This model rocket was one of the prizes my son and I won at the 2007 Winter Nationals raffle. At the time this review was written, I hadn't built any of the Semroc SLS series kits yet. As soon as I opened the bag to inspect the parts, it became clear that the quality of the parts was simply amazing. Semroc kits usually have parts of excellent quality and this certainly is no exception. The parts in include laser-cut basswood fins, a laser-cut pre-slotted body tube, large nylon parachute, and balsa nose cone. All the parts fit together very nicely, without the need for any sanding The Sky Hook is also a very easy kit to build. It takes no time at all to build this rocket.

This kit actually has a 29mm motor mount! On a 29mm F, it'll hit 4,000 feet, according to the facecard. People often tell me I put too big a motor in small rockets and even I wouldn't want to put an F in this rocket. Maybe a 24mm F reload, like an F12 which would still take it to 2,600 feet.

A flight to 4,000 feet with a 18" parachute deploying at apogee just doesn't seem like that good a plan for a rocket this small.

Parts List

- balsa nose cone
- pre-slotted body tube and motor tube
- 3 laser-cut basswood fins
- Kevlar and elastic shock cords
- launch lug
- large waterslide decal
- 18" nylon parachute
- 29mm to 24mm adapater kit assembly
- illustrated instruction booklet

Construction

This picture shows a number of parts. The 29mm to 24mm motor adapter is on the bottom right. Above that is the motor tube with Kevlar shock cord attached to it. You can also see the laser-cut basswood fins and pre-slotted body tube. The nose cone still has wood filler on it, which will be sanded smooth when dry.

The fins and launch lug were attached and the nose cone was sanded smooth. Again, this kit is very quick and easy to build. The spirals in the body tube are small, primer alone would probably be enough to cover them up.

Measurements

The SLS Sky Hook is 20" long with a 1.34" body diameter and a 5.8" fin span. Semroc lists the weight as 3.00 oz.

Finishing

This model rocket kit comes with a huge decal. While the decal appears to be of excellent quality, I decided against using it. I'm just horrible with water slide decals. Instead, I opted to paint the blue lines on the rocket. Next, I scanned in the decal and removed the blue bar from the logo with graphics software. This was then printed on clear label paper. This method has worked fine in the past.

It wouldn't work this time. I forgot the lettering was white and part of it sits on the blue (painted) line. As my printer doesn't print white, you could see the blue bar there rather than white letters. Long story short, I painted myself in a corner (ha, ha) and the decal could not be used.

Flight Data

Both 24mm and 29mm motors are listed as recommended engines : Estes C11-5, D12-7, E9-8 and the Aerotech F25-9. The instruction booklet cover actually states "Flies on C-G Engines", there is no G motor specified on the list of recommended motors.

This model rocket performs beaufilly on a D12-7. Perfect delay for it and a great flight. Be sure to use plenty of recovery wadding. I must not have used enough and the elastic part of the shock cord burned. The nose cone drifted off while the remainder came down and hit the parking lot hard.