hawk hobbies super orbital transport

[jpaw33]

I've been trying to find the super orbital transport for awhile,Hawk hobbies does not reply to my calls and all the e-stores that sell thier product don't have it in stock.Can anyone help? Is Hawk hobbies still selling/producing kits? Thanks

[foose4string]

If Hawk's hobby doesn't pan out, Semroc has the upscale cones and everything else needed. I scratched mine before Hawk came out with their kit. You may want to pick up the Semroc OT kit as a reference, they've corrected some of the little scan errors found on Jimz plans. Excelsior can do the decals, or can be done at home on the injet or laser printer. I know most people would rather have a kit, I don't blame you there, but scratching might actually work out cheaper.

[sandman]

Check with Commenweath Display.

They may have some. I'd call.

http://www.commonwealth.net/rocketstore/

[jdud]

You can check with Rocketry Zone as well. Their website is currently down, but you should be able to get up with Dennis Tinney via email: rocketryzone@earthlink.net

[ghrocketman]

They stopped production of that kit over a year ago and were supposed to start kitting it again but don't think they have started up production again yet.
They stopped producing all of their kits a while ago due to a move I think.
Not sure if they got started up again or not.
I have one of their Super Orbital Transport kits and it is a great kit, but have not started it yet. (No, it's not for sale)
I think Commonwealth Displays may have some still.

[Doug Sams]

They stopped producing all of their kits a while ago due to a move I think.
I'm pretty sure they got set back by one of the hurricanes last year. I imagine any move was in response to the storm damage and not planned.

Doug

.

[LeeR]

I've started a scratch-built, based on a BT-60 main tube. Here it is pictured next to an Estes model (but with green decals). I got the upscaled decals from Excelsior. The orbiter tube is a Quest, I think -- it is something I had that was the appropriate scale in relation to the BT-60. I turned the cone myself. The main nose cone may get replaced with a balsa cone that is a more pointed, like the original. This is not a hard model to upscale, just enlarge a regular fin pattern set ~167% (based on ration of BT-60 to BT-50 on the original). You may have to play with a copier to get the settings scaling it the exact amount you need. I measured the longest root edge of a wing, and then determined what the root edge would be on the upscale, and tweaked the copier to give me that measurement.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii220/hobbes_pics/Orbital%20Transport/th_maxi-ot.jpg (http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii220/hobbes_pics/Orbital%20Transport/?action=view&current=maxi-ot.jpg)

[dwmzmm]

Loretta is the Contest Director for the Hearts & Darts Open Meet coming up at JSC later this
month, so I would venture to guess they're up and running. Keep us posted if you haven't
heard anything and I'll ask her at the contest.

[Initiator001]

I purchased a Super Orbital Transport at NARAM-50 from the Hawks Hobby tent during NARAM-50. :)

Bob

[Lady Hawk]

Hi Ya’ll know we haven’t been around here much lately but we do occasionally lurk.

Jpaw33, sorry for not getting back to you, but after reading this thread I went back and double
checked both my voice mail and email and could not find a message from you. The only message / email I have concerning the Orbital was for replacement decals.

Some of you have noticed that in the fall and again here lately there are no shopping cart buttons on the website this is because we lost a lot of our inventory in Hurricane Ike. We thought that putting every thing into our storage unit would be safer that it would be here but as it turns out the storage was flooded, we only had a few leaks here at home. Our home survived the Hurricane
but the shop we were in the middle of building was destroyed along with our new production equipment. Needless to say the last 6 months have been very hard on us.

We have not moved even though I would like nothing more, the only one to move was our oldest son and he did move right after the hurricane.

On a more personal / business front just before NARAM Mark’s hours at his “other” job was severely cut, what some of you may not know is that it’s Mark’s other job that helps finance Hawks. In hind sight we probably should not have gone to NARAM but that water under the bridge, because when we got back his hours were cut even more and then we got hit by IKE.
We were in the process of trying to recover from all that when Mark got laid off. The steel industry has been one of the first to take a big hit due to the economy. The good news is that he has a few job offers and should be going back to work this week.

Now due to all this we have had to shut down sales, we did have them up over Christmas, but have now shut them back down again. We were able to salvage about 29 kits and those will be on there way to Commonwealth Displays this week. There will be 2 Super Orbital Transports in this shipment.

We were gonna stop production of the Orbital Transport due to raising parts cost, which would mean higher prices for customers, but we were able to redesign the fins and keep it in production.
Kit planning and development are still under way while we recover from all these set backs, however to be fair to our customers sales will continue to be suspended till around this summer.
When we open sales again we will have some new kits for ya’ll as Mark has been busy with about 10 new designs.
Once Mark’s back to work we have a couple thousand dollars worth of tubes we have to replace plus balsa & basswood lost in the hurricane, we also have to replace equipment that was lost and one big bill that has to be taken care of before we can resume production. We will be using our income tax refund to help take care of this.

Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused anyone and for not replying sooner to speculation that has been posted, but we have always been very private on personal matters.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Sorry for the length.
Loretta / Lady Hawk

[bob jablonski]

Glad to hear everyone over there is OK and we're looking forward to seeing you at the launches (and checking out your new rockets). Maybe I'll finally get around to building the
Cherokee 3D.
Mr. Bob
Starlight dude

[dwmzmm]

Hello Loretta! I knew you'd come through. Guys and gals, when Ike hit the Houston area,
the side that Hawks Hobby is located (east side of Houston) was the hardest hit; likewise I'm
on the west side and we sustained very little damage by comparison. A lot of us are going
through some rough times, so let's be patient and understanding. Afterall, the rocketry community is like a big family (to me, it is).

