3" IQSY Tomahawk

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jetra2

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Hi all,

I've decided on my fall/early winter project. I will be building a 3" diameter IQSY Tomahawk! I have chosen this rocket for several reasons.

1. It looks WAY cool when finished.
2. It's scale - I'll get to practice my detailing!
3. It's not as complex as the 29mm Tres.

You may ask why #3 is so important to me. Well, this is my first semester at school that I am going to have to balance 4 classes (College Algebra, Ethics, Western Humanities 2, and Geometry) along with my job and rockets. I told myself that I would like to do an impressively sized project, but not a complex project so that I could still balance school (with good grades) and my job.

This Tomahawk will be 33.6% scale when based of of 3" mailing tube. I will likely buy a Performance Rocketry fiberglass nose cone or a Sandman Special - not decided on that yet. It all comes down to availibility.

The fins will be 3/16" ply (closest to scale thickness). They will be a TRUE TTW attachment. What I mean by that is that the slots will not be all the way back in the tube - they will be popped thru the fin slot.

It'll have a 38mm motor mount for up to high-I, low J motors. I'm still going to keep it light enough so that on a G40-80 it will still get 500+ feet, but strong enough so that it can take a I357 when the time comes :).

I have found many resources, like the scale drawings done my G. Harry Stine, and will be using them throughout the build to make a very, very, VERY close to scale rocket.

I'm off to do the math. Gotta multiply a BUNCH of dimensions...eek!

Don't worry though, the 29mm Tres is still on the back burner - it'll be my spring project...how's a TRF Meet 2005 first launch sound?

Jason
 
Jason, excellent project! I got the Tomahawk bug recently too. I have a PML 3" kit in the garage just waiting for some glue.

have fun building and post some pix!!

are you going to build for dual recovery?
 
I'm absolutely building an electronics bay. At this point, it'll likely use a timer, but it'll be easily modified to hold a altimeter at some point.

Jason
 
Just so you know (im sure you looked at it, but just to make sure), Yank (now a division of LOC precision) makes a nice 3" scale kit. I have one... I built it in a day. :rolleyes: just about the easiest thing there ever was... Nice phenolic tubes, though, and not a bad price, either. Nose cone isnt quite scale, though. It flew nice on an H242... :D Heres a pic. Gotta watch the nose cone, though... It was a little loose onmine and the charge popped it right off... Those LOC cones are tough... It fell from at least 1.5K without even denting itself.

But, of course, scratch-building is much more fun... But much much more expensive... Those Performance Rocketry fiberglass cones cost more than I even want to think about. and the flexible phenolic you get with the kit IS much better than the mailing tubes.

A note on compatability:

I used a LOC Precision cone in a 3" mailing tube, and there is a small difference in diameter. The nosecone fits and all, but its about 1/8" smaller in diameter, making for a 1/16" ridge where the nosecone meets the tube. It might be different with the Performance Rocketry cones, I wouldent know. I couldent even afford the shoulder offa one of those puppies... ;)

Anyways, heres the pic of my Tomahawk just after it left the pad (It left with a big THUMP... so cool :D)) :D :D This isnt the most informative picture about the kit, but its still kewl :D

Oh, and the PML kit is a D Region Tomahawk. NOt the same thing. ;) :D
 
Well...I think I'm going to scratch this project for the time being. I've had a design that I've wanted to build for the longest time just out sitting...I'm going to build that instead. More on it later!

Maybe I'll make this my spring project!

Jason
 
Originally posted by jetra2
Well...I think I'm going to scratch this project for the time being. I've had a design that I've wanted to build for the longest time just out sitting...I'm going to build that instead. More on it later!

Maybe I'll make this my spring project!

Jason

Dude, here's a novel idea - pick ONE project and stick to it! ;) :p Let me know if I can help you decide.
 
Shoosh Eugene...

Jeez, this guy's like a fly...buzz buzz!

:p ;)

Gimme a call...that'll help!

Jason
 
Pics of *MY* rocket?

Why would anyone want a picture of that piece of crap? :D It was made from scraps... Scrap mailing tube, scrap nyon (braided for extra strenth), scrap plywood for fins.... One fin is rather warped because another rocket was sitting on top of it... BUt itll fly great! :D itll fly REAL great :D I think ill give it a G64 or something at the Labor Day launch, see how it does. Its kinda like the LOC Forte, but with different fins, and slightly lighter.

Anyways, youd have to find a way to build up the shoulder of the nosecone. :rolleyes:

Just use phelolic, if your doing a 3" rocket.... Its not worth the trouble of doing all that.

WHATEVER you decide to do, good luck :rolleyes:

A few details on the "other rocket", please? :p :D


(oh, and this rocket is extremely strong... It was practice for the qcell method of making fin fillets... :rolleyes: Nice big (slightly oversized) fillets...)
 
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