Brief:
The Hawk was originally introduced by Advanced Model Rocket Systems (AMROCS) in 1965. Its design is very much like the Estes Falcon. It's technically a boost glider, although it doesn't use a carrier vehicle, instead relying on ejecting the motor to handle the necessary shift in CG/CP relationship.

This Semroc "retro repro" faithfully reproduces the original design but modernizes things a bit by laser-cutting the parts.

Construction:
With a retail price of $7.50 I didn't expect a terribly complex kit, and the parts list is consistent with that expectation--an 18mm motor tube, balsa nose cone, launch lug, a couple sheets of laser-cut balsa, and a tiny waterslide decal. All parts were very good quality, and I'd even point out that on a few of the balsa parts, there are laser-etched alignment lines to simplify construction.

This would probably rate about a 1.5 on the skill meter with construction consisting of 16 steps on 10 half pages of instructions loaded with helpful illustrations. I sat down to build this after dinner one winter evening, and not only finished before bedtime but I had time to write up most of the review as well. I think my total build time was barely over half an hour, and I used wood glue on many steps that could have been done with CA in half the time.

I started out by sanding the parts while still in the balsa sheet, then carefully cut them loose, and finally sanding the laser burns off the edges.

The tail section is a little unusual but easy to build. I tacked a fuselage top piece to the stabilizer using the etched lines on the stabilizer as a guide. The bottom half is notched to fit snugly over the stabilizer and sits perpendicular to the top.

The pylon that supports the raised motor pod is made from two pieces of matching balsa glued together, eliminating the need for a thicker sheet to cut. The motor pod sits on top of this pylon, and the bottom of the pylon mates up to the top/forward edge of the fuselage.

The wing dihedral is nice and simple, and I didn't even have to airfoil the wings. With the fuselage inverted (I used a sanding block that was about 1.25" thick to prop up the aft end), the wing halves are tacked to the exposed underside of the fuselage with the tips touching the table surface. While this was drying, I finished up by using CA to glue on the rudder and little mini-winglet stabilizers.

Once everything had set (I allowed the wood glue on the wings to cure overnight), I followed up with as thin and light a fillet as I could apply on all the joints.

Finishing:
A good glider generally doesn't get paint, which would just add weight and hurt performance, but flying "nekkid" isn't that great an idea either, especially in the winter in southern Ohio when fields toggle back and forth between frozen and slushy. I decided to treat mine with a light application of Aerogloss red dope thinned 50%.

My finished glider, untrimmed, weighed in at 8.7 grams (0.3 ounces) and had a CG 3-3/8" aft of the fuselage tip, which was actually behind the trailing edge of the wings. However, given their sweep, they are probably in line with the CP.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
For the maiden flight, I wanted to just lob it up to test the glide trim, so I went with a 1/2A6-2. The winds were a bit too stiff for such a light glider, which were blowing steady at about 8 mph. The boost was fairly straight, leveling out a little downwind towards the end of the coast phase. The motor ejected cleanly for a perfect transition to glide.

Recovery:
For about 4 seconds, it looked like this might actually hold up in the wind as it came out of the boost/ejection pointed right into the wind. Once it got turned around though, it was all over--it took a nose dive at about 45 degree angle, clearly needing a little tail weight. I had tossed it by hand a few times and thought it would do better, however, the tosses were all on a calm day.

Flight Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Summary:
I'll give this the benefit of the doubt on the glide as it's clearly a trim issue on my end. Overall though, I really like this--it's cheap, goes together very smoothly, and the boost was excellent.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Brief:
I put my order into Semroc during their end of the year Christmas discount. My order was already over $40.00 and the Hawk was a free kit! I added an extra Hawk to my order. One to build, one to hoard.

I had an AMROCS catalog in the early 1970s. I remember thinking it was a near twin to the Estes Falcon. With laser cut fins, this kit went together much easier than my original Falcons did.

