HYPERLOC 835 BUILD

Now that my Mad Cow Frenzy is complete, its time for my next build - a LOC HyperLoc 835!

I didn't see much out there as far as build threads on these, so I'll post the whole build as I go. Yesterday I opened the bag (LOVE THAT NEW ROCKET SMELL) and spread out the parts for a quick inventory. Yep, they were all there!

I've built many LOC kits, and these are by far the crappiest directions I've ever seen ship with a kit. Not that I actually use the directions much these days, but these are seriously crappy. Due to this, I wouldn't recommend this one for a beginner.

On to the good stuff! My first step was to strip off the glassine from the motor mount and slap on a 54mm Aeropack with some JB Weld. I attached the rear centering ring at the same time to get a good fillet on it. I'll be tacking in the fins and then removing the MMT from the body tube to complete the internal fin root fillets and the other two centering rings with Aeropoxy 6209.

I'll also be fiberglassing this kit and doing a tip to tip fiberglass on the fins. One layer of 6 oz and one layer of 3 oz should do it without added too much weight. This kit ships with VERY thin fins, I would be nervous flying without reinforcement. This kit also has a body tube extension, so the glass will cover the seam and hopefully make it invisible.

More pics to come.............

I'll be watching this build.
Don't be tardy with the pictures now!

JP

I know you will make a nice rocket out of that kit Jeff. You do some good builds.

Getmore said:

I know you will make a nice rocket out of that kit Jeff. You do some good builds.

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Thanks Bill....... now if I can just get my paint jobs to match yours, I'll be on to something.

Unfortunately, I've had a nasty bout of food poisoning so I've not been up to working on it for the past day or so. I'm still mulling over if I'm going to glass the whole thing or just do a tip to tip on the fins......

Sorry to here your sick. Glassing is good but it adds a lot more work. How hard are you going to push it? That is how I decide if I go with glass.

Saturday - time to play with rockets. And fiberglass and epoxy!

First I set up my glassing tables. Then I started peeling off the glassine. These were the smoothest tubes I've ever seen from LOC, their quality just keeps getting better!! Almost seamless smooth, it was almost a shame to peel off the glassine.

I also included a shot of the Aeropack I put on the MMT a few days ago for those that needed some Aeropack envy.

Ok, time to measure some fiberglass!!

There are three body tubes on the Hyperloc, the booster section, a short booster extender with coupler (to allow for longer Hypertek motors), and then the payload section.

I measured out one layer of 6 oz for all three tubes. I applied one layer to the booster section, and will apply one layer to the extender later today.

I applied a layer of 6oz and a veil layer of 3 oz to the payload section and av-bay switch band, so they are now finished.

Later when I join the booster and coupler, I'll apply a 3 oz layer so the joint between the sections is covered, and then apply a layer of 6 oz and a layer of 3 oz tip to tip on those amazingly thin fins.

Before I can do that, I'll have to tack in the fins, remove the MMT from the body tube, and add all the rest of the centering rings and internal fillets. Then epoxy it back into the booster, then add the external fillets, the add the extension to the front. Wow, I've got a lot of work ahead of me....

After only 2.5 curing in a hot Florida garage, I was able to peel off the Teflon peel ply and trim the overhang on all the parts. I also opened up the fin slots.

I had also glassed the av-bay bulkheads, it makes it easier to clean the ejection residue off of them.

After trimming all the parts, I glassed the extension with one layer of 6 oz.

Tomorrow I should be able to start tacking in the fins with Aeropoxy 6209 structural.

I finished the av-bay construction this evening.

As usual, I ditched the stock eyebolt and went with stainless u-bolts.

I epoxied the stiffy coupler into the outer av-bay tube and the epoxied on the fiberglassed switch band.

As you can see, I spread the leftover epoxy (West system mixed with high density filler) in the middle of the inside of the tube. That should make a cleaner hole when I drill holes for the sampling ports and the rotary switch. After the epoxy cures, I'll coat the outside of the tube with thin CA and sand it down to seal it and help it slide better. It also seems to help reduce wear and tear.

I'll install blast caps and wiring in a few days. And as usual, I'll be using a PerfectFlite SL100 and a wiring kit from Doghouse rocketry. Those wiring kits make life so simple.

After a late start today, I opened up the fin slots a tad more with my Dremel and tacked in the first fin with Aeropoxy 6209. I used to use 5 minute epoxy for fin tacking, but realized it was probably not a good idea to have low quality epoxy as the primary bond to the MMT - especially since this area gets the highest heat load and the Aeropoxy is much better suited for this.

