With the weather here below freezing, the progress on my Hawkeye Upscale has stalled at the primer / paint stage so why not start something new. Honestly, this is a rocket I never would have bought as I don't care for it's looks. Estes sent it to me with a pack of motors after a CATO a while back and I never really looked at it until yesterday. It's different and I'm hoping that I grow to like it during / after the build. If not I might give it away at a club launch next spring.
Parts list is pretty standard stuff. BT50, 18" long, Maverick style conical nose cone. Balsa fins, 18mm motor mount etc.
After reading through the instructions, the tail nozzle is not used in this kit but I decided that I wanted to use it. It's included and will look good so why not. I began by separating the tail from the nose cone then trimmed away the excess plastic. I did this first as I will need the tail section to locate the rear centering ring on the motor mount.
Next up was a standard motor mount build. For this step, I used the two centering rings and the motor block.
Upper ring was installed about an 1/16 of an inch down from the end of the tube.
The motor block was installed using an old Estes yellow motor tube spacer. I have marked this to allow the motor to extend 1/4".
Next was locating and installing the rear centering ring. I knew I wanted the end of the motor tube to sit flush with the end of the nozzle. The rear ring was slid onto the tube then the tube was pushed down through the nozzle until it bottomed out. Once located, glue was applied to the top side of the ring to keep it in place and left to cure.
Next up was the fins. Each fin is two pieces. There is a piece that connects to the leading edge and extends to the right. I'm assuming this is designed to make the rocket spin but honestly it looks like it's going to create drag more than anything else. All three fins are built the same with the additional piece to the right of the leading edge. I started by sanding everything with 400 grit. The Balsa is extremely soft on this kit and sands very easily.
The pieces were tacked together with CA at three points. I will come back with either epoxy or wood glue for the permanent connection.
Repeated the process for all three fins.
Had to stop there for the night. I'll do more tonight and be back with an update tomorrow.
Parts list is pretty standard stuff. BT50, 18" long, Maverick style conical nose cone. Balsa fins, 18mm motor mount etc.
After reading through the instructions, the tail nozzle is not used in this kit but I decided that I wanted to use it. It's included and will look good so why not. I began by separating the tail from the nose cone then trimmed away the excess plastic. I did this first as I will need the tail section to locate the rear centering ring on the motor mount.
Next up was a standard motor mount build. For this step, I used the two centering rings and the motor block.
Upper ring was installed about an 1/16 of an inch down from the end of the tube.
The motor block was installed using an old Estes yellow motor tube spacer. I have marked this to allow the motor to extend 1/4".
Next was locating and installing the rear centering ring. I knew I wanted the end of the motor tube to sit flush with the end of the nozzle. The rear ring was slid onto the tube then the tube was pushed down through the nozzle until it bottomed out. Once located, glue was applied to the top side of the ring to keep it in place and left to cure.
Next up was the fins. Each fin is two pieces. There is a piece that connects to the leading edge and extends to the right. I'm assuming this is designed to make the rocket spin but honestly it looks like it's going to create drag more than anything else. All three fins are built the same with the additional piece to the right of the leading edge. I started by sanding everything with 400 grit. The Balsa is extremely soft on this kit and sands very easily.
The pieces were tacked together with CA at three points. I will come back with either epoxy or wood glue for the permanent connection.
Repeated the process for all three fins.
Had to stop there for the night. I'll do more tonight and be back with an update tomorrow.
The nose cone and fins are Krylon Foil Green Met. The engine nozzle was done in Krylon Dark Gray Met. 