Construction:
There aren't many pieces in the kit inventory. 2 sheets of laser cut balsa make up the bulk of the model. That and a BT-20 Body Tube, nose cone and 1/8" launch lug round out the kit.

• 1 Balsa Nose Cone, BNC-20H
• 1 Body Tube, BT-20J
• 1 Set Laser Cut Fins, FV-65
• 1 Launch Lug, LL-2A
• 1 Small Hawk decal

I read through the instructions and noticed something important. At Step 16 you are instructed to fillet all joints, then round all edges and airfoil the wing. I decided to round most everything and airfoil the wings before gluing things together, except for the pylon halves. I glued them together, then rounded the leading and trailing edges.

All pieces released well from the laser cut balsa sheets. This balsa is 3/32" thick. The old Estes Falcon was made from 1/16" balsa. If memory serves me right, Semroc decided to go with the Hawk design over the Falcon because the Hawk's balsa was a little thicker and structurally stronger.

I sanded off all the tabs and blackened edges with 320 grit sandpaper on a block.

It's amazing how strong the model is when glued together. Considering it's just balsa, the "T" shape of the fuselage makes for a very sound main body.

At Step 13, I sanded an slight angle in the wing root edge to give a better flush fit against the fuselage.

I decided to fill and paint the motor tube separately from the glider. I temporarily taped the engine mount to the pylon to glue the wings in place. The engine tube/nose cone assembly has to be in place for the gluing of the wing dihedral. While the model sits on it's back, You glue the wings roots to the fuselage under the "T" of the fuselage. The dihedral is formed by letting the wing tips hang and touch the work table.

While the instructions say not to glue in the nose cone until after balancing the model, I wanted to finish it with the body tube so there would be a smooth transition with no nose cone/body tube seam. If it needed nose weight, I would add clay too the bottom of the engine mount tube.

The small triangular stabilizer tips have a laser cut alignment line burnt into them. The laser line was slightly out of parallel with the top of the piece. I checked the photograph on the instruction cover shot and saw the line was correct. The line was cut a little longer than the stab edge which helped the alignment.

Finishing:
It's not recommended to fill and paint the Hawk. I decided for a compromise. I filled and painted the nose cone, engine tube and launch lug. The underside of the glider got a coat of black felt pen. The dried felt tip ink shouldn't add any real weight to the glider.

I glued the nose cone into the body tube and used thinned Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler to fill the nose cone joint and body seams. I also filled the seams on the launch lug. The assembly was glued onto the pylon.

I then glued the lug to the motor tube an filleted the lug.

I primed then spray painted the engine mount/nose cone assembly yellow. It looks alright, but I wish I'd gone with a slightly darker yellow. I wanted a good contrast with the black logo decal.

The small, black Hawk logo was applied to the motor mount assembly. I added a coat of white glue to the front of the fuselage to protect the "skiff" from a hard landing. I also coated the top of the fuselage "T" and rear of the pylon to protect the balsa from the engine exhaust.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
After a few backyard throws I found the glider needed some clay near the rudder.

First flight was on February 7, 2009. I traded Brian Cole a 3-pack of C6-5s for some 1/2A6-2s.

The launch was straight up to maybe 100 feet. The engine ejected with a very loud "pop". I had a long, flat glide into the scrubs and trees. Andrew timed it until it went out of sight. The duration was 18.5 seconds.

I didn't add any trim weight not thinking the model would glide that far away. For the second flight I added a little clay to the right wing tip hoping it would cause it to fly in a wide circle.

The second 1/2A6-2 boost was the same. But, at ejection, the Estes "shotgun" ejection charge broke the fuselage in two above the stabilizer. The two body parts spiraled in slowly. Non-glide duration was 9.5 seconds.

Recovery:
PROs: It boosted straight and the glide was great on the first flight.

