IQSY Tomahawk in the house!

I just finished building an Aerotech IQSY Tomahawk that I got from Worsaer - thanks, Bill! He included a couple of extra goodies (25-ish feet of 750lb kevlar, pack of 3 AT E15-7W SU motors) as well. This is my first true MPR kit, and also my first non-Estes kit build. All construction was done using medium or thick CA except for a couple of spots where I used wood glue.

First off my apologies for the lack of photos. Simply put I forgot to take them once I got rolling with the build. Add in being a bit tired from screwed up sleep patterns the last few days and I'm lucky I didn't glue myself to the rocket! Well...about that....

The first thing I noticed is that all parts are very tight fits, especially the Fin-Lok rings and centering rings to the motor tube. Getting all the rings in place required careful work with an X-acto knife and sandpaper. Other than that the MMT assembly process was fairly quick and painless. I went ahead and used the included stainless mesh to see if it's something I like or not. Once the mount was complete it was inserted into the BT for fin mounting. Here is where I ran into a tiny bit of trouble. As tight as the fit on the motor tube the centering rings were a much looser fit in the BT. No gaps, just not snug. Normally it wouldn't be an issue but since the Fin-Lok rings and fins have to be aligned correctly the loose fit made for a bit of a hassle as the MMT would just slip and rotate with the lightest pressure. I finally got everything aligned to my satisfaction but had to resort to applying a drop of medium CA applied to the CR through the fin slots to keep it in place while I got everything secured. Installing the fins after that was pretty straightforward.

With the lower body finished it was a simple matter to assemble the screw eye, bulkhead and coupler then glue that into the upper BT. Here I diverted from the kit instructions by using wood glue instead of CA. I was just more comfortable doing this as I was concerned with the CA grabbing too quickly to allow the coupler to be inserted properly. Getting a good fit of the coupler to the lower BT required peeling the layer of white paper off of the exposed coupler. I then saturated the surface of the coupler with thin CA (and managed to drip some onto the surface of the BT and glue my fingers to the darned thing) followed by sanding it smooth with 150 grit sandpaper. The result is a snug but not tight fit in the lower BT and a surface that will withstand many ejection cycles. I had planned to saturate the upper couple of inches of the lower BT as well but the fumes of the CA were beginning to cause me some issues despite working in a well ventilated room with a fan blowing across my work area.

My only real deviation from stock was to substitute a 5x lower BT length section of kevlar cord for the kit elastic. A butterfly loop was tied 1' below the payload bay assembly and a quick link will be used to attach the parachute. I had thought to use an Aero Pack retainer but couldn't justify the added expense. I haven't attached the nose cone yet as I'm debating making it removable so that an altimeter or other instrumentation can be installed. Other than that the rocket is completed and ready for the painting process. I'll be using gloss white, black and red since those are what I have on hand and I really don't want to buy more paint just now. I can always go back later and overcoat with a flat clear if I want to.

As I said above this is my first Aerotech kit but it won't be my last. Definitely a change from Estes in both materials used and construction techniques. I'm definitely looking forward to building more from them in the future!

PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!!

Were you at the MDARS launch two weeks ago? Being in California City it was right in your back yard? I flew my ISQY on an F20-7. 1176 feet (The F20 is a 65ns F or 80% a full F).



2012-09-22-MDARS-0097.jpg by InDanaPt, on Flickr



2012-09-22-MDARS-0118.jpg by InDanaPt, on Flickr

Oh... I left out the labyrinth thingy and such so I can shove in CTI 29's and 24's! :wink:

I wanted to make that launch but came up sick instead. Makes three months in a row something has come up to stop me from attending - frustrating!

This rocket was my first mid power rocket. I had only been flying low power, but after I attended my first high power launch, the bug bit and I bought an IQSY Tomahawk kit to dip my toe in the water. It has since been a favorite in my fleet.

I built mine stock for lack of any better ideas at that point. I didn't glue the nose cone on. I am glad I left it off. It has allowed me since to fly an altimeter in the payload area and later my Big Red Bee tracker for bolder flights.

