Centering ring question

Fellow rocketeers,

I just ordered the 3" IQSY Tomahawk from Rocketry Warehouse. This will be my first 54mm kit, I'm pretty confident the build will go well. But the question I have is about the amount of centering ring space between the MMT and the airframe. I usually drill a 1/4" hole in the upper centering ring for a 1/4" eye-bolt for tubular nylon attachment. Is there enough space on this size centering ring to do so? I also have 3/16" eye bolts as well. Or am I better off making a notch inside of the centering ring with my dremel and using 1/4" Kevlar epoxied to the MMT tube? Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I built my 3" Intimidator.
I came across the same problem.
I'm pretty picky about these things.
Wildman advocates notching the inside of the centering ring and epoxying the Kevlar harness.
I'm not a fan of that method.
The Kevlar will form a weak spot at the edge of the epoxy,
it will eventually fail there.
The worst part of this is you don't have a good view of the weak spot flight after flight.
It will warn you before it fails, like anything else, but you won't be able to see the warning.

A smaller eye I'd be OK with, no problem, as long as it's a continuous or welded,
not an easy item to find, and I can find anything, but I can't find a solid 3/16 or 10/24 eye.

One more stipulation, I want to be able to change my shock cords when they wear,
and I'd like to be able to see them wear.

There's only one more option, you may not like this, but I built my 3" Intimidator with no eye.
I use a 5/16 threaded forward enclosure and thread a 5/16 solid continuous eye in that.

The rockets got a half dozen flights on it,,,,,,,,,,no problem,,,,,,,
I'm used to assembling it for launch this way now,,,,, I'm happy with it........
Teddy

It will be tight. Take a look at some of the builds posted by Blackjack2564. Your best solution is likely a loop of Kevlar long enough to extend out of the booster tube then tie a loop knot at the end to connect the shock cord to. The aft ends of the harness (2) should be epoxied on opposing sides of the motor mount.

dixontj93060 said:

It will be tight. Take a look at some of the builds posted by Blackjack2564. Your best solution is likely a loop of Kevlar long enough to extend out of the booster tube then tie a loop knot at the end to connect the shock cord to. The aft ends of the harness (2) should be epoxied on opposing sides of the motor mount.

Click to expand...

That's brilliant! I'll take a look at some blackjack's builds and explore some other possible options. I probably won't receive the kit for another couple of weeks cause they're out of town I presume and won't ship till after the 21st, plus I ordered it custom cut to make the sustainer 36" and 12" payload section for electronics at a later time.

Thanks for the feedback

Other option is epoxying in an aircraft cable leader. Get a crimp and make a loop, and make a notch big enough so that the crimp remains behind the centering ring while the loop is above it. This is the method used on my Predator Jr., hasn't done anything bad yet. Plus, it would be pretty hard to rip that stuff! It's a pain just to cut it!

onebadhawk said:

A smaller eye I'd be OK with, no problem, as long as it's a continuous or welded,
not an easy item to find, and I can find anything, but I can't find a solid 3/16 or 10/24 eye.

Click to expand...

Ted check out what I found

https://www.ebay.com/itm/150591008364?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Wow is this ebay store cool,
I'm a kid in a candy store.........
I'm calling him on Tuesday...........
Teddy