Loretta, looking forward to seeing you guys at the Hearts & Darts later this month.

[jpaw33]

Thanks for the reply.Hope all will be well with your family and your business.Being a northern boy its easy to forget about the hurricane.I will call commonwealth tomorrow and see if I can get that kit.Thanks again,John P.

[Royatl]

Good to hear from you Loretta, and we know you'll be back and hope that it is sooner than you think!

Darrell Ritchie flew his SOT yesterday at the SoAR launch and it had a picture-perfect flight (well, except for the fin tip of the booster breaking off on landing, but it was a clean break!), and the orbiter had an impressive duration, a gentle curve, and it lined up to land smoothly on the sod very near the launchers. As for me, all of my Hawks Hobby rockets are still in the same condition when I talked to you back at NARAM. The Trident, Cherokee, and Snooper are in various stages of construction and finishing, and my SOT is still in the bag. I gotta get these things done!

[Gus]

Loretta,

Glad to hear that you, Mark, and the kids are well, but really sorry to hear about Mark's job.

For what it's worth, NARAM may not have been the best financial idea but Emma and I were really glad you guys were there. We really enjoyed your company.

I'm also happy to hear you just sent Commonwealth some more kits. I'll stop by there this Saturday and pick one up.

Stay well,

Steve

[dwmzmm]

Loretta,

Glad to hear that you, Mark, and the kids are well, but really sorry to hear about Mark's job.

For what it's worth, NARAM may not have been the best financial idea but Emma and I were really glad you guys were there. We really enjoyed your company.

I'm also happy to hear you just sent Commonwealth some more kits. I'll stop by there this Saturday and pick one up.

Stay well,

Steve

The owners of Commonwealth (not sure of their names), I met them at the REMAX Ballunar
Liftoff Festival at JSC in 2007. They were invited by the Hawkins, and I found them to be really first class people.

[Green Dragon]

Sorry to hear that you are still recovering - from Ike and economically, been tough keeping work, my own business is very slow now as well.

Friends I have in the Woodlands are still jst getting back on thier feet, too, been a tough few months, Ike, then flooding, etc.

Was good to see you at NARAM,a nd grab some quality kits ( still in the bags, oops ) .

God Bless.

~ AL

[jpaw33]

I talked to the guys at commonwealth and they will ship me the rocket once they get it.Thank you Loretta for resonding in these tough and trying times.I have my original orbital transport,built in the 70's and think a supersize one would be fantastic.Can't wait to start the build.Thanks all.John P.

[jetlag]

I love my Super Orbital Transport (and my upscale Trident and Super Solar Sailor)! It flew alongside Mark's at NSL this past year, and it was a perfect flight. Mine, Darrell Richie's, and Mark's flew in a 'drag race'. My glider flew nearly a mile, straight as an arrow (Seemed like a mile, anyway!). Looked like the Space Shuttle on its LONG final! I flew it with an AT E15-4 SU motor. It was nearly a perfect launch with recovery of the main body very near the pads. Hawks Hobbies makes some absolutely fabulous upscales. Can hardly wait to build their new Bomarc.
I believe a Blackhawk is in the works right now!!!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Mark and Loretta! I know everything will work out!!
Allen

[foose4string]

My favorite motor for this is the E11-3J. The thrust is just right, slow burn, lots of smoke, and just the right height(without what our club lovingly refers to as the "pucker factor"). :D
The D12-3 works well too. D15-4T boost is ok, but the delay is too long(high pucker factor). I suppose that delay could be changed/altered.

[Lady Hawk]

Gus,
We've been to a few events together now and Mark and I really enjoy the time that we've spent with you , Emma and of course Sandman (and his wife who's name is escaping me at the moment).

Emma is a very sweet girl ... tell her I said hi.
oh ya PM me your email address I have a picture of Emma and me that was taken at NARAM and I'll send it to her.

Loretta

[Lady Hawk]

Thanks for all the warm thoughts we really appreciate them.

Here's a little update for ya.
As if the last 6 months weren't bad enough Thursday we were in a accident. Everyone in both cars are fine, however little mustang vs silverado truck .... truck wins. There was only a little bumper damage to our truck but the mustang that rear-ended us is not so pretty anymore, it got a little crunched. OUCH!

On the up side Mark has been testing with a company for the last week and they have decided to hire him. So Mark's back to work. YEAH!!!

Loretta/Lady Hawk

[sandman]

Gus,
We've been to a few events together now and Mark and I really enjoy the time that we've spent with you , Emma and of course Sandman (and his wife who's name is escaping me at the moment).



Emma is a very sweet girl ... tell her I said hi.
oh ya PM me your email address I have a picture of Emma and me that was taken at NARAM and I'll send it to her.

Loretta


It's Meg. ;)

[Lady Hawk]

It's Meg. ;)



Thanks . I'll will file that into the memory banks for future reference. This morning my mind was just drawing a blank ... knew it started with a "M" . :)
Tell her I said HI.

Loretta / Lady Hawk

[jpaw33]

My orbital transport arrived today from commonwealth,yeeh-hah!Thanks for all the info to help me get this kit.Now I just have to finish painting my canadian arrow/v2 project,Thanks Barone.I'm goinging to be 1 busy mo fo.

[InFlight]

I wana see some build pics!

[jpaw33]

I will post some build picturs once I start this kit,might even post a review on rocket review.com.It's a pretty large kit and has quality parts.