Estes D Region Tomahawk Dual Deploy

[DM1975]

After reading two different build threads in a different forum I decided to build one of these Estes D Region Tomahawks and add a few upgrades to it. First off, the kit alone is wonderful. It went together easy and even included a nylon 18" parachute.

First thing I did was to make it a 29mm instead of a 24mm. I cut 1/8" plywood centering rings for the new motor mount and added an Aero Pack retainer. I willl be putting one of these on every rocket that I can from now on, they are awesome.

To cut the new centering rings I took the plastic centering ring that is included with the kit and cut off the inside flange and fit it to the 29mm tube. I then just traced the pattern to the ply and cut it out a bit wider than needed and sanded it down to size and then glued them to the motor tube using wood glue and filleting them with epoxy.

 

[DM1975]

I then put the fin can together using plastic cement on the centering rings to hold them in place. I then joined theplastic parts with Plastic Weld as reccomended in the other build thread mentioned earlier. Even though I used a diffferent brand the results were terrific. I also used part of a carbon arrow shaft as the shock cord anchor on the top of the motor mount per the instructions in the article.

 

[DM1975]

The next part was the hardest for me, and was a large learning experience. My first ever avionics bay. For this I chose a Perfectflight HiAlt45K which is compact and affordable enough for me to use in this project.

My centering rings I cut out for the motor mount were cut out using an Xacto knife, mostly because I was bored, but also because I did NOT have a tool to cut them out with at the time. This took a lot of time and sore fingers. My first attempts at bulkheads for the altbay I cut out with my jigsaw. While this worked, it was not optimal, so when I decided to make another altbay (I just did not like the first one) I used a circle cutting tool.

For the sled I used balsa coated in epoxy. I added some tabs on the bottom to keep the 9V battery from sliding around in the bay and decided to construct my own mechanism for turning the alt on and off. I used a NC sstyle switch and constructed a bracket above it out of some tin flashing which I epoxied in place with some Kevlar strands over it to hopefully strengthen the area a bit. I then drilled a 5/64 hole in the top and JB welded a nut on top of that, allowing for a 1" long 2-56 screw to be screwed in to turn the system off. On the screw, I fashioned a small tab that holds a Remove Before Flight flag which my friend brought back for me from his deployment in 2001-2002 loading B-52's for air strikes in Afghanistahn.

 

[DM1975]

I made a bulkhead to be permanently mounted into the body of the rocket with 4-40 all thread to run through two tubes on the sled to secure the altbay in place. For chargge holders I used .357 cartridges and epoxied them into place, and for added security I wire tied them to the eye bolts. I then added an address lable to the end cap just in case.

 

[DM1975]

The last thing left for me to do is to wire up the alt bay and paint the rocket. Then it is off to ground testing and then flying. Some of the steps I took might not have been necessary,, I don't know, but I feel safe and secure in doing them. I will report on the rest as I go.

Other than the metal hardware, which was sourced locally, all of the upgrade parts were purchased from Commonwealth.

 

[qquake2k]

Have you flown it yet? How did it turn out?

 

[DM1975]

Not yet, I was planning on it this weekend but I have not been able to ground test it yet. I do not want to rush it so as soon as I get a chance to work up some loads on it and get it tested thoroughly I will put it up.

 

[qquake2k]

Not yet, I was planning on it this weekend but I have not been able to ground test it yet. I do not want to rush it so as soon as I get a chance to work up some loads on it and get it tested thoroughly I will put it up.

It's a really cool project. I can't wait to read more about it. Have you painted the rocket yet?

 

[DM1975]

It's a really cool project. I can't wait to read more about it. Have you painted the rocket yet?

Thanks. Yes, I have had fits painting this thing, but it is painted. I have to strip the clear coat off and re-clear it since I dropped it in the garage and the clear coat shattered off of the fins.

I just need to get a few days without rain here to test it. Seems like when it is not raining, then I am busy on other stuff. Honestly, it probably will not fly till August or September.

 

[DM1975]

I also have to get an o-ring to seal the bay. My tollerance on the build was not close enough

 

[MarkH]

Wondering how you plan on running wires to the shell casing/ejection change. Please post pics when you're done the wiring.

 

[DM1975]

Wondering how you plan on running wires to the shell casing/ejection change. Please post pics when you're done the wiring.

Mark, I was originally going to thread the wires through the flash hole in the casings into the ebay, now I am not so sure about it as I would need to drill out the casing more to fit the wires.

I will probably fill those holes, drill the appropriately sized holes on each bulkhead and hotglue the initiating wires in place from both sides, then I will probably run them across the bulkhead to, and up and in the casings, just like a blast cap, and secure them in place with tape around the casings to hold the wires tight, and tape over the casings to hold the charge in place. This will keep the wires out of the way of the recovery gear and keep everything tidy.

 

[CCR]

Stephen,

That 357 case is big for the (assumed) charge size. What no 9mm laying around? LOL! Mine are oversized too. I make sure the head of the ematch is at the bottom by coming in from the top and use wadding to hold the charge in place covered by a layer of electrical tape that holds the leads as well. Just worried your small charge might be floating around in there when it's time to light it.

Nice looking build.

Craig

 

[DM1975]

Stephen,

That 357 case is big for the (assumed) charge size. What no 9mm laying around? LOL! Mine are oversized too. I make sure the head of the ematch is at the bottom by coming in from the top and use wadding to hold the charge in place covered by a layer of electrical tape that holds the leads as well. Just worried your small charge might be floating around in there when it's time to light it.

Nice looking build.

Craig

Thanks for the info Craig, I deffinately will do that. As for the 9mm, they all get reloaded to feed my MP5

 

[flight4]

Thanks for the info Craig, I deffinately will do that. As for the 9mm, they all get reloaded to feed my MP5

Sweet!

 

[DM1975]

OK, so. I flew the rocket on Saturday on a G75J to an altitude of 2060 ft. Everything went great. The first event went off when it was supposed to and the parachute popped at about 700 ft, just like I had it set.

To answer some questions, I ran my wiring for the charges through the flash hole in the primer pocket of the shelll casings. My charges were Pyrodex P that I had potteed out in epoxy inside of a launch lug with estes igniters to set them off. I then just stuck the charges in the casing for a perfet fit.

The flash holes in the shell casings did have to be drilled out a bit for the wire to go through, but it was not a problem. After sticking them through I dropped a single drop of thick CA on each hole and sprayed it with instant set. Th wires were undamaged by the charges so I can use them over again, and if they need replacing then I can just pull em out and scrape away the old CA from the holes.

Here is some photos for you guys and gals.

 

[Stormrider]

Lots of good ideas here, I'm going to go pick one of those up tomorrow! (I've been itching to do a scale model for a while now anyway!)

Picked it up today, found it on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby for $15 bucks! I don't think I'm going to do dual deployment with mine, but I'd like to set it up for an altimeter, and upgrade the MM to 29mm.

Also, what do you guys think about Aerotech's baffle system? I'm thinking about cloning it for this build, thoughts?