Cluster-R Army Hawk

Cluster-R Army Hawk

Contributed by Daniel Cutteridge

(Contributed - by Daniel Cutteridge)

Brief:
This is a stock Cluster-R 2.6 inch diameter Army Hawk missile. Well, blow me down! It is 43 inches long and weighs approximately 25 oz. Begad! Begad! T' only modification I made was to replace t' stock parabolic nosecone with an old Estes Honest John nosecone. T' rocket has a 29mm motor mount and four 1/8in. Blimey! glassboard fins.

Modifications:
T' first thin' I did was t' remove t' shock cord mount and t' 12in damaged section o' tube. I then went t' an old corpse o' mine...an Aardvark 2.6in. AMRAAM that lawndarted on its maiden flight. Begad! I removed an intact 13in section from t' payload and (after some surgery) t' coupler came out too. Begad! Avast! I then re-glued t' coupler, reattached t' shock cord and set t' NC on. Blimey! Cool. There was only one problem: this only took me about an hour and I be still bored with t' look o' t' rocket so I decided t' spice things up a little. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I had an Estes Honest John kit that I never had and never would finish. Well, blow me down! I stole its nosecone but t' shoulder was about a half inch too long. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I epoxied t' bottom half o' t' NC t' t' new payload section. Begad! When that dried I drilled six holes through t' BT/NC shoulder area and threaded some machine screws through the holes. Then I attached some nuts t' t' screws on t' inside, me bucko, re-added nose weight, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and completely assembled t' NC. T' overall affect was super strong and wicked cool looking. Avast! Well, blow me down! Then t' finish it up I painted everythin' except the "new" payload section chalk board green. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! When this paint dries you can really draw on it with chalk. I then renamed this monster "Holy Hawkamoly" t' match t' new paint and original name. Aye aye! Begad!

Construction:
T' only reason that this is a mod kit is because I did nay write a review on it when it was bone stock. My modification o' this rocket actually started out as a repair. Avast! After several stock flights on anythin' from G35s t' H128s, shiver me timbers, the upper 12in o' t' BT was startin' t' show severe wear. Ya scallywag! I figured since I was bored and t' rocket needed it, me bucko, why nay give it a face lift while installin' a new upper body.

My pros were a basically new unique (to say t' least) rocket and a salvaged NC.

T' cons were that I had t' rip off t' old lugs and add new ones with standoffs so t' NC would clear t' rod and t' new NC would undergo more direct pressure under flight and t' NC walls were a little flexible.

Flight:
I have flown me repaired bird twice. Ahoy! Ahoy! Once with a G104 and again with an H128. T' rocket flies a few feet less than before t' repairs due t' t' new NC but not too noticeable.

Summary:
All in all this a great rocket. me most stable bird. T' original kit built like a tank. Arrr! I highly recommend t' original but if you get it, I suggest you make it for middle separation because it comes as a standard NC ejection rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Still I have t' say I like t' overall improved look way better.

Other:
When I built t' original kit I learned one thing: t' original instructions tell you t' glue t' supplied shock cord t' t' inside o' t' airframe. I highly recommend you add a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® no longer than half t' length of the airframe and mount it t' t' centerin' ring.

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