EZI-65 ARRIVED!

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DavidInNS

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After giving the Canadian Government 15% of the cost of the kit, adapter and shipping (yes, shipping!) on my debit card (they don't take credit cards either! lol...) the EZI kit is sitting in my house.

I have to go out and tonight and get some CA, wood glue, and some odds and ends thanks to the suggestions in my "ezi build suggestions" thread when I go get some supper, but the building will start tonight!

Quick question: Whats the best way to mount the fore rail button? I remember seeing an apogee video about putting it at the CG but I forget how they suggested mounting it. Was it a nut on the inside of the body tube, or using some epoxy clay inside? I can't find the video.

What say you?

(EDIT... PS - The spirals are so shallow I'm not sure how to proceed with filling them... do I use epoxy clay snakes pressed into the grooves then shaved or can I just prime them?)
 
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believe me, I will... right after supper I'm getting started. Glue, sandpaper, and hobby knife are on the ready! :)
 
I think this is the video you are talking about?
https://www.apogeerockets.com/Rocketry_Videos/Rocketry_Video_64.asp

I like there rail buttons with the flange nut on the inside of the tube.
https://www.apogeerockets.com/Rail_Buttons.asp



After giving the Canadian Government 15% of the cost of the kit, adapter and shipping (yes, shipping!) on my debit card (they don't take credit cards either! lol...) the EZI kit is sitting in my house.

I have to go out and tonight and get some CA, wood glue, and some odds and ends thanks to the suggestions in my "ezi build suggestions" thread when I go get some supper, but the building will start tonight!

Quick question: Whats the best way to mount the fore rail button? I remember seeing an apogee video about putting it at the CG but I forget how they suggested mounting it. Was it a nut on the inside of the body tube, or using some epoxy clay inside? I can't find the video.

What say you?

(EDIT... PS - The spirals are so shallow I'm not sure how to proceed with filling them... do I use epoxy clay snakes pressed into the grooves then shaved or can I just prime them?)
 
believe me, I will... right after supper I'm getting started. Glue, sandpaper, and hobby knife are on the ready! :)
Lucky. I can't start on my LOC Fantom until tomorrow at the earliest It will be my Jr. L1 rocket. Will this be for a cert flight for you? If so, good luck!
 
I love my Ezi-65. It is such a great rocket probably my favorite one right now.
 
Quick question: Whats the best way to mount the fore rail button? I remember seeing an apogee video about putting it at the CG but I forget how they suggested mounting it. Was it a nut on the inside of the body tube, or using some epoxy clay inside? I can't find the video.

What say you?

I've always installed the buttons on LOC kits with woodscrews directly into the centering rings. I've noticed no adverse effects by not having them in a specific location relative to the rockets balance. Quick, easy, secure.
 

Yep! thats the one! thanks!

Lucky. I can't start on my LOC Fantom until tomorrow at the earliest It will be my Jr. L1 rocket. Will this be for a cert flight for you? If so, good luck!

Yep! It's going to be my cert flight for CAR Level 1 (written exam permitting) and Level 2 (which together would be equivalent to NAR level 1 with respect to specific impulse limits).

Thanks for the well wishes! I'll let you know how it goes in about a week's time.

I've always installed the buttons on LOC kits with woodscrews directly into the centering rings. I've noticed no adverse effects by not having them in a specific location relative to the rockets balance. Quick, easy, secure.

That's a good point. I was going to mount it higher and use epoxy clay to smooth around the bolt to prevent recovery issues, but I like that idea both for securing them and to maximize the amount of time both buttons can do their job on the rail.
 
Congratulations. I like the LOC kits of that size range.

There are separate threads for how to mount a rail button. I think the "contoured blob of epoxy clay" is a good idea.

I've used epoxy for construction of all of my LOC kits.

Did this kit come with the big elastic shock cord? The main change I made to my LOC kits was to install an eye-bolt . I will next replace the shock cords with kevlar or nylon.
 
Another thing- I put small T-nuts (maybe 8-32 size) in the rear centering ring for motor retention.
 
Congratulations. I like the LOC kits of that size range.

There are separate threads for how to mount a rail button. I think the "contoured blob of epoxy clay" is a good idea.

I've used epoxy for construction of all of my LOC kits.

Did this kit come with the big elastic shock cord? The main change I made to my LOC kits was to install an eye-bolt . I will next replace the shock cords with kevlar or nylon.

I was surprised at just how "big" this kit is. You see dimensions and people holding the kit and then you get the package. This is one large rocket!

It did come with the elastic shock cord, but I already took a preemptive strike to get that upgraded along with a more secure mount (the eye-bolt).

Oh, and I went with the aeropack retainer system :)
 
Looking forward to seeing it fly (hopefully next weekend)!

