Brief:

T' Night Hawk is an awesome (yet simple) 7x29mm cluster rocket made by THOY. I received this rocket as a Christmas present a few years back. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! It has very easy construction, and can fly on about any combination o' 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ya bilge rat, 6, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, (2) centerin' rings, (7) 29mm motor tubes (3 long, me bucko, 4 short), shiver me timbers, (3) plywood fins, me hearties, a steel cable shock cord mount, shiver me timbers, a 36" fluorescent orange 'chute, a 1" wide black elastic shock cord, an ACE 3.9" nose cone, a 3.9" booster/payload coupler, a 1/2" launch lug, and a plywood bulkhead with an eye hook for shock cord attachment. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' airframe tubin' was thick paper (like LOC tubing), matey, and all o' t' parts were undamaged, and o' good quality.

T' kit had standard construction, and went together smoothly. T' only problem I had in construction was installin' t' fins. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! T' rocket has through-the-wall fin mounting, and each fin tab is intended t' slip through t' slot in t' body tube, and fit betwixt two o' t' seven motor tubes. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! When I did this, arrr, t' fins did nay go in all o' t' way, and therefore left a bilge-suckin' gap along t' fin root. Ahoy! Blimey! I solved t' problem by fillin' t' gap with putty, arrr, but I do nay know if I aligned t' tubes incorrectly, me hearties, or if t' tabs were cut too long. Ahoy! Either way, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' rocket still went together very well, me bucko, and looked very nice. Begad! It is quite large, too, arrr, (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. Aye aye! I finally ended up with an all black body, with U.S. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Air Force decals on it. Aye aye! Arrr! I painted it with sanded grey primer, ya bilge rat, and Krylon spray paint. I also made 1 other change on t' rocket. I replaced t' 1/2" launch lug with 2 1/4" launch lugs, matey, and covered up t' nasty, hard t' sand putty on t' fin roots with epoxied on strips o' construction paper. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Hey... Blimey! I know it sounds cheap, 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, 2000 launch. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! I chose t' fly it on a three-in-line cluster o' (1) G38-4FJ, me hearties, and (2) F23-4FJs (a 206NS H94-4FJ equivalent). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motors were friction fitted into place, ya bilge rat, and I then ran into t' problem o' nay havin' good low current igniters. Well, blow me down! Blimey! So... Avast! Blimey! I consulted some people, matey, matey, matey, and I ended up with some igniters called "Firestarter" (not Firestar) igniters. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Despite this, ya bilge rat, I took them, shiver me timbers, and loaded them into t' rocket, and wired them in parallel. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Then, 5...4...3...2...1... Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! LIFTOFF! Blimey! All three motors lit, arrr, 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, me hearties, and t' fin roots. Arrr! T' process was messy, but it came out all right for me first try at it. Arrr! I then had t' refinish t' rocket. So, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I filled t' glass with vinyl spackling, and put a wrap o' clear lamination sticker on t' payload t' make it all smooth and pretty. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Then, ya bilge rat, t' rocket was once again primed, me bucko, matey, sanded, arrr, and painted. Ahoy! I painted it just gloss black this time, arrr, and put no decals on it (but I will someday soon :-) Lastly, t' slow down recovery speed, I left t' 36" 'chute on t' main body, matey, ya bilge rat, but attached two smaller chutes t' t' payload, so that each section could descend slowly, and separately. Begad! I also attached rail guides, arrr, and threw out t' old 1/4" lugs. Now it was time for flight two. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' motors o' choice here were (2) F50-4Ts, and (1) RMS F52-5T reload (a 240NS H146T). Ya scallywag! This time around, I made sure I got good igniters, so I ordered some Trailin' Edge Technologies Fire-in-the-Hole low current tungsten igniters. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' second flight was at t' ROCC April 2001 launch. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' new igniters worked t' perfection, ya bilge rat, 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, me hearties, though). T' separate recovery worked perfectly here, and t' rocket only suffered some paint chipping. Aye aye! T' flight be 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... Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! but make sure you build it strongly! Blimey! CONS: T' chute is a bit too small, you must make sure you line t' motor tube gaps with t' fin slots, and t' flight cost is goin' t' be more than single motor flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5