It has served me well. I did have an ejection failure on a recent flight and it came in ballistic. I was able to repair her though and she has since flown again. The only thing she is missing right now is for me to repaint the black segment at the top of the body. She was too eager to fly again and couldn't wait for that last bit of detailing.

Good luck with yours! It is a great flyer on everything from E's on up!

Jim Z

I didn't glue the nose cone on. I am glad I left it off. It has allowed me since to fly an altimeter in the payload area and later my Big Red Bee tracker for bolder flights.

Jim Z[/QUOTE]

Never even occurred to me to glue a nose cone on a payload section! The instructions say that? Guess I should have paid more attention. No! Don't do it. An Adept altimeter is $20. Fun and educational. Because then you can adjust Rocsim or Openrocket's CD until it about matches the readings you get.

I think AT's rockets, if (IMO) you leave out the thrust ring and baffle stuff, so that you can use larger loads, are EXCELLENT rockets. Mind you building them will not really teach you new techniques because nothing else is built like them. But they are great flyers. I loved my Initiator. And at the time, I DID build it stock. So it was a "Slap a motor and fly" rocket.

The ISQY is a fun rocket to fly. Here are a couple of pics of my son's, flying earlier this year on a F23-7FJ.






... but enough about us. Please take some pics when you fly!

I'd pretty much decided to just use screws to hold the nose cone on since it does offer the opportunity for a small payload. When I'll ever be able to buy an altimeter is a good question, but there are a lot of folks where I'll be flying it who do stuff like that so who knows? Might as well plan for it now rather than wish I had later. I do plan to use a different retention system and eliminate the engine block from now on.

Here's a pic of where it stands now:


I still have a bit of work to do before paint, but it's pretty much there. Need to find a quick link to attach the parachute and get a can of good primer is all.

Pics when it's painted and pics and video when I fly (if I can talk my wife into coming out, that is).

One of my favorites.

I used the 5.38 for my L2 cert on a L1420R load.

Did a little building while at the cabin in the far Northern woodlands (got tired of fishing......seriously ,my left wrist hurts from catching Walleye ,Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike all day) so I built another IQSY Tomahawk between fishing and hunting :wink:

My other Aerotech IQSY finally crashed after many many flights.

My mods on this kit are as follows :

No metal mesh ,but kept the plastic blast director,centering ring/shock cord attatchment point part and epoxied eyescrew in.

No spring retainer/thrust ring ,used 29mm Aeropack

Epoxied all internal parts to MMT (fin ring locks ,CR`s and plastic shockcord /CR part)

All styrene parts sanded w/ 80 grit and washed with alcohol (not beer)

Used Kevlar for shockcord and no elastic used whatsoever.

Snapped fins into fin locks ,used styrene welding cement for plastic to plastic connections ,then ran epoxy internal fillets from fin to body tube.I did not use "cement" on the external fin roots ,as I saw no need for that.

Did not use a payload section ,instead used the coupler and short upper body tube to make more room for chute and Nomex protector .

Using Nosecone ejection

Using rail buttons

Using a bigger chute rather than the supplied 22" that came with the kit (great chutes BTW)



My last Tomahawk was tight for room when i built it with the payload ,so no more and no need.

Needs paint, then bring on the 29mm CTI loads !

This is indeed a great great kit ,as are all the Aerotech offerings.

Next up ,a new Wart Hog ,on the bench as I type this.



Cheers

paul T

$20 gets you an altimeter from Adept. Just remember to tape the battery down good so it does not move during acceleration.

What I'm hoping to get is the jolly logic AltimeterTwo. Whether I can convince the better half that I need it is the question! :lol:

Tarasdad said:

What I'm hoping to get is the jolly logic AltimeterTwo. Whether I can convince the better half that I need it is the question! :lol:

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That works as well. I have the one and the two. I'll be honest, I have not really found a good use for all the other data the Altimeter Two collects. I wanted to use it to work the rocket's CD, but instead I just use the peak alt, and approximate the flight profile in ROCSIM (vertical, wind, temp, etc...). Then adjust the simulation CD until the altitude about matches... at the point I call it good enough and rerun all the other motor simulations.