CONs: Mine didn't survive the Estes "shotgun" ejection charge. This isn't the fault of Semroc. They brought back and delivered a great kit.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
I read that Carl (Semroc) decided to bring back the AMROCS Hawk instead of the Estes Falcon. The body of the Hawk was stronger than the Falcon. I hope to (one day) fix it and fly it again.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Brief:
Near reproduction of a boost glider (BG) kit from 1965 made by AMROCS. This is a forward motor BG which changes from boost to glide by ejecting the motor casing, shifting its CG to the rear for gliding flight.

Construction:
This kit contains:

• (2) Balsa fin sheets - laser cut
• Nose cone - Balsa
• Motor mount 18mm
• Launch lug
• Decal

One thing was not clear and caused me a few moments of uncertainty was the two fuselage pieces are referred to as "halves." What is not made explicitly clear is that they are glued perpendicular to each other, not edge to edge. Rather than "halves," one could have been referred to as a "cross-piece" or "T-piece." A close inspection of the exploded drawing (which is great) does reveal this, but it is not, in my opinion, obvious enough.

I used a stationary belt sander to shape the airfoils on the wings. This went pretty well until I dropped one into the sander and ruined it. Luckily I had some identical balsa lying around and I made another wing.

Finishing:
For finishing I wanted to be as light as I could. All I did was sand everything down to 180 grit and paint the motor mount and nose cone gold. Then I applied the single decal to the side of the motor mount. Some of the sanding would have been better done before assembly but the instructions said to do it after, so I did. Some edges were impossible to round after assembly. Oh well.

It was nearly in trim before I painted the nose. Then it needed some tail weight. I was able to trim it out by gluing a small brad nail to a corner in the stabilizer section. It would glide smoothly with a little left turn on a hand toss.

Construction Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Flight:
My three flights were a tribulation. Let me say that I believe that this is a really cool kit, but that mine was a victim of excessive black powder ejection charges.

My first flight on an A8-3 looked good until it arced over, ejected and dove straight to the desert floor breaking off the tail section. Inspection showed the nose cone missing and the motor casing still in the motor mount.

After repairing the boom with epoxy and attaching a spare nose cone, I retrimmed the glider. Another A8-3 flight showed the same initial promise of a good boost. The ejection again occurred past apogee and this time the force of the ejection broke the boom just forward of the rear stabilizer assembly. Both pieces came fluttering to earth.

I finally got a glide on the third flight. This was a B4-2. It gave a very high boost - fairly straight up, thank goodness. The short delay had it ejecting while it still had some upward velocity and the boom did not break. The glide was a little steeper and not a long as I wanted, but that can be fixed for next time.

Recovery:
I do not recommend the A8-3 for this glider. The B4-2 worked well. With an appropriate adapter, a 13mm motor could be used. If so, I would use the 2 second delay.

Flight Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Summary:
This should be a solid performer. I believe the design is sound. I had a bad experience with the A8-3's. I would use the shortest delay possible. Epoxy the nose cone in place.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Brief:
This is Semroc's Retro-Repro kit of the 1965 AMROCS Hawk. It is a swept-wing boost-glider that uses motor ejection to change CG at apogee.

Construction:
The kit consists of a balsa nose cone, an 18mm motor tube, a launch lug, a waterslide decal, and two sheets of laser-cut balsa parts.

The instructions in this Semroc kit were well written, logical, and generously illustrated. Construction is very straightforward. The laser-cut parts are well produced, and go together very smoothly. I found it easiest to sand to shape and pre-seal the parts before assembly. The parts fit together very precisely, and the model built very straight and true. I was impressed with the quality of balsa used in the kit. It was very hard, but still light and free of any irregular grain. Truly some of the best balsa I have seen in a rocket kit.