With the leftover Aeropoxy, I then bonded the av-bay sled to the guide tubes. I used a heavy tape measure to help it stay flat until it fully cures.

Finally, I used thin CA and soaked the outside of the av-bay. Oh, wow.... Those fumes!!

I should be able to get one more fin tacked in tonight.

Progress has been slow and steady, all three fins are now tacked in. The Aeropoxy has a very slow cure time, so it added about 2 days to the build vs using 5 minute epoxy. I believe it's worth it, though.

Tonight I will use a Dremel and extend the fin slots all the way to the rear and remove the MMT assembly and install the remaining two centering rings and add generous fillets to the fin roots.

Tomorrow I should be able to epoxy the assembly back into the body tube and start on the external fillets.

Looking Good Jeff.

I love that kit. It was my level 2 rocket and has flown 5 times (1x I, 3x J, and 1x K to 6,300ft). Mine doesn't have any glass and is built fairly light. You will be able to push yours to the extreme.

Are you going with the stock HyperLOC paint scheme?

csoechtig said:

Looking Good Jeff.

I love that kit. It was my level 2 rocket and has flown 5 times (1x I, 3x J, and 1x K to 6,300ft). Mine doesn't have any glass and is built fairly light. You will be able to push yours to the extreme.

Are you going with the stock HyperLOC paint scheme?

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Chris,
I actually got interested in this kit after watching you fly both your HyperLocs. My wife offered to pick up a new kit for me after I had finished the 4" Mad Cow Frenzy, so I chose this one. Now that I have a GPS tracking, I'm thinking about trying one of those impressive long burning motors I have seen you fly - any recommendations??

Regarding the paint scheme, I"ll let the proverbial cat out of the bag - its going to have a "Hello Space Kitty" theme. Yes, as of now, it will have a pink booster, white payload section, with a darker pink/plum nosecone and switch band. And it will be covered in "Hello Kitty" type vinyl. As I mentioned, my wife picked this one up for me, and there WERE strings attached. This was her idea. Hopefully nobody will take my man card away from me when I show up at the next launch with a pink rocket....lol.

I have a four day weekend coming up, so if I keep on the current pace, it should be ready for primer by Sunday. I'm also going to try to glass the LOC Magnum body tubes on Friday. I'm not rushing these builds, but it would be nice to park in the garage again!

As planned, I was able to easily extend the fin slots all the way to the rear and remove the MMT & fins - I was very careful not to get any epoxy on the body tube when i tacked the fins or it would have been really stuck.

The fin tacking actually had a fairly good bead of epoxy on it, but I'm always into maximin overkill. So I mixed up about 15 grams of Aeropoxy and added some nice meaty fillets to the fin roots.

I also added the two top centering rings and gave them healthy fillets.

I then drilled holes for three rail buttons. Because the MMT is so long, I'll use weld nuts for the top and bottom buttons since I can reach the back of them, and them mount the middle one with a screw and a dab of epoxy. I didn't want too great a distance between the buttons, hence the middle one. I used a straight edge and they are all perfectly lined up.

Tomorrow I will epoxy the MMT back into the body and start external fillets.

First time I've stacked the sections.

Still plenty of epoxy work to do.....

Looking good Jeff. Is that your switch ban/Avbay up top just down from the nosecone? Is the yellow ball a light switch on a string if so it must be a real head banger. LOL

Getmore said:

Looking good Jeff. Is that your switch ban/Avbay up top just down from the nosecone? Is the yellow ball a light switch on a string if so it must be a real head banger. LOL

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Thanks Bill - yes, that is the av-bay switch band right under the top payload section. Its up higher than it is on most rockets. This kit is designed a little different than most as it is designed for hybird motors - to allow for the longer motor, they added a short extension. I'll epoxy the two lower sections together soon, I just have them coupled together dry right now to test the fit. Then I"m putting a layer of 3oz fiberglass over the two sections and the seam should hopefully be invisible.

Another difference with this kit is an extra ring that is epoxied in just under the extension that the shock cord mounts to instead of the top centering ring on the MMT.

And the little yellow ball is just to show me where to stop when I pull in the garage (when the garage isn't transformed into a rocket factory). Its soft foam so when I walk into it (a constant occurrence) it doesn't hurt. Now the hard plastic bobber hanging on my wife's side of the garage is another story.... ;-)

I think if it were me I would give myself more room for the main chute and move the avbay down. Im new to DD. I know there are many ways to do it. Just a thought.

