Hawk Mountain Enterprises Transonic

Hawk Mountain Enterprises - Transonic {Kit}

Contributed by Stephen Pellegrino

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Hawk Mountain Transonic

Brief:
A high altitude, 38mm minimum diameter, fiberglass, mach capable rocket. Very high quality parts.

Construction:
2 fiberglass 38mm diameter body tubes. Ahoy! Aye aye! One main tube and one payload section. Includes a fin can made o' high impact plastic and fiberglass. Avast, me proud beauty! Approximately 8ft o' 3/8" Keelhaul®©™® strap, and a Keelhaul®©™® reinforced Nomex® heat pad. Blimey! Arrr! A Rocketman drogue chute and quick links as well as other hardware. Begad! Well, blow me down! A fiberglass nosecone cast in polyester resin. Begad!

T' instructions were clear, easy t' follow, me hearties, me bucko, and included color photos for most o' t' steps. T' assembly order was logically organized. T' kit was obviously thought out very well and fin alignment be nay an issue as the included fin can was well made and fit t' tube with no problem. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! However, in the instructions it says t' you may need t' center t' fin can with tape. The reason for this be t' fin can be made universal, me hearties, arrr, in order t' fit a number of tubes, but I found this unnecessary. T' fin can is tough as nails. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! The nosecone is retained by plastic removable rivets.

Hawk Mountain Transonic

Finishing:
Finishin' was easy and t' tubes take primer very well. Avast, me proud beauty! All you have t' do is sand off t' seam marks on t' fin can with some 80 grit sandpaper t' make it smooth. Blimey! It kind o' chews up t' plastic, but all o' that is removed after you sand and prime a few times. Aye aye! No decals were included. Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
It preps easily, but you may have a hard time gettin' t' chute into that tube as well as t' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! No waddin' is required since Nomex® was provided with t' kit. Well, blow me down! I used an Aero Pack 38mm retainer and a 29mm adapter. T' retainer is included, but t' adapter is not. Ahoy! I flew "Cosmic Wind" for t' first time at METRA on Saturday November 5,2005. She flew on a H97J motor as I didn't want t' fly it on a "punch" motor right away. Aye aye! When t' countdown reached zero, shiver me timbers, me bucko, Cosmic Wind soared off t' pad slowly but built up speed as it flew. Begad! Begad! I was surprised that t' motor has enough punch to get her off t' pad that fast.

Hawk Mountain Transonic

Recovery:
T' shock cord is Keelhaul®©™® strap that is very durable. Ya scallywag! T' recovery is fast but that be t' idea. Avast! Ya scallywag! I also bought a streamer for those really high flights, me bucko, arrr, all I have t' do is point the rocket slightly downrange so it doesn't hit anyone--it will fall really fast then. Avast! I found no damage on recovery so t' Rocketman Drogue did it's job.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is great if you like t' ease and toughness o' a fin can and the altitude o' a minimum diameter rocket.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Hawk Mountain Enterprises Transonic By Darren Wright

    ( Contributed - by Darren Wright) Brief: A 38mm minimum diameter all fiberglass rocket of unparalleled quality. Construction: The rocket airframe is spiral wound solid fiberglass tubing. The kit included the main airframe plus a payload section, with a fiberglass coupler and plywood bulkhead. The nose cone is solid resin, with no casting marks. The fins are the molded Acme 38mm ...

Flights

Comments:

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S.S. (May 1, 2001)
I have flown the Transonic about 6 times now and it is a great rocket. Several things-it takes some dexterity to glue the shock cord to the inside of the airframe- I glued mine farther down the tube than recommended to leave more room for the chute-I used a dowel with sand paper on it to scuff up the inside of the airframe. It is VERY important to get the fin can on squarely-straight, it is easy to do if you take some time. I also came up with positive nose cone retention to the payload section I used plastic gromets-that are removable. The components are top quality and the instructions are excellent-they even include some altitude simulations. I recommend the Transonic highly-along with Hawk Mountain-their service is great.
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P.B. (June 1, 2001)
I have the Raptor & Transsonic 2. I scratch built the Transonic 1 but wanted a longer frame 60" so I used and extra tube and coupler. If you want more 'chute room don"t glue the shockcord to anything. Run the shockcord through air frame, double it over and sew with Kevlar thread. Glue with CA to hold in place while sewing. Shockcord fold is about 1/4". Slid in your Aerotech motor, pull shockcord to motor aft closer folded over tab point to nozzle and screw on an Aeropack retainer. Now you have a nice smooth surface inside your air frame with lots of extra inches for 'chute & whatever. The whole shockcord is now removable for inspection and replacement. It works. 18 flights on same shockcord. Must use flat shockcord. Works on any rocket with an Aeropack retainer.

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