Picture Courtesy o' Blackhawk

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

Construction:
T' kit came with two glassine-covered body tubes, coupler, shiver me timbers, 8 nicely cut 1/4" plywood fins, 3 1/4" plywood centerin' rings, me hearties, shiver me timbers, bulkhead plate, U-bolts, me bucko, 10' tubular nylon, me hearties, parachute, launch lug, me hearties, matey, and nose cone. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! All around high quality material. Begad! Avast! Blimey! However, shiver me timbers, me hearties, ya bilge rat, thar was no provision t' attach t' nose cone to t' payload bay. Avast! You have t' supply your own hardware for that. Ya scallywag! You also have t' supply motor retention hardware. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! 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. Begad! This be the third high power rocket I've built--the other two were from PML and BSD. Avast! Avast! As a result, I didn't have any problem. Avast, me proud beauty! However, a beginner t' high power could have trouble, as some steps weren't clear, and t' third centerin' rin' wasn't even mentioned.

T' rings fit a bit loosely, me hearties, so you have t' be careful t' keep them level. Begad! I beveled t' leadin' and trailin' fin edges 22.5 degrees usin' a router table and a panel-raisin' bit. Ya scallywag! I put a 1/4" slot in a piece o' masonite with a 4" diameter arc at one end t' align t' main fins. T' secondary fins were added later, and aligned by clampin' wooden stakes betwixt t' main and secondary fins. Begad! 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, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I also added T-nuts t' retain rail buttons. Begad! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty!

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

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

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

Finishing:
I didn't finish it. 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, I2110-10, I357-6, I161-6, I156-6. Well, blow me down! Well, me hearties, blow me down! I ended up usin' a Pro38 3-grain motor (384I205) with a 9-second delay. Begad! Ya scallywag!

There is very little space t' place t' chute and shock cord. Blimey! Arrr! You need to pack it carefully t' fit. Well, blow me down!

There was a light wind.

Immediately after leavin' t' rail, t' rocket went into skywriter mode, did about 4 full loops, shiver me timbers, and landsharked under full power. Ejection occurred after t' landshark.

Recovery:
On impact, one fin ripped off. T' payload bay had a slight crinkle. Begad! Avast! 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. Begad! Arrr! I'll also be able t' get more room for t' chute by shortenin' t' coupler.

DEFINITELY ADD NOSE WEIGHT. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! This rocket is unstable if built accordin' to the manufacturer's instructions. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! If anything, me hearties, me CG was forward o' standard, as I assume t' only place I could have saved weight over t' manufacturer's quoted weight was t' use a little less epoxy on t' fins.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5