Finishing:
I sealed the balsa with a 50/50 solution of Titebond cement and water. I brushed this onto the shaped parts and let it dry overnight. The next day I sanded the surfaces smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I did no additional finishing to the glider. My experience has been that this is the best finish for all-balsa gliders. Too much paint and smooth surfaces tend to make them glide like a brick. I added a few extra coats of the diluted glue to the nose-cone and painted the power-pod with Tamiya white primer and Red. Glide tests indicated that the nose-weight was needed and it was my hope that the bright red would be easier to spot on the ground. The waterslide decal went on without a hitch.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Glide testing was surprisingly tricky. The model is very sensitive to slight changes in weight. As built, it stalled badly, but just a small amount of clay in the nose was all it needed to balance. The main problem I found was that I could not get the glider to turn at all. I tried steam-bending a wing or the tail, but it just refused to turn. I ended up putting a small bit of clay on one wingtip to get it to turn. I would recommend you build it with the rudders turned just 1/32nd of an inch to one side.

The recommeded motors are 1/2A6-2 and A8-3. I could not find a 1/2A motor so I flew it on an Estes A8-3 for the first flight. The Hawk jumped off the pad and flew in lazy circles until ejection. The kick from the motor caused it to loop and it flew with a slight stall on a long, gentle glide back. Recovery showed that a small chunk of the nose cone had popped off, perhaps from the force of ejection. This may have resulted in the stall.

I took a pinch of clay from the wingtip and placed it in the nose and flew it on a Quest A6-4. The height was good and it corkscrewed less, but the delay was too long and it was pointing down at ejection. The glide was very good and flat. Nice flight overall.

For the third flight I tried an Estes B6-4. Corkscrewed up but went nice and high. Ejection was hard to see, but seemed about right. It stalled again this time, and when recovered I found another chunk was missing from the nose. Perhaps some vent-holes are in order? The glider showed no other damage from the oversized motor, and I think it might be able to handle a C6-3, but I didn't try it.

Recovery:
The motor ejection is a very big kick. The Edmonds CiCi uses a similar motor ejection, but has vent-holes near the nose. I think that might help. The swept-wings make this model very sensitive in balance and I think the chunks being lost from the nose were causing the stall. I think a slight turn built into the tail or wings would be advised. Overall, it was still a very impressive flier and stays up a long time on just an A. A very good performer.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This is a very good model at a very reasonable price. The materials are top-notch, and the laser-cutting makes it a breeze to assemble. The people that saw this fly were very impressed and liked to way it looked. The model develops a coating of ejection blast but otherwise held up pretty well. I thought it performed well for its type. If I built it again, I would build a turn into it and provide a vent hole in the engine tube to ease that kick at apogee.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Brief:
The Semroc Hawk RetroRepro boost glider is a very simple to build and easy to fly rocket boosted glider. Based on the 1965 AMROCS Hawk, it ejects its motor to establish a stable, balanced glide.

Construction:
In the well packaged kit you get:

• 1 Instruction set
• 2 3/32" balsa part sheets
• 1 BT-20 motor tube
• 1 Balsa nose cone
• 1 1/8" launch lug
• 1 Waterslide decal

The kit instructions are practically flawless. If you can follow them, you can build this glider. The lasered lines in the stabilizer and small rudders are really a nice feature. It makes assembly in those areas very simple. One small point, the instructions say to round edges and airfoil wings after assembly is complete. I disagree. Do the sanding before assembly when parts are much more accessible and easier to sand.

Finishing:
In gliders, paint is not normally used. The extra weight will reduce glide time and performance. While some like to fly gliders "nekkid", I like to use fabric dye to color balsa parts before assembly. Of course you must do all sanding before the dying process. After final assembly, 2 coats of thinned, clear dope make for a nice smooth finish without too much added weight.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
First flight was good. I had no 1/2A6-2 or A8-3 motors so I used a 13mm 1/2A3-2T. Using an adapter I built (see pics) to pop out of the Hawk motor mount, the 13mm motor boosted the small glider beautifully. Boost was nice and vertical, at ejection a nice loud pop, and my motor adapter floated down on its mylar streamer. The glider however was a bit nose heavy and landed not too long after the motor pod.

