Brief:
4FNC skill level 1 easy build kit with plastic fin can.

Construction:
The kit comes in plastic bag with:

• bright orange nose cone
• large, wide white body tube
• yellow plastic fin can
• motor mount, motor block, engine hook, and centering rings
• parachute kit
• Kevlar® & shock cord
• decal stickers

I selected this kit for a rocket build I was doing with kids between the ages of 7-11, and most of them had never built a rocket before. I was looking for a rocket that allowed easy packing of a parachute, a rocket large enough to see all stages of flight, and one that would not frustrate first time builders with balsa fin problems. This rocket seemed to fit that description.

The assembly begins with constructing the motor mount. This included placing the engine hook in an already slotted motor mount, gluing in an engine block, taping the hook, adding the Kevlar® around the motor mount, and gluing the centering rings. Once the engine mount was dry, I tied the shock cord to the Kevlar® and then glued the motor mount assembly inside the body tube.

Next, I placed some plastic cement inside the fin can and slid it on to the body tube so that it was flush with the end. All I had to do now was tie the shroud lines on the parachute, attach the shock cord to the nose cone, and tie the parachute to either the shock cord or the nose cone.

The only change I made to construction was to add a swivel hook to the parachute to lessen any twisting of the chute.

The only real gotcha: the instructions were not clear which was the top and bottom of the fin can. I ended up gluing the fin can on the rocket upside down. As you might guess, this rocket is pretty foolproof, and the rocket performs fine with the fin can inverted. The only way I could tell which was the correct side of the fin can was to study the face card in the rocket kit bag.

Finishing:
Since this is on the really low end of the Level 1 spectrum, there is no painting involved. All I did was add the stickers to the body tube and it was ready to fly. Sticker decals are cheesy and these look no less cheesy than any others. However, the kids I was working with really enjoyed the stickers and they all tried to find creative ways to put them on their rockets.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I flew this rocket three times and all flights were successful. The first flight was on an A8-3. What I like about the Bright Hawk is that Quest designed a launch channel/lug directly into the fin can. It is easy to just slide it right on the launch rod. The rocket, due to its size, struggled off the pad and flew maybe 50-70 feet. The parachute opened in time and recovered nicely.

The next 2 flights were on B6-4s. The ascent was very straight, great altitude for athletic field flying, and the parachute brought it down nice and easy.

The fin can can take a beating. The parachute is a good size for the rocket. The size of the rocket allows it to be viewed in all aspects of flight.

Recovery:
This is a really easy kit to prep on the field. It is simple for kids to fold the parachute and place it in the body tube without worrying about jamming a chute inside a tiny tube. I look forward to flying with the kids in my rocket build.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
PROs: A good, simple design that requires minimal, basic building. A good introduction to the hobby of model rocketry. Fin can contains a launch lug, so there is no need to add one on.

CONs: There was some confusion about the direction of the fin can. Also, the sticker decals are cheesy (but easy to apply!) Rocket flies well, despite the fin can being upside down.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5