Brief:

T' Night Hawk is an awesome (yet simple) 7x29mm cluster rocket made by THOY. Avast! Begad! I received this rocket as a Christmas present a few years back. Begad! It has very easy construction, and can fly on about any combination o' 1, ya bilge rat, 2, me hearties, 3, 4, matey, ya bilge rat, 5, matey, 6, or 7 29mm motors.

Construction:

T' rocket came in a plastic bag with (1) long 3.9" airframe tube, (1) short 3.9" payload tube, ya bilge rat, (2) centerin' rings, (7) 29mm motor tubes (3 long, me bucko, 4 short), matey, (3) plywood fins, a steel cable shock cord mount, a 36" fluorescent orange 'chute, a 1" wide black elastic shock cord, me bucko, an ACE 3.9" nose cone, a 3.9" booster/payload coupler, matey, a 1/2" launch lug, and a plywood bulkhead with an eye hook for shock cord attachment. T' airframe tubin' be thick paper (like LOC tubing), and all o' t' parts were undamaged, and o' good quality.

T' kit had standard construction, shiver me timbers, and went together smoothly. Begad! Blimey! T' only problem I had in construction was installin' t' fins. Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, arrr, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! When I did this, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, shiver me timbers, and therefore left a bilge-suckin' gap along t' fin root. Arrr! Blimey! I solved t' problem by fillin' t' gap with putty, arrr, shiver me timbers, but I do nay know if I aligned t' tubes incorrectly, matey, shiver me timbers, or if t' tabs were cut too long. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Either way, t' rocket still went together very well, me bucko, and looked very nice. Aye aye! Blimey! It is quite large, shiver me timbers, too, ya bilge rat, (about 5 feet tall) so it stands out.

Finishing:
In t' year betwixt construction and t' first flight o' this rocket, shiver me timbers, it went through three different paint schemes. Avast, me proud beauty! I finally ended up with an all black body, arrr, with U.S. Arrr! Air Force decals on it. I painted it with sanded grey primer, and Krylon spray paint. Begad! I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. Ya scallywag! I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, shiver me timbers, and covered up t' nasty, ya bilge rat, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Hey... Ahoy! Arrr! I know it sounds cheap, shiver me timbers, but it worked!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight o' t' Night Hawk be at t' ROCC (Rocketry O' Central Carolina) November, shiver me timbers, 2000 launch. Blimey! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). T' motors were friction fitted into place, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. Aye aye! Aye aye! So... Avast! Blimey! I consulted some people, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' man that donated them said they were pretty good- especially when he first used them. He said he had had some misfires lately with them. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Despite this, ya bilge rat, I took them, ya bilge rat, matey, and loaded them into t' rocket, and wired them in parallel. Then, arrr, matey, 5...4...3...2...1... LIFTOFF! All three motors lit, me bucko, arrr, me hearties, and t' rocket ROARED off o' t' t' pad on an awesome column o' black smoke.

Recovery:

T' rocket ejected at apogee, but t' 'chute was a bit too small, and it descended a little too fast for me liking. Aye aye! It cracked one o' t' fin roots on landing. So... I then took on t' adventure o' glassin' t' booster (main) section o' t' rocket, t' fins, and t' fin roots. Blimey! T' process was messy, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. Aye aye! So, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, arrr, arrr, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Then, t' rocket was once again primed, sanded, me hearties, and painted. Aye aye! I painted it just gloss black this time, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, t' slow down recovery speed, matey, I left t' 36" 'chute on t' main body, ya bilge rat, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, so that each section could descend slowly, ya bilge rat, arrr, and separately. Ya scallywag! I also attached rail guides, matey, shiver me timbers, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Begad! Now it was time for flight two. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Aye aye! This time around, I made sure I got good igniters, matey, me hearties, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. Ya scallywag! T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Arrr! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, and t' Night Hawk roared off o' t' rail into t' sky on a light trail o' Blue Thunder smoke with a little blue flame at ignition (I had t' look hard, arrr, though). Begad! T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Well, blow me down! T' flight was great.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:

PROS: T' Night Hawk looks sharp, is easy t' build, and flies great on about any motor combination you can think of... Avast, me proud beauty! but make sure you build it strongly! CONS: T' chute is a bit too small, you must make sure you line t' motor tube gaps with t' fin slots, shiver me timbers, and t' flight cost is goin' t' be more than single motor flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5