Unless you're planning to fly it on some really aggressive motors, you can get away without any extra mountin hardware for the rail buttons. I have a few HPR rockets - Loc and Aerotech - where all I've done is soaked some CA into the mounting holes for the buttons. Holds up to H & I type forces just fine. Nothing wrong with additional reinforcing though!

The only time I've had problems with a rail button coming out, was actually on the aft button - that's the one that tends to get the most abuse, as it's the first on the rail and last one off. More prone to twisting at that point I guess.
 
Looking forward to seeing it fly (hopefully next weekend)!

Unless you're planning to fly it on some really aggressive motors, you can get away without any extra mountin hardware for the rail buttons. I have a few HPR rockets - Loc and Aerotech - where all I've done is soaked some CA into the mounting holes for the buttons. Holds up to H & I type forces just fine. Nothing wrong with additional reinforcing though!

The only time I've had problems with a rail button coming out, was actually on the aft button - that's the one that tends to get the most abuse, as it's the first on the rail and last one off. More prone to twisting at that point I guess.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I didn't get any work on it last night (too tired after dealing with wood splitting and other things) but I did get some of it done today. I have done a TON of sanding on all tubes and the fins to make sure there can be a great bond with the glue. I saw a tip in another thread for strong construction on the fin area that I'm using to get extra strong fin joints. I glued the fore centering ring in, but left the aft one unglued. Then I screwed two screws into the aft ring so I could pull it out after the glue sets mounting the fore ring in place. This gives me access to the fins to be able to fillet in 3 places.

I went back and forth on rounding the fins. On the one hand with the type of fin pattern that the EZI has I really like the squared off look. On the other hand, I know that rounding the fins will give it better aerodynamics. In the end, I compromised by rounding the leading edge slightly but left the trailing edge square.

I am really impressed with the quality of the plywood they use for fin material. I bought some wood filler last night so I could do the "dilute it to toothpaste consistency paint it on then sand it off" ordeal, but I really don't see a need with the quality of the plywood.

As for the rail buttons, this EZI is going to be my G/H/I (mostly high end "G") model, so based on what you say I'm not too worried about the rail buttons. I still haven't decided 100% what I'm going to do about the fore rail button, but I'm leaning toward drilling it into the other centering ring. I'll decide between today and tomorrow I suppose as its going to go to primer paint tuesday or Wednesday morning.
 
There's as many opinions & techniques as there are rocketeers. Botton line, build it so you're happy with it.

Myself, I typically round the leading & trailing edges, and leave it at that. I'm not looking to maximize performance (99.9% of the time). More drag = lower altitude = shorter walk to recover.

The wood filler trick is really useful for balsa, and for filling spirals on some tubes. I've rarely needed it for ply fins. A coat or two of primer is usually plenty.

Rail button placement is a game of trade-offs. The higher up the fwd is located, the sturdier the rocket is on the rail. The flip side is, at the same time you're losing effectiver rail length - once that fwd button clears the top during liftoff, all that's left is a potential pivot point at the bottom button. Placing it so it screws into the forward centering ring is as logical a choice as any.
 
I see your point, and I'm with you on this build, in that I'm not trying to squeeze every last metre of altitude out of the rocket. In other rockets I will round the leading and trailing edges if the fin design "warrants" it. On my Estes Patriot I agreed with the instructions and didn't round either the leading or trailing edge. On other rockets I've rounded both leading and trailing edges. IIRC from the HoMR (and this is going back about 25-30 years) rounding the leading edge is what gives the biggest gain and rounding the trailing edge in conjunction with the leading edge, while helpful, doesn't give as much of an incremental gain as the leading edge.

I might be wrong though.

I'll give it some more thought through the night. The rounding of the leading edge didn't detract from the "sharp, angular" look of the fins like I thought it would, so rounding the trailing edge might be in order.

Either way, its going together quite painlessly and I'm well on track to have a first flight a week from today! :)
 
I decided to round both leading and trailing edges. The fins are narrow enough that you can't really tell from the side, but up close the asymmetric nature of a leading-edge-rounded-only was getting to me.

As we speak, two of the three fins are on. The third will be going on in about 15 minutes once the glue sets enough I can rotate the assembly without glue going everywhere. After that I will leave it to dry overnight. Then tomorrow I drill the fore rail button hole, fillet everything related to the fins, and glue the rear centering ring permanently in place. I'll feel better once that's done since IMO the hardest part of the assembly will be done.

I just wish my painting skills were better. :( I really need to take my time with it. Every time I'm always in a hurry to coat it and I wind up getting some kind of paint defect. Hopefully I'll be able to keep my excitement under control and do a good job of it.
 
