LOC Weasel build - my Xmas gift to myself

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lamart72

lamart72

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I ordered a LOC Weasel from Shane at Texas Rocketry Supply during their Black Friday sale as a gift to me.:grin: I also contacted Mark at Stickershock23 for some special decorations! I asked him for the name label just like its shown in the instructions and I also wanted the weasel character from the old Foghorn Leghorn cartoons!

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I have never really liked friction fitting larger motors and since I planned to fly this with my AT 29mm case I wanted to have positive motor retention. I dry-fitted an Estes E - engine hook to the motor mount tube to see what I could do and not have the end of the hook poking thru the motor tube.mount3.jpg
 

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I decided to cut and bend the hook upward so that it anchored to the aft centering ring and did not protrude into the motor mount tube. I slid the ring and hook down until I was satisfied with the clearance to the motor case and marked the tube.

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One of the little tricks I use is to cut triangular slots into the centering rings so that they get a good amount of glue between the ring and tube. I think it helps and also use thin CA to strengthen the aft end of the tube.

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I did have to file down the cut end of the motor hook a bit while dry-fitting so that it cleared the body tube. Then add some Elmers and give the ring hook combo a slight twist while I pushed it to the marks. I added some glue fillets to the aft end after I made sure it was on the marks.

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I am happy with the way this turned out. I will have more tomorrow! :grin:

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Enjoying your build. Great pics and lots of detail. Pretty clever idea for motor retention, I hadn't seen that before.
 
The LOC Weasel has become one of my favorite rockets to fly. I fly it most every launch I go to. With the 29mm motor mount you have a great range of motor choices.

I didn't glue the nose on the upper section. I use it as a payload section to carry my altimeter and/or tracker. For motor retention I did something a little different than you, though I like yours too. I used an Estes screw on 29mm retainer. The stock shock cord I replaced after it failed on the first flight. I use a nylon one now. I also used this rocket as a first chance to try fiberglassing. I covered the fins tip to tip with 2 layers of some lightweight fiberglass. I just wanted the surface mounted fins to be more robust, though I know of many a Weasel which flies and survives well without this extra step. :)

My best flight so far was to a little over 4100' using a CTI G54 long burn motor. You will have lots of fun with this rocket! :)

Happy New Year!

Jim
 
Nice idea with the estes motor clip. I suggest that you also wrap tape around the clip/motor tube before the flight. I had 24 mm RMS motors kick out the back of an estes motor clip. They are pretty flexible.
 
JimZNJ said:
The LOC Weasel has become one of my favorite rockets to fly. I fly it most every launch I go to. With the 29mm motor mount you have a great range of motor choices.

I didn't glue the nose on the upper section. I use it as a payload section to carry my altimeter and/or tracker. For motor retention I did something a little different than you, though I like yours too. I used an Estes screw on 29mm retainer. The stock shock cord I replaced after it failed on the first flight. I use a nylon one now. I also used this rocket as a first chance to try fiberglassing. I covered the fins tip to tip with 2 layers of some lightweight fiberglass. I just wanted the surface mounted fins to be more robust, though I know of many a Weasel which flies and survives well without this extra step. :)

My best flight so far was to a little over 4100' using a CTI G54 long burn motor. You will have lots of fun with this rocket! :)

Happy New Year!

Jim
Click to expand...
I can't figure out on this Saturday (yes, I will burn some AP), after I shoot the thing up on a D15, if I should fly it on an H54 or H410. Or maybe a G80 skid.
Ah, the choices.

:cool:
 
I carefully shaped the trailing edges of the fins with a disc sander and finished them by hand with a sanding block using 220 and 320 sandpaper. The fins are very good quality birch plywood but they ended up with a very slight warp.

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The fin warping was very minor and it only took very slight pressure to make them straight again. I cut a straight slot in a piece of cardboard and slid it over the fin hoping it would straighten it out but it was still curved. So then I cut a very slightly curved slot in the cardboard and slid it on the fin with the curve opposite the warp until it was straight. The first curved slot I cut was actually too much and I had to redo it with a mostly straight slot with curved ends of the slot. It only took a very small curve to fix the warp. The cardboard brace was not very big and it allowed me to still easily glue the fins on one at a time even with the cardboard brace on. The fins glued on straight with no more warps. One other thing I did but didn't get a picture of was to carefully cut away the top glassine layer from the tube where the fins would be glued. This allows the CA to wick into the body tube for a stronger fin to tube joint.

