Picture courtesy o' Madcow Rocketry    

Brief:
Modified for dual deploy. Begad! Avast! 24" Drogue and a 36" main. A 38mm and 1/4" plywood fins were also added.

Construction:
15.5" and 10.5" body tubes, 4 1/4" plywood fins, 1 1/8" centerin' ring, me hearties, 1 balsa tail cone, plastic nose cone, 36" chute, chute protector, Keelhaul®©™® shock cord.

T' standard Madcow Hawk is a 29mm motor with a single 25.5" body tube. Mike responded he had t' components for a 38mm model. Well, blow me down! Arrr! He upgraded t' fins t' 1/4", ya bilge rat, parachute t' 36", shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and sent 10.5" and 15.5" body tubes per me request for dual deploy. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' construction was no problem and consisted o' quality parts. I wanted t' build this sturdy for larger 38mm motors. Avast, me proud beauty! I be concerned with t' 1/8" centerin' rin' so I reinforced that with some scrap carbon fiber. Begad! T' body tubes were reinforced with fiberglassed sleeves from Soller composites. Avast! Ahoy! T' fins are mounted through t' wall and butted against t' forward centerin' ring, epoxy fillets, and then foamed. Ahoy! I cut some slots in t' balsa tail cone as it did nay clear t' fins inside t' body tube. Well, blow me down! I also reamed out t' bottom part of the tail cone with a Dremel t' insert an Aero Pack retainer. Aye aye! After t' tail cone was epoxied in place, ya bilge rat, I added tip to tip fiberglass over t' fins and t' t' aft o' t' tail cone. Avast! T' pieces went together without a problem other than the tail cone insert which was an easy fix. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! After usin' RockSim t' simulate a J350 flight, I had t' add 10oz o' weight to t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! This be done by pourin' in some finishin' epoxy, addin' lead shot, arrr, and then more epoxy topped off with foam. There wasn't much room leftover in t' payload bay so t' eye hook would nay work in t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I drilled two holes and ran a Keelhaul®©™® cord through t' holes. With t' added weight, a 48" chute would be best, me bucko, but it will nay fit so I stuck with the 36" chute. Arrr! Arrr! Also for t' altimeter bay, I used a 2.6" setup that I had already built for another rocket. Avast! I also used rail buttons rather than lugs.

Finishing:
I used Kilz for t' filler and after a lot o' sanding, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I sprayed a coat or two o' Krylon camouflage Olive paint for the body and a flat black for t' nose cone. Ahoy! T' finishin' coat was Krylon matte clear. This is nay t' most visible of colors, but I wanted t' keep it somewhat scale. Avast! One decal with t' kit showin' US ARMY. Another addition be 3 holes to the nose cone for shear pins. Begad! Ahoy!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' maiden flight for t' MIM23B was on an I357T. I was ready t' stick a J500G in it, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but thar be too much wind...maybe next time. Begad! Arrr!

RockSim indicated a flight t' 2531'. Blimey! This was also an opportunity t' try out a new tracker. Avast, me proud beauty! We angled t' rail about 10 degrees into t' 15mph wind and off it went. Ya scallywag! Great flight, and it didn't seem like t' wind affected it. Everyone lost sight o' it and after several nervous seconds, I saw it about 400' off t' ground under both chutes.

Recovery:
After recoverin' it, t' first thin' I noticed was t' tracker had been ripped from t' Keelhaul®©™® cord I attached it with. Well, me hearties, blow me down! It also tried t' zipper but only very minor damage was done thanks t' t' fiberglassing. It can fly again without repair. Avast! But why did we nay see it under t' bright orange drogue? Turns out t' ematch failed for apogee deployment so it came in at about 205mph t' 500' where I has set t' MAWD t' deploy t' main. Begad! Arrr! This pulled the payload out from t' booster. Aye aye! Begad! A few fellow fliers heard a whistle over t' wind, which must have been t' high speed descent. This model has t' split fins so a whistle is expected at high speed. T' altimeter chirped off an altitude of 3510', matey, me hearties, just a bit more than RockSim said. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty!

I have t' wonder what it will really do on a J--RockSim says 5200' on a J-350W. There's nay enough room for a 38/1080 so I'll have t' stick with 38/720. I also really like t' Aero Pack retainer. Begad! Arrr! Simplicity at its best. Ahoy! Begad! As far as the tracker goes, shiver me timbers, it works. We were able t' locate it in t' middle o' t' field after goin' back for t' receiver. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! If it wasn't for t' ematch, it would have been a perfect flight.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I am happy with t' kit. Aye aye! I built it solid t' push it t' t' max.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5