Well I have everything filleted up the way I want and I've decided to put the first coat of filler primer on just now. In my usual heavy handed fashion, I caused a few small runs in the primer :( Hopefully with some sanding and a second coat I can get things the way I want to minimize/eliminate the visibility of the spirals.

I'm still undecided whether I want this kit to have the option for an ebay. I bought some screws/nuts in case I decide to go that route, but I still don't know. I suppose drilling 3 holes and a dab of epoxy in 3 points isn't THAT much effort to reserve the option of an ebay, right? ;)

Originally I wanted to do the paint scheme in a blue metallic flake from the fins to the payload bay, then do a yellow metallic flake from the bay up. However, the more I thought about the finishing skills I have (or lack thereof... lol...) and that I can't find the yellow I want in duplicolor, I decided that a simple red metallic flake from tip to tip is the way I'm going to go. Simple, visible, and will be easy to spot once it lands on the ground.

Weather permitting, this Saturday will be its maiden flight, hopefully on H then on I power. At the very least a CTI G115 White Thunder is going in it! I cant wait!
 
Well I have everything filleted up the way I want and I've decided to put the first coat of filler primer on just now. In my usual heavy handed fashion, I caused a few small runs in the primer :( Hopefully with some sanding and a second coat I can get things the way I want to minimize/eliminate the visibility of the spirals.

I'm still undecided whether I want this kit to have the option for an ebay. I bought some screws/nuts in case I decide to go that route, but I still don't know. I suppose drilling 3 holes and a dab of epoxy in 3 points isn't THAT much effort to reserve the option of an ebay, right? ;)

Originally I wanted to do the paint scheme in a blue metallic flake from the fins to the payload bay, then do a yellow metallic flake from the bay up. However, the more I thought about the finishing skills I have (or lack thereof... lol...) and that I can't find the yellow I want in duplicolor, I decided that a simple red metallic flake from tip to tip is the way I'm going to go. Simple, visible, and will be easy to spot once it lands on the ground.

Weather permitting, this Saturday will be its maiden flight, hopefully on H then on I power. At the very least a CTI G115 White Thunder is going in it! I cant wait!

Where will you be flying this?
 
Change of plans.

After 4 coats of filler primer, it seems the minute seams didn't come out as much as I had hoped. So instead of a red metallic flake I've decided to go with a gloss black tip to tip. If it works for the Mean Machine, it can work for the EZI :) It's going to be a "20 foot" paint job, but I know my finishing techniques need work and practice.

Even though the spirals are small and shallow, next time I'm going to fill them before painting.

Will post pics when its finally painted.
 
Cherryfield is an awesome site. Only drawback is it's on the other side of a border. Either Maine needs to annex New Brunswick, or we need to annex Maine (interesting concept, with the anniversary of the war of 1812 coming up...).

Sadly, with the weather forecast this weekend, there won't be any flying in Petitcodiac. On the bright side, you've got a few weeks to take your time with the paint, until the launch at Gagetown...
 
Cherryfield is an awesome site. Only drawback is it's on the other side of a border. Either Maine needs to annex New Brunswick, or we need to annex Maine (interesting concept, with the anniversary of the war of 1812 coming up...).

Sadly, with the weather forecast this weekend, there won't be any flying in Petitcodiac. On the bright side, you've got a few weeks to take your time with the paint, until the launch at Gagetown...

Darn Canadians!!!! Your too polite and and have all those cool lasers that you can't buy in the us. I knew you were up to something!!!!
 
LOL @ the two of you.

Alas, I already got the painting done before I got word the launch was cancelled. On the bright side I can really take my time to finish the little bits. Plus I ordered some 1 grain 38mm CTI motors so I can get a few "shakedown" flights in before I cert so there are no surprises when my cert flight happens next spring (I'll be darned if I wait until then to fly it after everything I did to get it ready :wink:).

EDIT - Kevin, I can't attend at Gage. I have another commitment that weekend so I won't be able to make it. Well technically I could (I'll be in Truro) but my better half would probably leave me there, much less let me come home to sleep on the couch ;)
 
I am not sure if you have already flown your EZI-65 yet, but I was wondering if you are flying it with dual deployment or just single deployment? I have not flown mine on anything smaller than an I161. Its maiden flight was on a J315 Redline. I have it converted for dual deployment, but also have the payload secton that it originally came with for single deployment flights. I am hoping that its next flight will be on an I357 Blue Thunder.
 
I am not sure if you have already flown your EZI-65 yet, but I was wondering if you are flying it with dual deployment or just single deployment?

Yep! But it was single deployment (left option for dual) on G power. Because of this i posted the results in the mid power section.

I cant wait to fly mine on an H and I engine too :)
 
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