Salvage yard parts - Loc P. scratchbuilds

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MaxQ

Tripoli 2747
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
4,505
Reaction score
128
Location
Central Viginia - USA
I was cleaning out stuff in storage awhile ago...and had boxes of old Loc Precision parts.
Lots of BT, CR, some partial kits that I had pirated for parts for other builds (a Loc Forte kit or two), tube couplers and some home made ply fins from about 8 years ago, and a few custom made CR and bulkheads I inherited.

Loc P. parts are practically universal...so I got to thinking, rather than letting this stuff gather dust, I could organize the stuff into a project or two.

I had been toying around with doing a project for testing my older GWiz altimeters for doing cluster/airstarts AND staging ...a "test bed" project that I could do either cluster motor airstarts - or staging, on the same rocket, depending on how I set it up.
The GWiz is an accelerometer and barometric unit that can be switched from airstarting to staging simply by pulling one jumper on the board.

Gwiz unit in the sustainer would ignite the second stage on burnout of a single motor in the booster....or...
with a second Gwiz in the booster interstage Av Bay..., I could do both cluster ignition on first motion, and staging on burnout, on the same rocket, at the same time.
DD on the sustainer...the Avbay in the sustainer could trigger the second stage ignition - if not used for the cluster airstart in the booster outboards.....

So the first of the two projects is a Sport Scale "kinda" like a Terrier - Nike - Orion - with a 4 inch dia. cluster booster and a 2.6 inch dia. second stage sustainer.

Here's the parts pile I cobbled together for that one.

nike orion test bed A.jpg
 
Last edited:
A couple of evenings working out tube lengths using a reference photo - things began to look feasible with what I had on hand.

Once I sketched out the dimensions, the parts began to look like a kit.
Sustainer is a 29mm, which is about all that fits comfortably in a 2.6 BT "sport" model.
Not looking to go MD/ mach...or rip the fins off. (it's a testing rocket for airstarts).


I think all I needed was a cluster motor mount for the 4" first stage booster fin can....a call to Loc P. got me something rigged up in 24 hours.
Central 29mm, two 29mm outboards, and two 24 mm outboards.
Should arrive shortly.
So I took a hack saw to these old ply fins to adapt them to the plan...shortened them and cut notches to allow the interstage to plug in behind them on the sustainer.
Measured the inside of the BT each inside to set the width of the fin tabs on the root of each fin for TTW, took off the excess.

nike orion test 1bed.jpg
 
Last edited:
Started going together quickly - almost like a kit.
Once all the guess work had been done on paper, didn't have to change things while building.
Thru the wall fins on the sustainer....fin tabs set up perfectly on the central 29mm.

The interstage adapter will be a built up home made unit to surround the extended central 2.6 tube coupler.....which fits into the aft end of the sustainer.
Lots of vertical trianguler wood parts to be covered with the outer FG layer.

nike orion test bed 4  TTW fins.jpg

nike orion test bed 2.jpg

nike orion test bed 3.jpg
 
Progress pic after one weekend. Not bad for a bunch of salvage parts.
Will be looking for some booster fin material next...maybe G10...maybe some Mac Performance stuff....
After all....have to spend some money...not everything is free. right?

P2192546 (2).jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow MaxQ! Very sharp looking rocket, and to think that it was just a pile of misfit parts laying around.... Very cool indeed. Can't wait to see the clustered booster take shape...
 
Definitely worth following this build!

Thanks Rich
I really wanted to do something fairly quickly, without all the labor intensive business - something I could get into the air sooner than later, a workhorse to test various altimeters and timers I have for autonomous programmed functions.
I was putting too much wear and tear on the Little Joe II trying various clustered airstarts, and I don't want to use a bigger expensive rocket for that kind of testing thing.
 
Before installing the sustainer motor mount, I installed an eyebolt for recovery harness and shock cord on the forward centering ring.
Same system as used in the Cosmodrome Aerobee Hi sustainer.

sustainer eyebolt steel cable.jpg
 
The custom made cluster motor centering rings for the 4" booster fin can arrived from Loc P. today...very nice and good fit.
Outboards - two 24mm at the 12 and 6 with two 29mm on the 3 and 9 O'clock positions.
Properly aligned they will allow thru the wall mounting of the booster fins to the central 29MM motor tube.

cluster MMT.jpg

cluster MMT 2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Interstage transition shroud......I occasionally use a shroud template calculator, sometimes with mixed results.

This time I wrapped the interstage transition with some scrap mylar, taped the pieces together, and after getting a good tight fit, cut off the excess - marked the lower and upper ends of the transition (fore and aft ends , and with a bit of trial and error, transferred the pattern to a fresh mylar strip...then cut out the final pattern.
After a final test fit....this gets a FG layup.

TRANSITION SHROUD MYLAR.jpg
 
Last edited:
After looking over the fin root tabs for a good epoxy set on the central MMT - I installed the rear centering rings and found a spare Aeropac motor retainer for a 29mmm...
So got the JB weld out and installed that on the sustainer motor tube (important step-would be bad to forget the rear centering ring and put the motor retainer on first) .
Fins got a fillet....
Now I need to get some fin stock for the booster.

sustainer motor retainer.jpg
 
Last edited:
Waiting on fin stock for the booster fin can, I took stock of the other parts in the Loc Precision salvage pile.

I've always wanted a 3" or 4" Talon...but could never seem to locate a kit.

So, after taking some dimensions and looking over the parts, I think I got one...a clone, but I got one.

Cut the tip off one nose cone, then cut fin slots in it for a boat tail.
Had enough ply to cut some fins.
Did a loose parts fit...think this will work.

talon clone 1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Debating whether to do some fiber glassing, or maybe some carbon fiber overlay...this would look pretty good in a nice glossy finish in CF.

talon clone 2.jpg
 
Installed the fins.

Think this will be an all black lacquer finish with red trim , bought a red tubular nylon shock cord.......I'll get a matching red and black Spherachute for it.
 

Attachments

  • Talon 3 - clone A.jpg
    Talon 3 - clone A.jpg
    52.4 KB · Views: 38
Back
Top