Picture Courtesy o' Blackhawk

Brief:
Sport scale high power version o' t' SAAB

Construction:
T' kit came with two glassine-covered body tubes, matey, shiver me timbers, coupler, 8 nicely cut 1/4" plywood fins, 3 1/4" plywood centerin' rings, bulkhead plate, U-bolts, 10' tubular nylon, parachute, ya bilge rat, launch lug, me bucko, and nose cone. All around high quality material. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! However, thar was no provision t' attach t' nose cone to t' payload bay. Blimey! Blimey! You have t' supply your own hardware for that. Aye aye! You also have t' supply motor retention hardware. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! On t' other hand, t' U-bolts came securely attached t' t' appropriate rings.

T' instructions seemed t' be for a generic high power rocket. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! This was the third high power rocket I've built--the other two were from PML and BSD. Well, blow me down! As a result, ya bilge rat, I didn't have any problem. However, a beginner t' high power could have trouble, me bucko, as some steps weren't clear, ya bilge rat, and t' third centerin' rin' wasn't even mentioned. Ya scallywag!

T' rings fit a bit loosely, shiver me timbers, so you have t' be careful t' keep them level. Aye aye! Arrr! I beveled t' leadin' and trailin' fin edges 22.5 degrees usin' a router table and a panel-raisin' bit. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I put a 1/4" slot in a piece o' masonite with a 4" diameter arc at one end t' align t' main fins. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' secondary fins were added later, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Arrr! T' fin tabs were 1/16 t' 3/32" too long, shiver me timbers, and so t' fin roots were "elevated" off t' body tube, me hearties, requirin' a fillet under them.

I added a PML modular baffle at t' top o' t' motor mount, and T-nuts for motor retention at t' aft centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I did this by nay securin' t' aft centerin' rin' until after the motor tube was glued in. This allowed me t' get into t' area betwixt the middle and aft rin' and glue (with thickened epoxy) t' T-nuts.

There are 7 feet o' fillets along t' fins! It took four pumps o' West epoxy (+ thickener) t' finish those. Avast!

I got some removable white plastic rivets from Rocketmotion t' secure the nose cone. Blimey!

My rocket came in about 4 ounces lighter than t' Blackhawk specs.

Finishing:
I didn't finish it. Well, blow me down! Considerin' what happened t' first flight (see below), that was a good idea.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Blackhawk R&D recommends t' I300-10, matey, I2110-10, me bucko, I357-6, I161-6, I156-6. Avast! Blimey! I ended up usin' a Pro38 3-grain motor (384I205) with a 9-second delay. Ya scallywag!

There is very little space t' place t' chute and shock cord. Ahoy! You need to pack it carefully t' fit. Aye aye! Avast, matey, me proud beauty!

There be a light wind.

Immediately after leavin' t' rail, t' rocket went into skywriter mode, did about 4 full loops, arrr, and landsharked under full power. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ejection occurred after t' landshark.

Recovery:
On impact, me hearties, shiver me timbers, one fin ripped off. T' payload bay had a slight crinkle. T' damage should be easily repairable, though I might just swap out t' payload bay for a PML replacement--it's less work than tryin' t' patch t' crinkle and surprisingly cheap. I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

DEFINITELY ADD NOSE WEIGHT. Aye aye! Begad! This rocket is unstable if built accordin' to the manufacturer's instructions. Well, blow me down! If anything, me CG be forward o' standard, as I assume t' only place I could have saved weight over t' manufacturer's quoted weight be t' use a little less epoxy on t' fins.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
Actually good value for t' loot. Begad! Ya scallywag! Pretty rocket. Begad! Ya scallywag! Lots o' people were wondering where I got it. Begad! If only t' vendor would talk about nose weight in the instructions, t' flight ratin' would have been higher (e.g., me bucko, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, about a 4, I bet).

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5