Introduction:

T' Pratt Hobbies D region Tomahawk is a sport scale model o' t' NASA soundin' rocket. It gets it's name from t' D-Region o' t' ionosphere, ya bilge rat, which is about 75 t' 95 km above t' earth. Ya scallywag! This rocket is still in use by NASA to send instrument payloads into that region for scientific study. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' finished rocket is just over 26 inches tall and has t' distinction o' handlin' 18mm, 24mm, me hearties, and 29mm rocket motors through t' use o' t' adapters provided with the kit. Begad! Arrr!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

T' kit arrived in t' familiar clear plastic bag with no shippin' damage to any o' t' parts. Ya scallywag! T' body tube is considerably stiffer than your standard Estes tube, arrr, as it is designed t' take t' force o' a "G" motor. Avast, me proud beauty! There are various lengths and sizes o' tubes for t' body and motor mount adapters, Centerin' rings, me bucko, a plastic pre-weighted nose cone, Kevar shock cord, Nomex® cloth heatshield, me hearties, streamer material, a self adhesive decal, me hearties, and fins laser cut from "Lite Ply" plywood. Blimey! Blimey! T' fins are especially nice, me hearties, matey, bein' light, strong, and all cut exactly t' same. This saves time in t' finishin' o' the fins. Begad! Begad!

T' instructions come on two sheets o' yellow paper stapled together. There are few illustrations and they rely on t' text t' guide you through the construction o' t' kit. This is fine since this is nay a beginners rocket kit. T' instructions need t' be read carefully, arrr, so as nay t' miss any o' t' steps, as thar are sometimes several steps grouped together. Avast! T' instructions are laid out in a logical order, and thar be one template for fin alignment on the body tube.

T' construction o' t' Tomahawk is fairly easy and straight-foward. Arrr! There are no tools needed, ya bilge rat, only glue, matey, tape and sandpaper. Aye aye! Blimey! T' kit is basically an 18" body tube with four fins, and a shorter upper body tube that attaches to t' nose cone. Ahoy! At t' junction o' t' two body tubes is where t' rocket comes apart for recovery. They have a unique method for attachin' t' fins to the body tube that works extremely well. Ya scallywag! I be skeptical at first, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but had to try it since it be in t' instructions. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! They apply glue t' t' root o' the fins, me bucko, touch it t' t' body tube, matey, and then remove it and set it aside. Once all of t' fins are done this way, then another layer o' glue is applied t' t' fin and t' attachment t' t' body tube is remarkable quick and strong, so quick, you can do all four fins in a matter o' minutes with white glue. Ahoy! The instructions give you t' option o' sandin' a sharp edge on t' fins. Blimey! Do this as it improves t' looks o' t' rocket and t' Lite Ply hold t' sharp edge sanded into it. T' instructions call for mountin' t' nose cone on t' nose cone shoulder, me bucko, but that be already done in this kit. T' nose cone and the shoulder are pre- assembled, weighted, me bucko, me hearties, me hearties, and filled with expandin' foam t' keep the nose weight in place. Well, blow me down! Unfortunately t' nose cone was nay on straight when the kit arrived. One call t' Pratt Hobbies and a replacement be in t' mail, now that's great service. Ahoy! Begad! I then experimented with t' crooked nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! I ran a sharp knife blade around t' base o' t' nose cone and separated it from the shoulder. T' two parts stayed together since t' expandin' foam was still intact. Ya scallywag! I then took t' upper main body tube and t' nose cone, arrr, ran liquid styrene plastic cement (the type that comes in a bottle with a brush) around the base o' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Avast! Before that set, me hearties, I then glued t' nose cone and shoulder into t' upper main body tube and held it together until t' glue set. This worked very well, shiver me timbers, me hearties, as t' nose cone was now glued t' t' shoulder as well as t' upper body tube, matey, ya bilge rat, and also aligned properly. Well, blow me down! T' kit also includes two sizes o' launch lugs, shiver me timbers, 1/8" and 3/16" for low power and mid power motors. Aye aye! I attached both t' t' rocket for future versatility. Begad! T' motor mount adapters are simple t' construct, and you have t' option o' leavin' them loose or gluin' them in place if you only intend t' use one size motor. Arrr! Arrr! There are instructions for both methods with t' kit. T' rocket is very strong when completed, me bucko, it has t' be t' survive t' kick o' a "G" motor. Blimey!

T' instructions on finishin' t' rocket are brief and t' t' point. Ahoy! The rocket is white, three fins are black and one red. T' self adhesive decal is then applied t' t' top o' t' rocket and you are done. I did nay like the color saturation o' t' decal, it looks like an Avery label that is fed through an ink jet printer, so I masked and painted t' stripes on t' top o' the rocket as well. This takes a little longer, matey, but t' results are worth it. Ahoy! The final result is a sharp lookin' rocket that looks very close t' pictures I have seen o' t' real thing.

