Quest Tomahawk

[Navajo]

I just finished building the Quest Tomahawk. The model was typical Quest, and I would say that because of the boat tail and belly air scoop arrangement this is definitely skill level 3.

I would point out that the die cut tail fins were an uneven size and had to be sanded quite a bit! Also the balsa stock was fairly thin and pliable. The nose cone outer diameter is a little larger than the body tube, so you have a choice to either sand it level or live with it......I am living with it. The Kevlar shock cord tied on to the engine mount and passed and glued through the centering ring is typical quest, and I modify all my rockets in this fashion. I reckon that the elastic glued to a piece of paper at the top of the body tube always gives you dents at the top of the body tube lip.

I used nhp pva adhesive and micro fill to finish off the boat tail joint to to body tube, and also to smooth out the glue tab on the belly air scoop. A little light sanding later, and the result is seamless. In order to fill the nose cone with the clay weight, the instuctions tell you to saw off a piece off at the rear of the nose cone and the use a pencil to shove the clay in. I glued back my piece of nose cone with plastic cement and the sanded it smooth when it was dry. This is important otherwise the sharp burs will tear the top of the body tube from the inside!

Overall it was a fun and challenging kit to build. Pay particular attention to the boat tail and belly air scoop assembly, as these are probably the trickiest parts of the build.

Here are some pics. At the moment it is butt naked...will prime and paint it next weekend.

I'll let you know how it fly's.

navajo

 

[Navajo]

another pic

 

[Navajo]

and one last one!!!

 

[n3tjm]

Don't forget to tie the shock cord to the nosecone

Nice rocket btw

 

[Navajo]

I won't....lol

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by Navajo
I would point out that the die cut tail fins were an uneven size and had to be sanded quite a bit! Also the balsa stock was fairly thin and pliable. The nose cone outer diameter is a little larger than the body tube, so you have a choice to either sand it level or live with it......I am living with it. The Kevlar shock cord tied on to the engine mount and passed and glued through the centering ring is typical quest, and I modify all my rockets in this fashion. I reckon that the elastic glued to a piece of paper at the top of the body tube always gives you dents at the top of the body tube lip.

navajo

I agree with your assessment of the parts to a "T". I had purchased mine nearly a year ago. A friend (rock2p) and I thought it'd be neat to spend a Friday evening celebrating birthdays by buying and building rockets in front of the tube. (We're gettin' old ya know!) So anyways, I dump out the parts for my Tomahawk and get to building. Frantically, I look for the tailcone and to my horror I find that it had to made out of paper! (Yuck!) If it was a faux transition or non-weight bearing boattail I would have otherwise had no qualms and continued building, but once I noticed that the fins actually mounted to the paper transition my building screeched to a halt. I never did pick it back up to build. Perhaps maybe one day I'll turn a balsa tailcone for it.

I'm curious to know how that tailcone holds up. Cross your fingers for no rips or tears from a harsh landing. (Not hexing you here or stating that it's happened, but that was my initial fear.) Looks like you did a fine job of assembling the kit. Nice work!

 

[Rockhiittman]

Great job,looks really good
<P>
Eugene,your right about the fins gluing directly to the paper.I don't like that idea myself.

 

[astronboy]

Guys, don't get all freaked out about paper transitions.

They are a real pain, but there are several ways to deal with them.

Here is the method I use, and I am sure that others will chime in with their hints as well:

1) I always make copies on cardstock in case I screw up, then I can build another.

2) 'pre-curl' the transition by pulling it across the edge of a table.

3) Have the body tube and centering ring where the transition will sit all ready to go. Then glue the transition along the seam. Hold it for a few about 30 so it is set, then 'dry fit' the transition to the body tube. This alows the BT to ensure that the transition will dry in a perfectly circular shape.

4) Once the transition is fully dry, remove it from the rocket. I then ensure that the seam area follows the curve of the rest of the transition. I gently bending it around an exacto handle, or any other properly sized round object.

5) Once I am pleased with the shape, I glue the transition to the rocket.

6) Once the glue is dry, I soak the transition with super thin CA. This adds strength and seals the paper. If there are dips or lumps, do not worry. You can fill the dips with thick CA, and sand.


I have found that fins will glue to a CA soaked transition with no problem.

 

[Navajo]

Perhaps maybe one day I'll turn a balsa tailcone for it.

Go on Eugene, finish it off.....I know that the paper boat tail is scary, but....

Here's what I did.

1. Scan the boat tail and belly air scoop templates (like asrtonboy say's...just in case you screw up).

2. Pre form the boat tail to shape.

3. Carefully align the tab marks and glue! I was considering turning a piece of balsa myself, but though i'm not gonna let a piece of thin cardboard get the better of me.

