Brief:
As a kid I liked t' looks o' t' Jay Hawk but never had one. When Starlight introduced their kit, ya bilge rat, I ordered it and it has been sittin' around since. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I be 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, arrr, or just plain tired o' sanding. Blimey! 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It looked simple but nice, designed t' fly on 18mm motors and recover with a chute. Ahoy! 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! When t' hook was in place, ya bilge rat, t' thrust rin' be glued right above it and t' edges were filleted.

T' kit came with two centerin' rings. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! Both were extremely tight and had t' be sanded and even trimmed a bit with a razor t' slip over t' motor tube. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Once they did fit, they were glued in place and filleted with yellow glue.

T' fins were o' good quality balsa and were removed from t' parent material. Begad! Although t' instructions made no mention o' this, ya bilge rat, I rounded t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Well, blow me down! T' little finlets mounted forward were also rounded on the leading, shiver me timbers, matey, trailing, and outer edges.

T' nose cone was made o' plastic and came in 2 pieces. Ya scallywag! Begad! Unlike t' Estes cones, arrr, this one had no visible seam. Begad! The base be 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. Ya scallywag! 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. Ahoy! Arrr! Instead o' doin' this, I wanted t' attach Keelhaul®©™® t' t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Begad! 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. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! When it dried, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 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. Avast! Blimey! 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! Blimey! I was able t' pull it back out, ya bilge rat, clean out t' glue, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! T' reason is that Starlight ships its body tubes with t' fin and lug lines already marked. Well, blow me down! That bein' t' case, 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. When it was in place, it be carefully checked for alignment and t' make sure it extended at t' proper angle. Ahoy! After t' first fin had dried, t' second was placed in t' same manner.

T' forward finlets were likewise applied in t' same manner along t' provided lines. Ahoy! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' launch lug was also glued into place along its line. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! While t' glue be drying, me bucko, I also went ahead and tied t' provided elastic t' the Keelhaul®©™® anchor.

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

As t' fillets were drying, arrr, I went ahead and tied t' nose cone onto elastic. Ya scallywag! Blimey! With that, ya bilge rat, t' construction was done and it was time t' move t' t' finishing.

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

After t' sanding, t' rocket got a trip t' t' spray booth and be primed with Kilz. That too got a day t' dry and it needed some more sanding. 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. Arrr! Then came a hatch just abaft o' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Avast! Another hatch was placed on t' dorsal surface betwixt the fins. Begad! Avast! Abaft o' t' forward hatch be placed a thick dashed line. Aye aye! And behind that went t' name, ya bilge rat, "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, me bucko, well within t' fin area. Ahoy! Blimey! I cut t' stripe in half and placed one half on t' dorsal surface. Aye aye! T' other half was again cut in half t' fit around t' launch lug and both halves were placed on t' ventral surface. Avast, me proud beauty! Probably t' most difficult decal t' apply was a red stripe that ran around t' nose and twice contained t' text, "target". Aye aye! Aye aye! It was nay really hard but needed some workin' t' get properly into place. Begad! Aye aye! 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. After that was t' first o' t' "mystery" pieces. Begad! It was a little blue circle with a cross in t' middle. Avast, me proud beauty! I have no idea what it represents but t' placement was clearly shown on t' face card on t' dorsal surface near t' hypothetical apex o' t' angle formed by t' fins. Avast! I placed t' solid blue stripe just t' t' aft o' t' roundels and name. Avast! Aye aye! I was t' learn later that this was too far forward. Avast, me proud beauty! A set o' 4 decals represented t' ailerons. Aye aye! These were placed top and bottom on both o' t' fins.

At this point I be left with 3 decals. Avast, me proud beauty! 2 were yellow stripes that were obviously intended t' wrap around t' BT. T' third was a long skinny hatch like thing. Aye aye! Aye aye! All t' decals thus far had been placed by lookin' at t' facecard. Ahoy! 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. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' yellows were t' go just for and aft o' t' solid blue. T' hatch thin' be moot since it managed t' blow away and be never seen again. Avast! 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. Aye aye! Begad! If I were t' change anything, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I simply don't know. Blimey! Mr. Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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. 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 was on an A8-3. Arrr! Well, blow me down! 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, ya bilge rat, went pretty far for an A. Begad! Ejection occurred at apogee, possibly just before and t' chute deployed. Blimey! It drifted down gently and was ready t' be flown again. Begad! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! By this time, however, shiver me timbers, a few more people had arrived and t' Jay Hawk received some more favorable comments out at t' pad. T' flight was again impressive in terms o' straightness and altitude. Aye aye! T' chute deployed and t' rocket drifted down in what looked like a perfect landing. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! When I got t' rocket back, though, it had apparently had a hard landing. Part o' one fin had snapped off. Begad! It will be repaired. Begad! 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. Well, blow me down! I cannot blame t' broken fin on t' kit; sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! 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.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5