| Construction Rating: |   | | Flight Rating: | | | Overall Rating: | |
Contributed by Howard Smart
 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
Construction was not difficult. The parts fit well together with a little sanding. 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 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 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 Flight Log| Date | Rocket Name | Motor(s) | Altitude | Notes |
|---|
| 2009-01-02 | Chan Stevens's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Winds a little too heavy for glide, though trim needs adjusting--add tail weight. | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | | | 2009-01-25 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | | | 2009-01-31 | Howard Smart's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Another very energetic charge broke the repaired boom, and both pieces tumbled to earth. | | 2009-01-31 | Howard Smart's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Overly energetic ejection charge blew nose cone off and motor remained with glider. Nose-heavy... | | 2009-01-31 | Howard Smart's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | Ejection during the coasting phase helped keep the ejection from destroying the glider again. The... | | 2009-02-07 | Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Long flat glide, duration was 18.5 seconds. I have to add some weight to one wing tip for a wide... | | 2009-02-07 | Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | The second flight for my HAWK. The Estes shotgun ejection charge broke the body in two just above... | | 2009-02-15 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | | | 2009-02-15 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | | | 2009-02-15 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A3-4 | - | | | 2009-02-15 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A3-4 | - | | | 2009-02-15 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A3-4 | - | | | 2009-02-15 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A3-4 | - | | | 2009-02-28 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | | | 2009-02-28 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | | | 2009-02-28 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | B6-4 | - | Way too much delay. Entered steep dive and couldn't pull out. | 2009-03-07  | Jim Bassham's Semroc Hawk | A6-4 | - | Rebalanced, and flew on Quest motor. Eject dlay too long, but glided very well. Landed in road,... | | 2009-03-07 | Jim Bassham's Semroc Hawk | B6-4 | - | Tried an Estes B and model flew nearly out of site. Did not see ejection, but it seemed about... | | 2009-03-07 | Jim Bassham's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Spectacular first flight. Corkscrews on the way up, but good burnout height. Long glide w/slight... | | 2009-03-12 | Robert Gustin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | Nice boost, but nose heavy | | 2009-03-12 | Robert Gustin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | Nice boost - better glide after added weight. Still nose heavy | | 2009-03-12 | Robert Gustin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A3-2 | - | Good boost, arced a bit - Good glide, nice turn rate. | | 2009-03-15 | Matt Gillard's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | another good flight | | 2009-03-15 | Matt Gillard's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | fast straight boost, good glide. | | 2009-03-21 | Paul Morris's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | forgot to glue nose cone on. came in diving bomb glide - no damage | | 2009-03-21 | Paul Morris's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | ejection charge ripped off motor mount - balsa failed not glue joint.easy repair | | 2009-03-28 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | Great boost. Ejected nose down. Not enough airfoil to pull out of dive. | | 2009-03-28 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | Perfect boost. Ejected horizontal for best glide to date. | | 2009-03-28 | Jason Orosco's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Nice tight circle flight all the way down. | | 2009-03-28 | Jason Orosco's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Good flight, The wind kicked up on this launch. | | 2009-04-19 | Matt Gillard's Semroc Hawk | A6-4 | - | great climb, spiral death dive, snapped in half on impact with ground. repaired and ready to fly... | | 2009-05-23 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | | | 2009-05-23 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | | | 2009-05-23 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | Power prang... Ouch! Repairable... | | 2009-06-27 | Chan Stevens's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Motor kicked through tail, lost back end. | | 2009-07-12 | Duane Boldt's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Nice, straight flight untl the ejection charge blew the fuselage in half. Will repair and try... | | 2009-09-07 | Duane Boldt's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Did not break where first repair and strengthening was made, but broke just past the balsa... | | 2009-09-19 | Duane Boldt's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | Finally fiberglassed the body and epoxied the whole fuselage. Put in a bigger motor because of... | | 2009-09-20 | Edward Chess's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Excellent straight boost. Could use a little tail weight, as sank a little fast, but glided very... | | 2009-11-29 | John Bergsmith's Semroc Hawk | B6-14 | - | Nice climb with a slight spiral, much higher than expected. Glide was close to what I wanted, but... | | 2009-12-05 | Jim Bassham's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Flew up great. Ejected perfect, slight stalling glide. Wind took it and it glided into the side... | | 2009-12-17 | Chan Stevens's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | | | 2010-01-10 | Todd Mullin's Semroc Hawk | A10-3 | - | Arcing boost. Ejected nose down and slammed into ground. | | 2010-03-06 | Chan Stevens's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Poopy glide, nose heavy. WIll add clay to tail. | | 2010-05-15 | Edward Chess's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Big pop with ejection. Glided very well in wind. Needs a hint of tail weight for better trim. | | 2010-06-05 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Nice flight w/bigger engine. Wide spiral again. Landed abt 50 yds away. No damage. Estimate... | | 2010-06-05 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Maiden flight. Pre-trimmed w/tail clay. Good ejection. Wide spiral flight down. Landed in lowest... | | 2010-06-05 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | 2nd flight. About 10-15 sec. total time. Wide spiral into a fence. Nose slightly dented. Lost... | | 2010-06-13 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Attempted NARTREK silver, only 22 seconds. Too much tail weight (clay). | | 2010-06-13 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | B6-6 | - | Attempting NARTREK Silver: 30.12 sec. Only had B6-6 engines. 6 sec. delay too long. Sturdy... | | 2010-07-02 | Matt Gillard's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | straight boost but dive bombed in. | | 2010-07-03 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | Beautiful flight! 46 sec. Good for Nartrek silver. Nice wide gentle turn. No burn marks. 2 sec... | | 2010-07-03 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | B4-2 | - | Another great flight. Landed in tall brush but my dog found it. Slight burn marks but no real... | | 2010-07-03 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | Good flight. 25 sec. Very forgiving aircraft considering all the mistakes I made on it. Super... | | 2010-07-25 | Tom Rankin's Semroc Hawk | B6-2 | - | Nice final flight for me at NYPOWER 15. The nose cone came off at ejection but glider is... | | 2011-04-25 | Matt Gillard's Semroc Hawk | A8-3 | - | spirraled in hard | | 2011-06-04 | Edward Chess's Semroc Hawk | 1/2A6-2 | - | Good boost and glide, but needs a little tail weight |
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