Brief:
T' Hawk be originally introduced by Advanced Model Rocket Systems (AMROCS) in 1965. Avast! Its design is very much like the Estes Falcon. Ahoy! Ahoy! It's technically a boost glider, although it doesn't use a carrier vehicle, arrr, instead relyin' on ejectin' t' motor t' handle t' necessary shift in CG/CP relationship.

This Semroc "retro repro" faithfully reproduces t' original design but modernizes things a bit by laser-cuttin' t' parts.

Construction:
With a retail price o' $7.50 I didn't expect a terribly complex kit, and t' parts list is consistent with that expectation--an 18mm motor tube, balsa nose cone, launch lug, ya bilge rat, a couple sheets o' laser-cut balsa, and a tiny waterslide decal. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! All parts were very good quality, matey, and I'd even point out that on a few o' t' balsa parts, me bucko, thar are laser-etched alignment lines t' simplify construction.

This would probably rate about a 1.5 on t' skill meter with construction consistin' o' 16 steps on 10 half pages of instructions loaded with helpful illustrations. I sat down t' build this after dinner one winter evening, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and not only finished before bedtime but I had time t' write up most o' t' review as well. Begad! I think me total build time was barely over half an hour, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and I used wood glue on many steps that could have been done with CA in half t' time.

I started out by sandin' t' parts while still in t' balsa sheet, then carefully cut them loose, and finally sandin' t' laser burns off t' edges.

T' tail section is a little unusual but easy t' build. Well, blow me down! I tacked a fuselage top piece t' t' stabilizer usin' the etched lines on t' stabilizer as a guide. Aye aye! T' bottom half is notched t' fit snugly over t' stabilizer and sits perpendicular t' t' top.

T' pylon that supports t' raised motor pod is made from two pieces o' matchin' balsa glued together, eliminatin' t' need for a thicker sheet t' cut. T' motor pod sits on top o' this pylon, and t' bottom o' t' pylon mates up t' t' top/forward edge o' t' fuselage.

T' win' dihedral is nice and simple, ya bilge rat, and I didn't even have t' airfoil t' wings. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! With t' fuselage inverted (I used a sandin' block that was about 1.25" thick t' prop up t' aft end), matey, t' win' halves are tacked to the exposed underside o' t' fuselage with t' tips touchin' t' table surface. Avast, me proud beauty! While this was drying, arrr, I finished up by usin' CA t' glue on t' rudder and little mini-winglet stabilizers.

Once everythin' had set (I allowed t' wood glue on t' wings t' cure overnight), arrr, I followed up with as thin and light a fillet as I could apply on all t' joints.

Finishing:
A good glider generally doesn't get paint, matey, me bucko, arrr, which would just add weight and hurt performance, but flying "nekkid" isn't that great an idea either, me hearties, shiver me timbers, especially in t' winter in southern Ohio when fields toggle back and forth betwixt frozen and slushy. I decided t' treat mine with a light application o' Aerogloss red dope thinned 50%.

My finished glider, me bucko, untrimmed, me hearties, weighed in at 8.7 grams (0.3 ounces) and had a CG 3-3/8" aft o' t' fuselage tip, shiver me timbers, which was actually behind t' trailin' edge o' t' wings. However, given their sweep, me bucko, arrr, they are probably in line with t' CP.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' maiden flight, I wanted t' just lob it up t' test t' glide trim, so I went with a 1/2A6-2. T' winds were a bit too stiff for such a light glider, which were blowin' steady at about 8 mph. Ya scallywag! T' boost was fairly straight, levelin' out a little downwind towards t' end o' t' coast phase. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' motor ejected cleanly for a perfect transition to glide.

Recovery:
For about 4 seconds, it looked like this might actually hold up in t' wind as it came out o' t' boost/ejection pointed right into t' wind. Begad! Well, blow me down! Once it got turned around though, it was all over--it took a nose dive at about 45 degree angle, arrr, clearly needin' a little tail weight. Ya scallywag! I had tossed it by hand a few times and thought it would do better, however, ya bilge rat, t' tosses were all on a calm day.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I'll give this t' benefit o' t' doubt on t' glide as it's clearly a trim issue on me end. Avast! Blimey! Overall though, matey, I really like this--it's cheap, me bucko, matey, arrr, goes together very smoothly, and t' boost was excellent.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5