearties, matey, they were glued in place and filleted with yellow glue.

T' fins were o' good quality balsa and were removed from t' parent material. Blimey! Although t' instructions made no mention o' this, I rounded t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Begad! T' little finlets mounted forward were also rounded on the leading, me hearties, trailing, arrr, matey, and outer edges.

T' nose cone was made o' plastic and came in 2 pieces. Ahoy! Unlike t' Estes cones, this one had no visible seam. Begad! The base was glued into place with a bit o' epoxy I had mixed for another project.

T' outer parts o' t' fins (rudders?) were lightly sanded and then glued along their centerlines t' t' outer edges o' t' fins with a double glue joint o' yellow glue. A steel ruler was used t' ensure that t' angle betwixt the two pieces be a right angle.

At this point I added a step since t' kit included a stick on shock cord mount reminiscent o' what Centuri used t' provide. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Instead o' doin' this, I wanted t' attach Keelhaul®©™® t' t' motor mount. I tied a length o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor mount just abaft o' t' forward centerin' rin' and then laid another yellow glue fillet over it to hold it in place. Avast! When it dried, t' rin' be notched t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™®.

When t' glue on t' shock cord was dry, I passed t' cord through t' motor tube and then swabbed t' inside of t' BT with yellow glue. Ya scallywag! I pushed t' motor mount in and had just gotten everythin' aligned when I realized that I had shoved it into t' wrong end. Oops! I was able t' pull it back out, clean out t' glue, and then reinstalled it correctly.

It might be legitimately asked why it mattered which end o' t' BT t' motor mount was installed in since nothing had been done with t' BT yet. T' reason is that Starlight ships its body tubes with t' fin and lug lines already marked. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! That bein' t' case, arrr, me hearties, me hearties, it is nice t' have t' main fins at t' same end o' t' rocket as t' motor.

T' first fin be mounted with yellow glue and a double glue joint along one o' t' pre-marked lines. Arrr! When it was in place, it was carefully checked for alignment and t' make sure it extended at t' proper angle. After t' first fin had dried, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' second was placed in t' same manner.

T' forward finlets were likewise applied in t' same manner along t' provided lines. Ahoy! T' launch lug be also glued into place along its line. While t' glue be drying, ya bilge rat, I also went ahead and tied t' provided elastic t' the Keelhaul®©™® anchor.

When t' glue had a full day t' dry, ya bilge rat, I used Tightbond Moldin' and Trim glue t' apply fillets along all t' fin joints and t' launch lug. I cannot stress enough how pleased I am with this product in this role. Avast! (Thanks t' Luke Strawalker o' TRF for tellin' me about it.)

As t' fillets were drying, matey, I went ahead and tied t' nose cone onto elastic. Begad! Begad! With that, t' construction was done and it was time t' move t' t' finishing.

Finishing:
T' first step in t' finishin' process was t' fill t' grain and I did so usin' Elmer's Wood Filler. Avast, me proud beauty! It was brushed on and then left for a few days t' dry. T' sandin' process was then begun and I was reminded o' t' wisdom o' often doin' this before t' fins are installed. My big hands and fat fingers had a hard time gettin' into t' crevasses but eventually it be done.

After t' sanding, arrr, t' rocket got a trip t' t' spray booth and was primed with Kilz. Aye aye! That too got a day t' dry and it needed some more sanding. Well, blow me down! Instead o' sprayin' on more primer though, I gave it a coat o' regular white paint. After another day for t' white t' dry, T' rocket was painted with several thin coats o' fluorescent red until the color built up deeply.

T' application o' t' decals started off easy with t' puttin' on o' t' USAF roundels on either o' t' vertical stabilizers. Avast! Then came a hatch just abaft o' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Another hatch was placed on t' dorsal surface betwixt the fins. Abaft o' t' forward hatch was placed a thick dashed line. Ahoy! And behind that went t' name, "Jayhawk". Even with t' name but on t' sides instead o' t' top or bottom were placed t' larger US roundels. A thicker dashed line be provided t' be placed around t' BT aft, well within t' fin area. Aye aye! I cut t' stripe in half and placed one half on t' dorsal surface. Well, blow me down! T' other half be again cut in half t' fit around t' launch lug and both halves were placed on t' ventral surface. Blimey! Probably t' most difficult decal t' apply was a red stripe that ran around t' nose and twice contained t' text, "target". It was nay really hard but needed some workin' t' get properly into place. I managed t' finally get t' ends o' t' stripe t' meet up and then realized I had placed it with t' text upside down in relation t' t' rest o' t' rocket. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! After that was t' first o' t' "mystery" pieces. Avast! Aye aye! It was a little blue circle with a cross in t' middle. Blimey! I have no idea what it represents but t' placement be clearly shown on t' face card on t' dorsal surface near t' hypothetical apex o' t' angle formed by t' fins. Begad! Ahoy! I placed t' solid blue stripe just t' t' aft o' t' roundels and name. Well, blow me down! I was t' learn later that this was too far forward. Begad! A set o' 4 decals represented t' ailerons. Ahoy! Aye aye! These were placed top and bottom on both o' t' fins.

At this point I be left with 3 decals. 2 were yellow stripes that were obviously intended t' wrap around t' BT. T' third was a long skinny hatch like thing. Ahoy! Blimey! All t' decals thus far had been placed by lookin' at t' facecard. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! The problem was I couldn't see t' yellow stripes on t' facecard or t' little hatch-like thing. I fired off a question to Starlight Rockets on TRF and smartly got a reply. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' yellows were t' go just for and aft o' t' solid blue. Begad! Blimey! T' hatch thin' was moot since it managed t' blow away and was never seen again. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' yellows were applied, closer together than they should have been because o' me placement o' t' blue, and t' decal application be complete.

T' decals were all good quality waterslides. Blimey! Ya scallywag! If I were t' change anything, matey, ya bilge rat, I think I would add some white backin' t' t' decals t' make them stand out a bit more against t' painted body but that may be incorrect for this model. I simply don't know. Mr. Jablonski o' Starlight has informed me that t' instructions o' this and several other kits o' their line are due t' be upgraded with more explicitness in t' placement o' t' decals. Blimey! That might be nice, but for t' most part, t' locations were evident from t' face card and anyone wantin' t' be a stickler for accuracy can always use Google.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' maiden flight o' t' Jay Hawk be on an A8-3. Ahoy! Avast! I installed a 9" nylon chute, inserted t' motor and took it out t' t' pad. Arrr! It was favorably received by t' few who had arrived by that point. T' boost went well and, ya bilge rat, bein' a light rocket, shiver me timbers, me hearties, went pretty far for an A. Begad! Ejection occurred at apogee, ya bilge rat, possibly just before and t' chute deployed. Avast! It drifted down gently and was ready t' be flown again. Avast, me proud beauty! A video o' t' first flight can be seen here.

For t' second flight I chose a B6-4 and prepped t' rocket as before. Begad! By this time, however, matey, arrr, a few more people had arrived and t' Jay Hawk received some more favorable comments out at t' pad. Begad! Begad! T' flight was again impressive in terms o' straightness and altitude. Avast, me proud beauty! T' chute deployed and t' rocket drifted down in what looked like a perfect landing. Avast! When I got t' rocket back, ya bilge rat, though, it had apparently had a hard landing. Part o' one fin had snapped off. Begad! It will be repaired. A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This be a nice little rocket that looks good and flies well. Arrr! I cannot blame t' broken fin on t' kit; sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Begad! Besides, ya bilge rat, t' chute I used was smaller than t' recommended one.

Persons wishin' t' keep track o' this rocket are invited t' check it out here. Begad!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5