Second flight: tail weight added and same motor. Still a straight boost. Much better glide, though still a touch nose heavy.

Third flight: more tail weight added plus on wing tip to aid in turn rate. On boost, it arced over some but did not affect the boost very much. Much better glide, with a nice gentle left turn. Stayed up for about 45 seconds.

Recovery:
I like the motor ejection for transition to glide. It is somewhat dangerous as on all three of my flights, I could see where the motor had scraped on the tail boom. The top side of the wings, right next to the main boom, may need some mylar tape, or some other type of protection from the motor exhaust. After just three flights, I had a nice burned section on one wing.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
I like this glider kit very much. The nice laser cut parts and easy to follow instructions make this kit a certain favorite for anyone who like to fly gliders. The only CON I have for the whole kit is the one part in the instructions that say to sand all edges after final assembly. Much too difficult with this small glider.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Brief:
A retro boost glider that was purchased for me by my nephew and niece for my birthday. This was the first model rocket that I have built since I had a stroke--and it proved a bit of a challenge.

Construction:
The kit comes in a bag and contains:

• motor mount
• 2 balsa sheets of parts
• balsa nose cone
• decal
• launch lug

The balsa was light, strong, and very good quality.

One of the problems that I have had since my stroke is that I find it difficult to read and understand what I have just read. Also, diagrams are hard to follow. I see things drawn in 3D as 2D. Having said that, this was a well laid out set of instructions with good diagrams. The only mistake that I made was that I could not "see" the dihedral on the wings and glued then in flat. My brother took them off later and reset them.

Finishing:
I have only flown her naked so far so there has been no finishing yet.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight and Recovery:
The first flight was on a A8-3. She boosted straight and high. At ejection, the Hawk flipped in the air and nose dived in fast. I had not glued the nose cone in! (I had read the part about not gluing it in and not gotten the part about gluing it in!) However, the glider was undamaged and I found the nose cone.

After a quick field repair, the second flight was made, again on a A8-3. At ejection, the rocket split it two; both parts came tumbling down.

When I got both parts back, it was clear that the balsa had failed and not the glued seams. I'll repair her and I'll add a hole in the motor mount to vent some of the gases from the Estes shot gun ejection charge.

Flight Rating: 2 ½ out of 5

Summary:
I have seen other Hawks fly and I like them. I think I was just unlucky with my second flight.

Overall Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Brief:
A Retro-Repro production from 1965. The Hawk is a quick to build boost glider that ejects its motor and glides back down. Flies almost from the building board.

Construction:
Kit comes in a plastic bag and contains:

• 1 instruction booklet
• 2 3/32" balsa part sheets
• 1 BT-20 motor tube
• 1 Balsa nose cone
• 1 1/8" launch lug
• 1 Hawk decal

One of my balsa sheets was slightly crushed with one wing badly cracked probably due to transit.

The instructions are very clear and I built the model with CA gel in under 5 minutes.

The laser cut parts were perfect and I liked the little touches like the lines on the rear stabilizers.

After filleting with white glue, the glider is very strong.

Finishing:
I flew the hawk naked and without any airfoil. This was partly to see if everything was okay. She turned out to be nose heavy but only just.

I have now put a slight airfoil on the Hawk and then sprayed her a bright orange. Normally I don't spray gliders but this one performs well and a bit of correction mass on the rear helped with the balance. More importantly, my son has started flying with me now and he wanted it to be bright orange.

I am concerned that there is no vent hole in the motor tube.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight and Recovery:
She flies really well. The boosts are straight and high--higher than I had expected. The shot gun ejection charge from an Estes A8-3 really shoots the Hawk forward into its glide phase.

She performs well in the glide although so far she does not want to do much in the way of a turn.

After seeing someone else's hawk come apart from an ejection charge, I have drilled a small vent into the motor mount tube.

Flight Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Summary:
A great boost glider, could become one of my favorites (but will never beat the Edmonds gliders).

