Rocket R & D 2.6" Sandhawk

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.

Altimeter data

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