Flight/Recovery Rating: 4 out o' 5

T' recovery method for t' Tomahawk is by Streamer. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' kit comes with a four foot long three inch wide section o' yellow plastic "CAUTION" tape, ya bilge rat, t' type seen at construction sights. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! The Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is also four feet long, me hearties, and attached t' t' body tube coupler in t' nose cone section. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' attachment t' t' lower section is by tyin' the cord t' a section o' body tube approximately one inch square with a hole in it, and then gluin' that into t' lower body tube. Begad! Blimey! Be sure t' bow t' mount outwards since one side will nay touch t' wall if you don't. On t' cord is threaded a piece o' flameproof yellow Nomex® cloth. Begad! Blimey! This is a nice feature that eliminates t' use o' wadding, arrr, and t' risk o' fire as well.

Be sure that you read t' instructions on preppin' t' Tomahawk for flight. T' adapters are tricky and t' heatshield needs t' fill t' body tube and protect t' bottom o' t' streamer. Begad! T' motors that you can use sound like a laundry list o' available motors on t' market! T' only ones missin' are those from Apogee Components. Begad! T' ones that Pratt has flown durin' testin' are; 18mm: Estes A8-3, matey, B6-4, ya bilge rat, matey, C6-7, Aerotech RMS C6-7, ya bilge rat, D13-7, D24- 10T, and E27-4T, ya bilge rat, 24mm: Estes D12-7, matey, Aerotech E15-7, me bucko, F24-10, Aerotech RMS D15-7T, me bucko, E18-7, E28-7 and F12-5J, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 29mm: Estes/NCR Dark Star F52-7, Aerotech Econojet G35-7, Aerotech RMS F22-5J, F40-10, matey, F52-11, G33-7J and G64-10. Begad! Well, blow me down! What a list! T' stability o' a higher power rocket is o' concern, me bucko, arrr, so Pratt has included t' Center o' pressure measurement for this rocket. Blimey! Ahoy! If you are usin' t' larger motors, matey, you will want to verify stability before you launch. Well, blow me down! Heavier motors may require extra nose weight t' move t' center o' gravity forward past t' center o' pressure. Arrr! Blimey! All motors are retained usin' friction fit. Avast! Begad!

Since I wanted t' see how this model flies on t' lower end o' motors I tried an A8-3 first. Aye aye! There be a slight breeze and t' Tomahawk weathercocked into t' wind easily. Begad! T' ejection charge fired halfway back t' t' ground, sendin' t' motor mount out t' aft and t' streamer, matey, thankfully, matey, out the front as well. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I would have hated t' have this rocket become a lawn dart on the first flight. T' altitude could nay have been more than 100 feet. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' next motor I tried was t' venerable C6-5. This be better, ya bilge rat, as t' rocket went t' an altitude closer t' 300 feet. Begad! Unfortunately it also weathercocked and was headin' down when t' ejection charge went off. Momentarily t' rocket was tangled in t' streamer and then it freed itself and dropped tail first. Unfortunately it landed in a parkin' lot and one o' t' fins took t' brunt of the force. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! There be a 1/2" square section o' t' fin that shattered. Aye aye! I fixed t' fin by gluin' a piece o' balsa t' t' fin and sandin' it into shape. This will nay be nearly as strong as t' Lite Ply fin, but it looks better. Well, blow me down! Blimey! By the way t' pictures were taken after t' repair. Begad!

A few observations on t' small engine performance are in order. Blimey! Since this is a nose heavy rocket, that weathercocks easily on small motors, launch the Tomahawk with t' wind, me hearties, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, nay into t' wind. This will allow t' rocket t' be closer t' vertical when t' ejection charge fires. Well, blow me down! Also t' Tomahawk comes down rather fast, ya bilge rat, do nay launch it over a parkin' lot or hard ground, me bucko, me bucko, as it will damage t' fins on landing. Well, blow me down! Make sure that you carefully read t' instructions on t' motor mount adapters. Ahoy! Arrr! I missed a step which caused me t' try t' friction fit one too many adapters, arrr, which was responsible for t' motor mount being ejected on t' first flight. Finally, t' bigger motor t' better. Begad! The "C" worked much better than t' "A", ya bilge rat, and I am sure t' rest of t' alphabet will be even better. Arrr! If you do decide t' use t' larger motors, make sure that you use plenty o' trackin' powder, matey, and have t' recovery crew standin' by.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Everythin' considered this is a rather unique rocket. Ya scallywag! T' parts are o' high quality, me hearties, ya bilge rat, matey, t' selection o' motors is vast, and t' kit looks great when finished. Begad! I do nay suggest t' lower power motors, as they do nay allow this rocket t' really fly, arrr, but it would be a great demonstration rocket t' show the relative powers o' a large variety o' motors. Considerin' t' price ($12.95 last I looked), shiver me timbers, t' quality far exceeds t' cost. Well, blow me down! Avast! Add t' ability o' the Tomahawk t' fly on any motor from 18mm t' 29mm, you will be able t' fly it under any circumstances, t' excuse "I don't have t' right motor" will nay work on this rocket! T' main detraction is that t' instructions could be clearer, me hearties, one extra sheet would make a world o' difference, matey, and the small motors are marginal in their performance. Well, blow me down! Other than those two nits, me hearties, this is a great kit for t' experienced builder that would like t' "ease into" mid power rocketry.