I would heavily recommend a vent hole in the motor tube.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Brief:
The Hawk is a boost glider that uses a rocket engine to get itself in the air. It is a "Retro-Repro" of an older rocket. Semroc is selling them for $7.50 right now so I decided to pick one up.

Construction:
When I bought the kit I figured there wouldn't be very many pieces. I got it and found only 5 parts in the whole kit.

It comes with:

• 1 BT-20J body tube (2 3/4" Long)
• 1 1/8" launch lug (1 1/4" Long)
• 2 balsa wood sheets (laser cut)
• 1 rolled balsa nose cone
• 1 small decal that says Hawk
• and the instructions

The instructions are perfect. They give you each step in order with illustrations. They even give you boxes to check after each step. At the beginning of all of Semroc's "Retro-Repro" rockets instructions, there is an interesting description of the company that originally made it.

The fins were easily taken out of the balsa sheet with an X-Acto knife. Some of them just fell out. I then proceeded to sand the parts smooth with fine sandpaper. The balsa wood parts have lines on them to show you where to glue them to other parts, just be careful that you don't sand to much or the lines will disappear. The balsa wood included in this kit is nice and hard, but you still need to pay attention to how and where you are sanding.

Attaching the wings is a little tricky but was not a hassle. You are supposed to invert the assembly in order for the body tube to glue on properly. You also attach the wings at this point. It is hard to get the wings to stay in place while they are gluing (if you're using wood glue), but I figured out a way to make it easier. Just apply the glue and wait a minute or two before attaching the wings. (This also works great when gluing on the stabilizer tips)

Once you have finished putting everything together you then need to add fillets to all of the joints. I found that toothpicks and Q-tips were invaluable in this step.

After that you need to sand all of the edges smooth and create an airfoil. (Airfoiling is optional.) This step was easy enough to do. I had to find a picture of an airfoil in order to figure out what I needed to do, but after that it was easy. I then tested it by flying it off of my second story deck into the grass. My glider nosedived into the grass at a right angle on the first try. I used small paper clips as weights on the rear stabilizer. I taped them on so that I could adjust them later (to make it turn). After two more throws it was ready.

I am amazed at how sturdy it is. I have never built anything out of balsa wood before and expected it to be flimsy.

All I needed to build this rocket was an X-Acto knife, some sandpaper, wood glue, and paper clips. (I'm sure you could find something better.)

Finishing:
With boost gliders painting is not recommended. It will cause them to glide for a shorter amount of time. It is recommended that you put one thin layer of clear coat on though, in order to protect the rocket. I did not clear coat my rocket because I didn't have any laying around and didn't have any time to use it (as the launch was the next day).

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
The recommended motors for this kit are A8-3s and 1/2A6-2s. I did not have any 1/2A6-2s so I used an A8-3. I set it up at the launch put and got ready to fly. When it launched it flew straight up, no circles, loop-de-loops or anything. It was perfect. Then the engine burned out and the rocket continued upward. Right at apogee the ejection charge went off. The ejection charge was so powerful it broke off the tail section! It may have been the engine hitting the rear part of the fuselage as I can see a little bit of damage there. Then the rocket came down, ever so slowly, fluttering to the ground. I was so mad! That wasn't supposed to happen. But I have heard that Estes engines, which are what I used, can have an overly energetic ejection charge. I'll have to reinforce it with something next time, if there is a next time. Oh well, I pretty sure it's repairable so I'll get on that.

Recovery:
It went up so straight that the two broken pieces landed within 15 feet of the launch pad!

Flight Rating: 2 out of 5

Summary:
I feel that Semroc has made a very good kit with easy to follow directions. The balsa might just be a little bit too weak to handle the forces of rocket flight though. I am going to try some of Quest's engines in it and see what happens. Although it may have that one problem I'm sure it can be overcome somehow so I am still going to recommend it to you. It is a fun kit to build and a great thing to launch, at least from what I saw.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out of 5