Getmore said:

I think if it were me I would give myself more room for the main chute and move the avbay down. Im new to DD. I know there are many ways to do it. Just a thought.

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I totally agree, if this was a scratch build, I would have used a longer payload tube. Not sure what size parachute I'll end up with until I get the final weight. Usually when I glass a rocket I upgrade the chute to accommodate the extra weight. I have a few unused "stock" chutes laying around from other builds that I used SkyAngle chutes instead, so I'm sure I have something larger than the stock one laying around here somewhere....... Hopefully I can stuff it in there. No problem holding it in, as I'll use three shear pins.

Federal holidays - great time to work on rockets!!

This morning I attached the coupler and the shock cord mount.

Of course I upgraded the eyebolt for a u-bolt. Because this mount isn't also supported by the MMT and will see a pretty high stress load during events, I later added a huge fillet using west system/colloidal silica after the Aeropoxy had cured..

Time to epoxy on the booster section extension. First I added a whopping thickened west system fillet to the shock cord mount.

Then I measured out 4 grams of Aeropoxy and spread it inside of the bottom of the extension and slid it on and rotated it a bit.

After that, I weighed it... Still a hair under three pounds. Still needs external fillets and t2t on the fins.

Great build, I am thinking about this kit to be my 54mm research motor vehicle

This morning I added a layer of 3oz across the two front sections. Had to be careful to work around the front rail button.

I had used some filler to smooth the transition between the body tube and the extension section. Hopefully the seam will be invisible now.

After the glass went on I covered it with some Teflon peel ply where it is currently curing. Shouldn't take long, its probably over 100 degrees in the garage.

Used a straight edge to mark off my fillet lines, lots of blue tape to keep things neat, then mixed up one pump of West System 105/206 and mixed in a heaping spoon each of colloidal silica and high density filler.

I had JUST enough epoxy to finish the job. I then pulled the tape and smoothed a few edges with a Popsicle stick.

I think I'll do the next two sets at the same time since this mixture doesn't run or sag.

Getting the fillets totally perfect isn't too important at this point as tomorrow I will begin tip to tip glass on the fins and the fillets will be covered anyway. Sunday I should be able to finish that and start wiring the av-bay.

All fin fillets completed. Tomorrow I will begin the tip to tip.

At this rate, I may try launching it up in Bunnell (in primer) on the 13th. That way it can earn its paint....

In spite of an oppressively hot Florida garage, I braved the heat and started the fin glassing.

First I beveled the front edges of the fins and used my finishing sander to smooth any bumps and sand down the spot putty I had applied the day before. A little extra work ahead of time pays off later.

I then cut out a fin template using some leftover 6 oz s-glass. Since I'm running short of fiberglass, I ended up using the s-glass template on the first fin layup. I will use regular 6 oz fiberglass on the next two sets and all will have a layer of 3 oz, followed by Teflon peel ply.

The first fin layup went well, I had used 2 pumps of west epoxy and only used about 3/4 of it. It should be ready in about 2 hours or so to remove the peel ply and trim the overhang while it is still green.

Last night I completed the last fin glassing. I had saved the side with the rail button for last, it's always the most fun to work around (not).

Things turned out great, and I love the smooth radius the glass over the fillet creates. Nice and smooth.

Now comes the sanding and finishing work. Hope the Aeropoxy low density filler I ordered shows up soon, I'm eager to try it. There are only a few spots the will need it.... and I'm happy to avoid the fumes from the Bondo spot putty.

neond7 said:

Last night I completed the last fin glassing. I had saved the side with the rail button for last, it's always the most fun to work around (not).

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Next time you might try what I do. Fill your railbutton hole with Vaseline then laminate right over it. Afterwards you can use an X-Acto knife and cut through the fiberglass to open the hole--only takes a couple seconds. Advantages are you get a nice laminate right up to the hole without any epoxy fill; also if you happen to have a t-nut or equivalent in the hole it too receives some lubrication/protection.

I just purchased this rocket as well and wanted to build it to learn about using eletronics. I have planned to use the HyperLOC 1600 as my level 3 attempt and this being a smaller version of it caught my eye. I'll be looking forward to watching this as you build it.

walden0311 said:

I just purchased this rocket as well and wanted to build it to learn about using eletronics. I have planned to use the HyperLOC 1600 as my level 3 attempt and this being a smaller version of it caught my eye. I'll be looking forward to watching this as you build it.

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I'll take pictures of the av-bay while I'm wiring it. I'll be using the wiring kit from doghouse rocketry, and some blast caps. What altimeter were you planning on using? I'm a fan of the SL100's.