For that, any altimeter with do. And the Alts 1 at $20 is great as long as you have a payload section and remember to secure the battery REALLY well. The cool thing about the Jolly Logic thingies is they don't need a payload bay.

gdjsky01 said:

$20 gets you an altimeter from Adept. Just remember to tape the battery down good so it does not move during acceleration.

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good tip. they also tell you to install it with the spring up to prevent the battery from momentarily being disconnected during ignition.

fox_racing_guy said:

One of my favorites.

I used the 5.38 for my L2 cert on a L1420R load.

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Theres a 12 step program for people like us, right?

Finishing materials have finally been acquired. Popped into our Ace Hardware and got my quick links for the parachute, spray primer and a can of yellow paint for my V2 build. I'm not entirely happy with the way I secured the nose cone so that may end up being reworked. Need to find some less obtrusive screws or come up with some plastic/nylon rivets to replace what I have now. Spirals still need filling as well. Pics and updates as available.

MasonH said:

Theres a 12 step program for people like us, right?

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Certainly looks like there is at least a FOUR step program. :roll:

try 'button head' screws.
rex

That's what I want, Rex. Just need to dig through my parts boxes and see if I have the right size.

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Found 'em! Now to see if I have something that will do the job. If not I can always head back to Ace.

think I used the 4-40 size and tapped threads into the nose cone shoulder(madcow plastic 4" and a 3" fg cone), jus make sure the two parts are fully seated before drilling and index the holes.
rex

Wow! Love them pics!

Do UQSY like IQSY?

Found some good screws in my spare parts. Wrapped a piece of tape around the BT, carefully cut the tape so the ends were an exact match. Pulled it off and measured to gt the circumference (150mm on the dot) then measured and marked for the holes. Careful application of a sharp 1/16" bit and the nose cone is now held in by three small pan head screws. After finishing that minor task everything's was sanded and cleaned and the first coat of primer was applied, followed 30 minutes later by scuff sanding and a second coat.

And that's where she sits for now. I'm giving the second primer coat 24 hours before I sand it and recoat again. Once I'm happy with the primer coats I'll let it sit fir 5-7 days before shooting color. As I said earlier I'm going with the stock scheme, only using gloss white and black instead of flat. I'm hoping to have it done before the MDARS launch on the 27th.

Tarasdad said:

I'm hoping to have it done before the MDARS launch on the 27th.

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Sweet! I am hoping to be there! - I used IIRC gloss and then lightly coated it with a flat clear coat.

If I don't get the paint finished it'll fly in primer. As it is I need to fix a couple of rough spots - accidentally got a finger on the edge of a BT while the primer was wet. What I get for trying to paint it fully assembled, I guess. Didn't bother to fill the seams so it won't be a show finish, just a launch finish. Don't have the patience for perfect paint jobs any more. Used to be I could spend days working on the paint for a 1/48 scale model airplane or 1/35 scale armor model then weathering and detailing, but not any more. If it's more complex than a two-tone easy to mask scheme it's not gonna happen! :grin:

Paint is done! Not my best job but whatever, it'll do. Took far more white than I wanted to use but that's what it took to cover the gray primer. Decals went on pretty easily and make it look pretty darned sharp. I may think about misting on some Testors Dullcote eventually but for now it's going to be shiny. Pics forthcoming.

Pic as promised!



I'm really looking forward to seeing this one fly. Wish I could afford some bigger motors for it - or do I? All that walking....

She looks great! Nice job. First flight would be fun to watch, wish I could be there. Try to get someone to snap pics while you watch her fly. You're right about bigger motors; without dual deploy you might have a long, long walk. This is a relatively light rocket that could drift a long way.

Hope to see you in what? A week and 2 days? We'll fly both of ours. Looks great! Guess I'll call you Tarasdad.