Level 2 project: "Long Tom" LOC Cruiser -> stretched Tomahawk CM

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4FC23CD8-7934-4C29-872B-663FCB3FE9AE.jpeg It was a really fun flight to watch, this was a picture I got as the RSO and everyone was checking it over.
 
Congratulations on your L2 certification. Well done.

Congrats! Welcome to Level 2!

Congratulations! The K500 is such a fun motor.

Thanks all! Those Red Lightnings just get more impressive as the motors get bigger.
Maybe that'll be my new thing. Collect all Red Lightning! (too bad about the CTI price increase)

Whew. Finally! :D Lol
Very good, nice flight.

A time for everything and everything in it's time. I've got a career to build too y'know lol

Well done! Nice flight, great looking rocket. [emoji106]

Thanks Neil! Just remember, you've got to fly that IRIS-T and make sure it's stable before I can begin the Big project :rolleyes:

One of the best flights I've seen! Congrats!

fm

You haven't seen many flights recently! Lol, thanks for teaching me the launch controller too

Nice flight. Looking forward to seeing you fly it again at HARA.

It'll be awhile before I bring it out again, it's hungry and the average motor for it eats half my monthly rocket budget.
On the flipside though, I have a reason to buy a 38-54 adapter and Pro38-6XLgr now
 
You might want to look into the Aerotech 38-1080 casing and those Hazmat free J520s. Might take some of the sting out of flying a L2 rocket. Of course, sadly, Aerotech hardware isn’t cheap either. I love those hazmat free Aerotech reload lines.
 
Big congrats!

Any plans for L3 in the future?

That is the question!
True answer is I have hit upon a vehicle to model for a potential Level 3 project and have developed a few detailed sims to investigate its feasibility. I have no plans to pursue it in the near future due to the cost, scope of the project, and need to develop a couple other skills if I want to be able to meet all my objectives.

It really wouldn't be much trouble just to build a fiberglass 3/4FNC and pop an M into it (heck, I've already done that as an IREC competitor :cool:). but you can probably tell from this build thread, that's really not my style.

IF I get around to L3:
-The subject has not to my knowledge been scaled or reproduced as a high power rocket (not even low power until this year).
-It has some interesting features that will require further design work to adapt for sport flying.
-Nick@Jet's Ultimate QCC inspired me to aim for M-O utility.
-It's the perfect size for a 1:1 production :)
 
You might want to look into the Aerotech 38-1080 casing and those Hazmat free J520s. Might take some of the sting out of flying a L2 rocket. Of course, sadly, Aerotech hardware isn’t cheap either. I love those hazmat free Aerotech reload lines.

Fortunately with Chris as our onsite vendor, Hazmat is a non-issue. I enjoy Cesaroni for it's load variety and speed of use.

Now that the Summer of L2 is over, I'm ratcheting back down the power scale to change things up. I'm hoping to fly the 4 rockets of my PSII original lineup at next month's launch. All long Pro29s.

Further projects:
-I've got a 3" BMS School Rocket to build up for a Pro24-6gr. It will now be the School'd Rocket
-Original Pro Series Patriot dated Dec 1992 w/ a 4x24mm cluster mount. It has skinned fins that'll be interesting to learn
-Star Orbiter to do odd things with
-Airborne surveillance missile to build and paint blue to irritate Forever_Metal (it's not against the law to deviate from the paint scheme!)
-4" Madcow Phoenix I got in a secret Santa.....last year(?) to actually get around to building
 
IF I get around to L3:
-The subject has not to my knowledge been scaled or reproduced as a high power rocket (not even low power until this year).
-It has some interesting features that will require further design work to adapt for sport flying.
-Nick@Jet's Ultimate QCC inspired me to aim for M-O utility.
-It's the perfect size for a 1:1 production :)
Sounds exciting!
 
It'll be awhile before I bring it out again, it's hungry and the average motor for it eats half my monthly rocket budget.
On the flipside though, I have a reason to buy a 38-54 adapter and Pro38-6XLgr now

You can look through the CTI website as well as me (obviously), but the 38/5G set has the best variety of the whole 38mm family. They might not have enough oomph for this rocket except for the I540 WT. On the third hand, dropping a grain or two doesn't usually change the price much and 6XL does have a red.
 
I've got a 2gr and 5gr case already in 38, so I just need the 6XL and spacer to complete.
Debating whether I should get the 54 6XL since I've already got 3 and 6, but it does have some neat loads.
 
Haaaa, A Long Tom Project??? I can't help but to get a kick out of that. I have been working on Long Tom projects for for decades. Thanks for the info though.
Tom:D

I've been collecting and preparing parts off and on for about a year now, and it's time to get building!
Last year I was challenged to fly for L2 at NARAM 60 in Pueblo which is 3 months away.