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I glued the motor mount in after I checked to make sure the motor hook would clear the end of the body tube at max extension. I also cut off the end of the motor hook so it wouldn't burn off during Max Q.:cyclops:

I will have more soon. Thanks for watching.

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Buckeye said:
Nice idea with the estes motor clip. I suggest that you also wrap tape around the clip/motor tube before the flight. I had 24 mm RMS motors kick out the back of an estes motor clip. They are pretty flexible.
Click to expand...

Zip ties work well for this too.
 
It has been a while since I have flown mine, but I use electrical tape to hold the motor in. I left enough motor tube exposed where half of the width of the tape is on the motor tube and the other half on the aft closure. I tested this method with a flight on a F26 FJ. I used this method with its G64 flight as well.
 
I hope you're not planning on the CA being your primary adhesive for the fins. Wood glue will give you a much stronger bond for paper to wood. Epoxy will work well also, but heavier. I've got a mostly complete LOC Legacy that's very similar to the Weasel. Will keep watching this thread.
-Ken
 
berlinetta said:
It has been a while since I have flown mine, but I use electrical tape to hold the motor in. I left enough motor tube exposed where half of the width of the tape is on the motor tube and the other half on the aft closure. I tested this method with a flight on a F26 FJ. I used this method with its G64 flight as well.
Click to expand...

I use this method all the time, even on big stuff. I use aluminized tape though. Works great, is light and saves the money on retainers.
 
You can make small pin holes right where the fins will go. That way the epoxy will soak into the body and then have some nice fillets on each side. Those fins won't go anywhere.
 
Thanks for the comments. I will be adding epoxy fillets to the fins. I have used medium CA initially followed by epoxy fillets for small plywood fins like this and have never had any problems. I use wood glue for balsa fins because they seem to soak it up better than CA. I always cut away the glassine layer too. I remember having glued fins pop right off of the glassine on hard landings.
I found some nice thick rubber bands about 3/4 inch ID and 3/8 wide that I think will work well to hold the motor hook down. I will probably add electrical tape to be sure though. I didn't have time to build tonight.
 
lamart72 said:
I decided to cut and bend the hook upward so that it anchored to the aft centering ring and did not protrude into the motor mount tube. I slid the ring and hook down until I was satisfied with the clearance to the motor case and marked the tube.
Click to expand...

I've used engine hooks for 29mm before, but yours is a really elegant solution :) I tend to gloop epoxy all over it, since it's not seen.

On my Weasel, I used an aeropac retainer.

Weasel-rear.jpg

The LOC Weasel is a fantastic rocket! On my first launch, the stock parachute failed (shroud lines pulled out of eyelets though poor construction) & cracked a fillet but that's all fixed now.

Krusty
 
I just ordered mine tonight. It will be my first LOC kit and I cant wait to get started...now I will resume pacing by the front door waiting for it to be delivered.
 
astroimgur said:
I just ordered mine tonight. It will be my first LOC kit and I cant wait to get started...now I will resume pacing by the front door waiting for it to be delivered.
Click to expand...

LOL you think you have it bad? I often have to wait 2 - 3 weeks for things to arrive here in Australia!

Krusty
 
Enjoy the kit. I had an Aerotech F20-4 Econoject blow the bulkhead at ignition last Saturday. Torched the bottom section, but I just need to replace the tube and motor mount. I did file an NAR MESS form. Batch number was 001191. Ironically, I gave the other motor in the pak to John Dyer of Red River Rocketry. That is his RRR PChuter Xtreme on the next pad. He elected to fly and the motor worked perfectly. The Weasel is a great kit and flyer. I had close to a dozen flights on mine and it should fly again in the future.

Chas

Pop Goes the Weasel.jpg
 
Alright mine came in the mail today! Lol I've been tracking it and didnt even make the mail man have to get out of his truck. Now I just need to get some decals and a retainer and I'll be set!
 
Thanks for the useful motor mount mod info. I wasn't aware that LOC doesn't use motor hooks in their 29mm motor mounts. I just ordered a LOC ISIS from Red Arrow Hobbies and it will be my first LOC model. I don't like to friction fit motors either so I guess I'll be doing something similar to what you did.
 

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