NightHawk Glider Boys

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues....

Well, the AirShow has come and gone, and we're left with the memories now. 

Our club set up an information table, but had chosen NOT to sell rocket kits this year.  Then the president showed up with a box of assorted rocket kits, and mentioned that he was just going to give them away to interested parties.  I felt he should at least be compensated for the money he put out in advance.

And so, when one of the booth attendants asked what to do with them, I made an executive decision that we'd sell them.  And then the question was, why not make a sign advertising them. I didn't object.  And so we sold them.  All. For $5 each.  And I made sure the cash went into the president's pocket at the end of the day.

But that's not the point of this blog entry.

No, there was something else that caught my eye as we were setting up.

Almost opposite us under their own tent, was a pair of guys who had many kits laid out for sale. At first glance, they sure looked like balsa fin rocket kits.  However, they weren't rockets.

Instead, they were airplane gliders.   These guys had no less than three different models of gliders for sale.

Now, I'm certain that you recall those cheap glider airplanes that were thin balsa from back in our youth.  The balsa was stamped with red ink making it look like a airplane when assembled. As I recall, there was usually a metal clip on the nose to give it nose-weight.

But these were different. They are billed as "Nighthawk Gliders".  And they are very professionally packaged and designed.

It occurred to me that their simple toy plane was much more appropriate for the airshow than our model rocket kits were, and so I resolved to try to help them as much as possible.  After all, they also were in support of the small rural airport through their rental of booth space, or, had a deal to pay a percentage of their sales.  (I don't know which, and it's none of my business.)

These guys were a class act, with professional business cards, slick brochures, nice packaging and a quality product.   In fact, during the several hours of the show, I saw them continually assemble and test their smallest glider, complete with contact paper decals that made them look really sharp.  They also had printouts of the instructions/plans, so you could make a replacement part if necessary.

And they sold a lot of assembled gliders.  They also were $5 a piece, and were about half the size of a sheet of copy paper.  For the material, they might have been a little pricy, but the quality was there. I saw them test fly each and every one they assembled, tuning it until it flew smoothly. 

And they had a lot of clients.  Families were lining up to buy junior a toy.  And they could immediately launch it, fly it, retrieve it, and start again.  It was the perfect memento of the airshow, (and in my opinion, a better fit than our rockets.).    So whenever we had a kid that was a bit small for rockets, I would encourage the parent to consider a glider from the next tent over.  I figured it was good business to have the family have a positive experience, whether or not we made money this time around wasn't a consideration.

But I have gotten distracted from the description of the gliders. 

 One of the more advanced models had a pair of plastic clips that attached it to a very lightweight frame that housed an RC control circuit.  That's right, there was a very simple RC controlled version of their glider that was VERY well designed.  It ran for quite a bit more, but it also plugged into a USB port to recharge, and could be flown (controlled) from your phone!  Amazing!

There was also a second model that was a similar glider, but launched via a rubber band sling shot.  This clever kit not only included the laser cut fins and all parts of the glider, but also included all the tools that you would need. It was a self-contained kit, complete with Exacto knife, clay, sand paper, and glue.  You could buy this one kit and keep the tools.  It was a great value.

Unfortunately, I got distracted and never got back to their table to buy the kit, but that second model was the one was leaning to... despite the fact that I already have several Exacto knives laying about at home.

These guys had driven all the way from Indianapolis to attend this airshow, which showed a lot of commitment.  I don't know if they stayed over or not, but they seemed rested and had a long drive home after the show.  I assume the day was profitable for them, and trust that they'll be back again next year, as I thought their cheapest glider was a hit with families.

I want to give you a link for more info on their business and models.  From their business card,

NighthawkGliders.com is their website, and YouTube.com/NightHawkGliders  is a video. 

You can reach them at NightHawkGladers@Gmail.com  too.

And if you do reach them, you can tell them that the Thrifty Rocketeer blog sent you. (I doubt that they'll know that's me, but they will remember the airshow, I am sure.)