Aardvark Rockets Sandia Tomahawk (2.6")

Aardvark Rockets - Sandia Tomahawk (2.6") {Kit}

Contributed by Daniel Cutteridge

Manufacturer: Aardvark Rockets
Rating
(Contributed - by Daniel Cutteridge - 03/10/02)

Brief:
This is a single staged ,single 29mm motor mount sport scale rocket that is 2.6in. in diameter and recovered via a 24in. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! parachute.

Construction:
When i got t' kit it consisted o' 4-1/8in plywood fins, matey, 1-2.6 dia. Arrr! 36in. Well, blow me down! long main body tube, 1-16in. long 2.6 dia. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! payload tube, arrr, 1-2.6 dia. Begad! bulkhead assembly, me hearties, 1-LOC 2.6 nosecone, me hearties, 1-12in long 29mm motor tube, 3-1/8in. Arrr! plywood centerin' rings, 9 feet o' 1/4in. Begad! wide strap Keelhaul®©™®, and finally 1-24in. parachute.

the instructions were fairly easy t' follow. Arrr! T' had several helpful illustrations and were easy t' follow. Begad! Begad! A newbie would have no problem building this kit. Begad! When i was buildin' this kit I notice how easy it be t' build considerin' its size. Begad! There were no problems with fin alignment since t' fin tabs reached t' motor mount perfectly. Aye aye! When i started assembly I noticed that the nicely laser cut fins were a little flexible so I added a couple coats of sandin' sealer and I have never had a problem. I was also a little concerned about t' all strap Keelhaul®©™® shock cord which is tough stuff. Ya scallywag! Blimey! My concern be that it might be too tough. Begad! Blimey! I thought that it would cause t' heavy kraft paper tubes t' zipper like a new pair o' levis. Ahoy! Blimey! I actually flew it recently on an F50-6. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! Even though t' label said six second delay it was a true 9 second delay. Begad! Blimey! T' extra 3 seconds caused the rocket t' come in ballistic and then tail slide and flip over and come in butt first and no zipper was found. 
Pros o' construction: ease o' assembly, great quality materials. 
Cons: nada, me hearties, zip, matey, arrr, zero, zilch, shiver me timbers, me bucko, none

Finishing:
Finishin' be fairly simple since I chose nay t' fill t' body tube spirals which were average depth. T' amount o' paint I used took Care o' that. Begad! I have found that t' best paint out thar that I have ever used is ACE Hardware brand paint. Well, blow me down! This is some very high quality stuff for a low price. Aye aye! I sprayed several coats o' primer sandin' betwixt coats. Well, blow me down! Begad! I then painted t' main section Brit Blue and t' payload section and nosecone Silver. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! After it all dried I thought i would try somethin' new and spice it up a bit. I tried for t' first time a flame paint scheme. I bought some 1/8in. Aye aye! wide curvable maskin' tape and used that t' mask off t' outline o' t' flame scheme and then masked off t' area with no flames off with normal maskin' tape. Well, blow me down! I then painted silver in t' flame area over t' blue and it came out lookin' amazing.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Carol Johnson's Model - Courtesy of AardvarkCourtesy of Aardvark

Flight:
I have flown this rocket twice. Well, blow me down! First on t' minimal motor that I would recommend for this kit, t' F20-4 which put it straight up t' about 600 feet. T' second flight was on and F50-6 Blue thunder which popped it off t' pad and straight up t' about 1000 feet. Ya scallywag! I did use me own form o' motor retention since none is provided. I took 2-2in. Aye aye! long wide tread wood screws and two was her and simply screw those in and out t' load and unload t' motor. Begad! I also prefer cellulose waddin' but you could use whatever you want. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' 24in parachute has a little speedy descent rate but I have never had a problem with it. Ahoy! I would like to fly it on a G35 or G38 next and then maybe A G40.

Recovery:
T' worry I had about t' shock cord is long gone. Avast, me proud beauty! But like I said t' recovery is a little speedy unless you glass t' fins if you plan on flyin' it in a parkin' lot, ya bilge rat, but it holds up fine t' standard fields. Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I think this would be a great First mid power kit for any one. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' design is proven and is really pretty cool. Avast! Blimey! T' whole kit was one big pro. Begad! Blimey! There were no cons whatsoever.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

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