Started with finding the LOC Cruiser before it was discontinued. It looked like a cool straightforward build.
Then I found a big 5.5" elliptical nosecone in Madcow's Rocketry Warehouse acquisition stash.
Since I have a knack for coming up with great terrible ideas, I thought I'd turn it into a long Tomahawk looking thing and do L2 in style. I swapped the long nosecone for a short one from LOC, and bagan designing a boattail.
After reading Eric Cayemburg's threads, I'll be doubling the walls using couplers. That'll be easier than fiberglassing, keep the weight down, and allow for stronger motors in the future.
View attachment 344017View attachment 344018View attachment 344019View attachment 344020
View attachment 344021


Since I enjoy making things more complicated than they need to be, I decided I'm going to try and get all certifications on Red Lightning motors (started with a Cesaroni H120 a year and a half ago), and this build is targeting the CTI J355. Fortunately, this is a big cardboard airframe, and it should turn out fairly lightweight. And if I fail to meet the weight mark for the J355,.....there's always the K515!

View attachment 344672

Read on over the next few months to watch the adventure, and at the very least learn from my mistakes! :cool:
I've been collecting and preparing parts off and on for about a year now, and it's time to get building!
Last year I was challenged to fly for L2 at NARAM 60 in Pueblo which is 3 months away.

Started with finding the LOC Cruiser before it was discontinued. It looked like a cool straightforward build.
Then I found a big 5.5" elliptical nosecone in Madcow's Rocketry Warehouse acquisition stash.
Since I have a knack for coming up with great terrible ideas, I thought I'd turn it into a long Tomahawk looking thing and do L2 in style. I swapped the long nosecone for a short one from LOC, and bagan designing a boattail.
After reading Eric Cayemburg's threads, I'll be doubling the walls using couplers. That'll be easier than fiberglassing, keep the weight down, and allow for stronger motors in the future.
View attachment 344017View attachment 344018View attachment 344019View attachment 344020
View attachment 344021


Since I enjoy making things more complicated than they need to be, I decided I'm going to try and get all certifications on Red Lightning motors (started with a Cesaroni H120 a year and a half ago), and this build is targeting the CTI J355. Fortunately, this is a big cardboard airframe, and it should turn out fairly lightweight. And if I fail to meet the weight mark for the J355,.....there's always the K515!

View attachment 344672

Read on over the next few months to watch the adventure, and at the very least learn from my mistakes! :cool:
 
Haaaa, A Long Tom Project??? I can't help but to get a kick out of that. I have been working on Long Tom projects for for decades. Thanks for the info though.
Tom:D

I won't pretend to know which Long Tom you're exactly referring to, but glad to entertain regardless

Welcome to the forum, now.it's your turn to build something!
 
Ny….


Very cool. Congratulations on a very nice couple of flights and your LVL2 Cert. I have enjoyed reading your thread and look forward to my own build here real soon.
I am taking the parts from a Binder Design kit and using them for a scratch build LVL2 project. I will save some extra time to study for the test too !!

Paul
 
Be sure to take full advantage of your surroundings

75252916_2478708842364203_5659649474486599680_n.jpg



Flew again on a J355.
Tangled main brought it down with a bump, but the only damage I see is a bruised Ebay that can be replaced (Stiffy Coupleres saving electronics FTW!) and the rocketpoxy popping off the plastic boattail again. Everything seems tight and right still

 
Awesome, I had to go back and read this entire thread. I love that boat tail, it came out well. You had quite a trip to Level 2, thanks for posting the details.
 
Thanks Marten!

I'm very proud of how it went from inception to execution, and how it's held up (even if I tried to kill it with my midnight chute pack.....)
It'll be hard to top it for L3, but I've got something in mind :cool:
 
The best thing about it is that's it's different than the norm and that makes it cooler than the norm.

That's certainly true for my building preferences.
Maybe not so much for the fast/high fliers that think 3FNC is the sexiest thing out there, but that's the great thing about rocketry! Its got all kinds of things for all kinds of folks
 
I pulled the backup altimeter data, but the RRC3 doesn't register a recorded flight.

It beeped drogue and main continuity prior to flight, and all charges are burnt post flight. May have to send it in for an inspect

upload_2019-11-14_23-11-46.png
 
Have vacuum tested it since?

I haven't gotten around to making a vacuum container yet unfortunately.

After that post I:
-Changed programs
-Visited family during Holidays
-Got a promotion (increased responsibilities and time requirements)
-Had the flu
-Got engaged
-Got Married (took advantage of coronavirus to speed things up virtually)
-Moved
-Got a dog

All of which have reduced available rocket time, but it's been a net positive exchange
 
After that post I:
-Changed programs
-Visited family during Holidays
-Got a promotion (increased responsibilities and time requirements)
-Had the flu
-Got engaged
-Got Married (took advantage of coronavirus to speed things up virtually)
-Moved
-Got a dog

That's like all of life's major changes at once, except buying a house, or is that included in "Moved"? If so, I think you ticked every major life event box.
 
That's like all of life's major changes at once, except buying a house, or is that included in "Moved"? If so, I think you ticked every major life event box.

No house yet, I just moved from my bachelor apartment of 4 years into the townhouse she'd rented (we kind of knew where we were headed when she moved near me last year). House will hopefully come beginning of next year as we near the lease's end.

We've been very fortunate. Other than the pandemic going on, 2020 hasn't been a bad year for us.
 
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