4. Fill the boat tail/body tube seam and sand for a seamless finish.

The boat tail is surprisingly solid i must admit. I was pretty dubious about it when I first saw it.....but it really works! I have no doubt at all that it will be flight capable. The CG is fairly aft on this model, so it should make for a nice graceful apogee on a C6-5.

Thanks for the compliment Rockhittman...

Don't know yet if I will paint it white and use the decals as per the packaging, or paint it orange like this photo of a real hawk!

any suggestions?

 

[WiK]

I started off with my Tomahawk painted stock, but I got fed up of losing it in the grass (the white paint I used was not gloss), so I painted it gloss red with the tips of the wings white.

I didn't find the boattail too hard, and managed it pretty well considering it was my second ever rocket kit!


It flies really well, but I found the stock 'chute a bit small, so I replaced that with a Top Flight 18" 'chute.


Phil

 

[rbeckey]

Eugene, I made the paper tailcone for my Spitfire by doubling the cardstock and using five minute Devcon epoxy to attach the two together, ala Applewhite's saucers. (Devcon doesn't bleed through paper like some epoxies.) It is as solid as any regular BT.
I would not be afraid to use that method on any A-E rocket, and I like to build them tough.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by rbeckey
Eugene, I made the paper tailcone for my Spitfire by doubling the cardstock and using five minute Devcon epoxy to attach the two together, ala Applewhite's saucers. (Devcon doesn't bleed through paper like some epoxies.) It is as solid as any regular BT.
I would not be afraid to use that method on any A-E rocket, and I like to build them tough.

On that note, does anyone have a scanned template for the tailcone? Mine was glued together and later accidentally crushed. I figure I can use the template widget to make a new one, but if someone has one handy I'd appreciate it.

I think I may go ahead and do the double cardstock method. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the kit had a regular paper cutout. I can definitely see 2 pieces of cardstock being sturdy.

 

[Navajo]

Well here it is all finished....at last!

what do you think?

 

[Navajo]

and another

 

[Navajo]

...last one..

 

[WiK]

Now *that* looks great!

Phil

 

[flying_silverad]

Really looks nice. All it needs is a little airbrushing of simulated exhaust! Very nicely done!

Thank for all the pics!!

 

[Navajo]

Thanks Guys..!


It was worth the effort...

navajo

I'll post some pics of my nearly finished mercury redstone soon!

in the meantime here is a close up of tomahawk detail

 

[Bowhunter]

That look great. now some pics of it in flight?

 

[n3tjm]

Wow. I really do like that paint scheme

 

[Navajo]

Thanks again

Yes I will post some pics in flight...plan to launch it this weekend.....might even shove a D21 into the business end. Now that should see it go like a real tomahawk!

in the meantime here are a couple of recent launch pics

 

[Navajo]

here is the redstone on the pad...

 

[Navajo]

and here is the redstone blasting off......sorry that the rocket is right at the top of the pic......

enjoy....

 

[Justin]

Your hawk looks great. I'm building one right now. I should be ready to prime today.

Thoes fins weren't even close! Everything had to sanded even. Cut on a little too...

I thought the boat tail was a little flimsey too, but it has enough tite bond on it to be strong I think.

I found a million pics of Tomahawks on the net (none of the scheme on the kit package though), and I think I gonna go with the grey with white camo belly. It probally will make it impossible to track but it looks cool.

None of the places I got info from, had much info on actual color schemes. They showed a lot them, just no descriptions. I'm spoiled by Peter Allway books and Squdaron Publications! Everyone should work like them!

I post a pic when it's painted. Right now it looks just like the other naked hawks..

 

[Navajo]

Cool Justin...looking forward to seeing those pics of your hawk when it is done...

Navajo

 

[Justin]

Navajo-
The Hawk has it's first color and is ready for camo! I think because of it's coloring it's not technically a Hawk any more. The stuff I read leads me to belive it wil be GLCM (ground launched cruise missle) Gryphon. Basically identical by profile, but a nuke, not launched from sea. All of them retired during a big dissarming. I'll write if I discover contrary.
-Justin

 

[Navajo]

Great stuff....

Are you using any of the supplied decals?....as you can see on mine I did, but obviously not to the Quest specs.

Will hopefully get to launch mine for the first time this weekend....I'll take pics of course. I,m not sure if the wings will hold on if powered by a D21...but after a couple of C launches I might be game to try.

I think that a camo hawk would look great too!

post pics when you can...but dont rush the paint job.

Navajo