This is the first Rocket R & D (Cluster 'R') rocket I built. It comes in a bag with 8 pages of detailed instructions. It comes with a metal cable attachment on one of the two plywood centering rings for the shock cord to connect to, and it uses a 10 foot bungie for the shock cord. The body tube is marked but you must cut out the slots. It uses plywood fins with through-the-wall mounting into some FIRM (Fins with Internal Root Mount) strips, which are small wood strips that glue to the motor mount with a groove for the root edge of the fins to insert into. Unfortunately, the fin tabs on the root edge are 1/8" too long and must be cut shorter. Also, the supplied dowel is too short to make the antennae. I'm using a ROCKETMAN R3C parachute, and HeatShield parachute and shock cord protectors from Pratt Hobbies.
After the fins broke in April, I started doing major reconstruction including fiberglassing the body and fins - my first fiberglass attempt - with some 2 oz. cloth. It turned out OK for my first try. The fiberglassing added about 3 ounces to the rocket weight (was 28 ounces before). I also added an Aero Pack motor retainer during the rebuild - these are very nice.
After losing the payload section, I built a new front end using a LOC nose cone - it actually looks more scale-like than the original nose cone. I also changed the rocket to use dual deployment with my AltAcc in the coupler. Switched to a ROCKETMAN R4C parachute for the main and R24D parachute for the drogue. The altimeter, electronics bay, and additional parachute added about 12 more ounces.
Dia: 2.6"; Length: 58"; Wt: 44.8 oz (1270 gm) with altimeter; Motor (1): 38mm
Recommended motor: G54-6W, G64-7W, G80-7T, H123-10W, I284-14W
Status: Damaged.
| Flt | Date | Motor | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | 11/22/97 | G80-4T | Excellent flight, perfect delay given the windy conditions. |
| 2) | 11/22/97 | G80-4T | Excellent flight again. |
| 3) | 11/23/97 | F40-4W | Excellent flight again. I like this rocket! |
| 4) | 1/04/98 | G80-7T | Nice flight. |
| 5) | 1/31/98 | G80-4T | Nice flight. |
| 6) | 3/26/98 | H123-10W | Nice flight. |
| 7) | 4/16/98 | H123-10W | Another nice flight. |
| 8) | 4/22/98 | H123-10W | Another nice flight. |
| 9) | 4/23/98 | H123-10W | Another nice flight. Unfortunately, it landed on a rock and broke two fins, one in half :( |
| Major reconstruction and fiberglassing, repairs completed 8/02/98. | |||
| 10) | 8/06/98 | H123-10W | Nice flight. Small crack in one fin fillet. |
| 11) | 8/07/98 | I284-14W | Perfect flight and delay. |
| 12) | 8/08/98 | H123-10W | Nice flight. |
| 13) | 8/08/98 | I284-14W | Perfect flight and delay. |
| 14) | 8/09/98 | I284-14W | Another perfect flight and delay. |
| 15) | 9/19/98 | H123-10W | Another nice flight. End of body tube got an "Estes dent" from the bungie cord. Had to cut off an inch. |
| 16) | 10/24/98 | H123-10W | Good flight. I forgot to connect the shock cord to the payload section, payload section was not recovered. Booster came in flat, no damage. |
| New payload section with LOC nose cone, and set up for dual deployment. Repairs completed 11/24/98. | |||
| 17) | 11/28/98 | I161-W | Excellent flight, and dual deployment worked as planned. AltAcc reported 3062 feet. |
| 18) | 11/28/98 | I161-W | Another excellent flight, and dual deployment worked again. AltAcc reported 2960 feet. |
| 19) | 1/30/99 | I211-W | Excellent flight, dual deployment worked as planned. AltAcc reported 4575 feet. |
| 20) | 2/27/99 | I211-W | Excellent flight, but the shock cord mount broke. Broke two fins. AltAcc reported 4707 feet. |
Pictures
A picture of the Rocket R & D Sandhawk kit.
The Rocket R & D Sandhawk before its first flight.
The Rocket R & D Sandhawk on a H123-10W. 4/16/98.
The Rocket R & D Sandhawk again on a H123-10W. 4/22/98.
I hate when this happens. 4/23/98.
MPEG movie of the Sandhawk on a I161W. 11/28/98. (1.6 MB)
The Rocket R & D Sandhawk with it's rebuilt payload section. The LOC nose cone looks much better than the original. 11/24/98.
The Sandhawk with an I211W at ignition. 1/30/99.
