Sumo rocket

[JimByrne]

Looking for opinions from anyone that has one.
Any problems with the piston?
How do the fins hold up from ground impact?
How do you like it?

 

[Flash]

I find that the fin tabs are prone to breaking and the piston can need a lot of sanding to work smoothly. I ended up ditching mine.
Maybe good fillets inside out on the main airframe might help. i believe it’s recommended in the instructions from my memory for H flights.
The tail of the main airframe could use a tube coupler for reinforcement to protect it from landing damage to.

I’ve have owned both the Sumo and G Force.

 

[KenECoyote]

I've flown mine 3+ times and never had any problems. Fins are thin, but I also land on a farm field, so usually it's soft enough. Piston seems fine (I don't recall if I sanded, but probably did). The G-Force I believe you need more bp since it's got a lot more volume, but the Sumo should be fine with standard ejection charge. I used this as my L1, so I'm happy.

 

[blackjack2564]

did not use piston, baffle is plenty to protect recovery gear. use piston sleeve to glue in rear of airframe to strength it.
that.s all I changed. did my level 1 with it yrs ago....good luck

 

[Initiator001]

did not use piston, baffle is plenty to protect recovery gear. use piston sleeve to glue in rear of airframe to strength it.
that.s all I changed. did my level 1 with it yrs ago....good luck

Exactly what I did for the two Sumo kits I built and flew.
I can't remember if the kit includes the cooling mesh or not but I put it in the baffle like other AeroTech kits.
I've only flown my Sumo models on G80 motors.

 

[Five]

Flash your right about the sanding. Didn’t get to see how the fins held up because it went up and parachute came out and drifted away.

 

[hball55]

I've flown mine 3+ times and never had any problems. Fins are thin, but I also land on a farm field, so usually it's soft enough. Piston seems fine (I don't recall if I sanded, but probably did). The G-Force I believe you need more bp since it's got a lot more volume, but the Sumo should be fine with standard ejection charge. I used this as my L1, so I'm happy.
View attachment 487745

Love that decal of the Sumo wrestler and the use of the hands up top.

 

[JimByrne]

Built mine with a few mods---it flew great with a G80-7
Moved the engine tube aft so it lands on the engine retainer & maybe saves the plastic fins
Added another rear bulkhead
Left out the piston & only used the plastic part of the baffle
Added an eye bolt for the harness & doubled the front baffle for more strength
Added 5 oz. inside the nose to bring the CG forward

 

[Five]

I've flown mine 3+ times and never had any problems. Fins are thin, but I also land on a farm field, so usually it's soft enough. Piston seems fine (I don't recall if I sanded, but probably did). The G-Force I believe you need more bp since it's got a lot more volume, but the Sumo should be fine with standard ejection charge. I used this as my L1, so I'm happy.
View attachment 487745

E-honda from Street Fighter

 

[WoShuGui]

I can't remember if the kit includes the cooling mesh or not but I put it in the baffle like other AeroTech kits.
I've only flown my Sumo models on G80 motors.

Something I found out about the baffle if you ever fly the Sumo on Aerotech RMS 29/ with the larger plastic cap over the ejection charge well. The cap can lodge into and block the baffle, so better to wrap the charge well with tape.

 

[bobtheshortstop]

Has anyone modified the Sumo to fly on an I200W? I just bought one today at a hobby shop (impulse buy) and want to modify it a little bit. I’ll probably buy a fiberglass nose cone for it and add weight. And of course ditch the piston system in favor of tubular nylon with nomex protection systems.

 

[n3tjm]

I love my sumo. I am on my 3rd or 4th Sumo.

I have flown them on everything from F40's up to I thing H238's (I don't recall if I ever flow anything larger than a 3 grain 29mm in it). Here are the videos of it's first three fiights.

 

[Five]

Has anyone modified the Sumo to fly on an I200W? I just bought one today at a hobby shop (impulse buy) and want to modify it a little bit. I’ll probably buy a fiberglass nose cone for it and add weight. And of course ditch the piston system in favor of tubular nylon with nomex protection systems.

I wish the hobby shops near me sold Sumo’s. Only Estes

 

[tjsnakez]

I had one for years in the 2000's. Don't use the piston, the baffle works well. No need for any noseweight, it is balanced to fly on any motor you can fit in it out of the box. I flew mine on a lot of G35 and G38 econojets in it's early days - and later on G64's and a variety of 29/120 and 29/180 loads. Use the tube from the piston to reinforce the aft part of the body tube. Eventually the fins will become brittle with age and break, but there's not much you can do about that. I still kind of want another one today! gotta love a good low and slow rocket.