Rebuilding the HAWK MIM-23A

[eugenefl]

1000th POST! YEAH BABY!

The BT80 based HAWK MIM-23A (made by "The Launch Pad") taught me an important lesson in rocketry. Rockets are meant to be flown, not displayed. For the longest time it became a clutter, occupying my desk space as a "show queen." I feared placing it in the "box of scratches and broken fins" for fear it would be blemished. How silly that was. I finally convinced myself, along with the encouragement of friends, that I needed to take it out and FLY IT! Fly it I did. Mind you, I bought this rocket after coming back to the hobby and back then I paid more attention to making it look good and little attention to CP/CG stability. After a squirrely flight on an E30, and an OK flight on a D12, I decided to try the Estes E9 (read - heavier motor, low boost, long burn). Without having to describe the awry flight too much, it basically climbed to about 80ft, arced over, went horizontal, and slammed the ground before deploying the chute. The damage was substantial in that it tore off the paper noseonce "cap", destroyed the first 4" of the body tube, broke the conduits, snapped a fin off, and dented the tail cone.

Anyways, I will post a before and after picture.

Attached is the before...

 

[eugenefl]

For those of you that are into scratchbuilding, you'll appreciate this thread. Sometimes repairing a rocket can be more challenging than just scratchbuilding from parts. Fabrication is the toughest challenge.

Attached is the "After" picture.

I've heard somewhere that Carl Tulanko actually likes it when rockets crash just so that he can rebuild them.

 

[eugenefl]

This closeup shows the damage to the front end more closely. This is probably the most severe portion of the rebuild.

 

[eugenefl]

In this picture I've peeled away all of the upper roll pattern decals (which I made myself), and cut away the damaged portion of the body tube. You can see where I've left the original undamaged portion of the conduit (which should be mounted flat, not vertically - hey I thought it looked cooler back then!) and cleanly cut the damaged portion off.

 

[eugenefl]

In this picture you can see I've inserted a new tube coupler. I actually used the old crunched piece of tube and made a new coupler out of it. It wasn't the most precise piece of tube, but it does function. The entire inner tube was reinforced with CyA. Pretty darn sturdy now!

 

[eugenefl]

Here the new piece of replacement body tube is installed. I used a piece of angle bracket to ensure a straight overall tube is maintained.

 

[eugenefl]

Here a new piece of conduit is added. In the background, the main fin has been reattached with CyA.

 

[eugenefl]

And for now, here's a closeup of the fin being reattached. I used a few hobby clamps to hold all the joints and fin securely, and more importantly, straight.

WHAT'S LEFT:

The tailcone will be rebuilt or patched upon.

The nosecone needs to be sanded down to where the paper "hat/cap" used to be attached. A new cap needs to be rolled and attached.

The tube, fin, conduit, and tailcone joints need to be filled and sanded.

Priming, painting, and decals need be completed.

Oh yeah, NOSEWEIGHT needs to be added! :kill:

The original decals and paint need to be preserved.

Stay tuned! I hope this project gives some of you hope that there is life after a failed flight.

 

[n3tjm]

Shame such a nice bird was damaged. I am glad repairs are going well. Don't forget to add more weight to the nose .

 

[Ryan S.]

It always feel great when you fix a rocket and have it back ready to fly agian. That is a great looking kit. I wonder if I can get my hands on one. I think I saw one a while back. Whenever I see a bird that looks so good (even crashed) I want it

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by Ryan S.
It always feel great when you fix a rocket and have it back ready to fly agian. That is a great looking kit. I wonder if I can get my hands on one. I think I saw one a while back. Whenever I see a bird that looks so good (even crashed) I want it

Gotta love eBay! There are actually 2 auctions going for the Hawk right now. <a href="https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3162576547&category=2567">This HAWK has 5-days to go.</a>

<a href="https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3162365871&category=2567">This HAWK has 2-days to go.</a>

Call me an instigator or call me the "bad kid that forced peer pressure", but dang this is ons GREAT kit to build!

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Originally posted by eugenefl
Gotta love eBay! There are actually 2 auctions going for the Hawk right now.

Call me an instigator or call me the "bad kid that forced peer pressure", but dang this is ons GREAT kit to build!

Eugene you did not need to post those ebay auctions........ I am trying to finish a few of the rockets I have started.........

 

[Micromeister]

Good Job Eugene!
with a little filling, sanding, touch up paint and a little more nose weight "hint hint she'll be as good as new in no time.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by Micromister
Good Job Eugene!
with a little filling, sanding, touch up paint and a little more nose weight "hint hint she'll be as good as new in no time.

Well, I don't think the HAWK is going to recover. Yesterday it did some aerial acrobatics and slammed into the ground under E18 power. It's done for. The rocket is now 6" shorter. I'm just glad I took it out for a "test-flight" before committing to the full paint job. I had added nearly 2oz of noseweight too. Sheesh...live and learn I suppose. I have no idea what could have caused this. More noseweight? If so, I can't imagine this rocket *not* being a mid-power (29mm MMT) bird.

 

[jawa]

Hey Eugene,

Figured out what my screen name was on this site....

Speaking of your crashing rockets, I have a small video of the mini-magg? crushing the cone on impact. I will try to get it posted tomorrow.

Later,

Jason Wathey

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by jawa
Hey Eugene,

Figured out what my screen name was on this site....

Speaking of your crashing rockets, I have a small video of the mini-magg? crushing the cone on impact. I will try to get it posted tomorrow.

Later,

Jason Wathey

Jason! Welcome to TRF! For some reason the screen name Jawa sounds really familiar. Either that or I'm thinking of some Star Wars character. At any rate, we're glad you hopped back on to TRF.

Folks, Jason W. is a local rocketeer right here around our neck of the woods. He joined us for a day of flying on Saturday. Ideally, we're hoping to start a local TAMPA, FL NAR chapter. (A local NAR chapter exists already, but we're looking to build a club that has a little more structure.) I'm just glad to have another TRF member come out and fly with us.

Back on topic - Anyone have any clue what might have gone wrong with the HAWK? Seems like TLP kits are notorious for having unstable flights.