LOC Saturn V

Anybody know when they plan to release the kit?

We saw it fly last weekend at da Bong. Pretty impressive looking. 5 54mm motor mounts. It flew just fine on a single AT K550WL for a nice inaugural flight. I can hardly wait for someone to fill up all the holes and let it rip.

I emailed Jason the other day. He said hoping for end of April. Cardboard airframe with FG fairings & transitions. Wood capsule. 5x54mm MMT cluster. Dry weight~12 lbs. 82" cute, Y-harness, decals included. he also said price won't be $400 but won't be $700. He's trying to make it affordable, & still costing it out.

I got put on the list last Saturday. I am not sure I would get it finished by July if released in April or not, I plan on adding stringers and 3D printed details.

If you need things printed, I can offer my services.

Soon...ASAP!!!

The prototype was "cut" and assembled in under a week. One full day, and two evenings actually. I've built both the Loc version and the Estes version; I can say with confidence that the Loc version is a quicker and easier build!!!!

Kevin Harnack photo:


By Peggy, for scale!

It should be easier Eric, its huge compared to the Estes kits, so the parts are larger for our aging eyes and shaky hands to work with...[emoji3]

I would really love one but there's no way I could justify it and would have to wait quite some time before I would be legal to launch it, lol.

rharshberger said:

It should be easier Eric, its huge compared to the Estes kits, so the parts are larger for our aging eyes and shaky hands to work with...[emoji3]

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Also not much for scale detailing on it. All those wraps and parts add to the Estes build time.

I really can decide to design one myself or buy one of these.

1/52nd scale, so nearly twice the Estes scale. No stringers or details? That's a show-stopper for me...

PhlAsh said:

1/52nd scale, so nearly twice the Estes scale. No stringers or details? That's a show-stopper for me...

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Stringers would be easy but time consuming to glue on. The other details I would get 3D printed. They may already be available on Shapeways. Just would have to get them scaled appropriately.

So cool. I won't be adding one to my fleet but I sure do enjoy seeing this out there. LOC simply rules these days.

PhlAsh said:

1/52nd scale, so nearly twice the Estes scale. No stringers or details? That's a show-stopper for me...

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That's an even larger scale than 1:64 Saturn V that I willed myself out of impulse buying from Sirius's web site last night:
https://www.siriusrocketry.com/Saturn51.htm

6.13" diameter, 5 1/2 foot tall. With all the decals, stringers, wraps, and what not, weight is ~16 lbs.

timbucktoo said:

I emailed Jason the other day. He said hoping for end of April. Cardboard airframe with FG fairings & transitions. Wood capsule. 5x54mm MMT cluster. Dry weight~12 lbs. 82" cute, Y-harness, decals included. he also said price won't be $400 but won't be $700. He's trying to make it affordable, & still costing it out.

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12 lbs?
That's really light for that size!

I was very tempted to grab the Serious model for $500, but then looked at my inventory of 3.5 Estes Saturn V kits, and came to my senses.
This thread, on the other hand, makes we want to reconsider...

a

jd2cylman said:

We saw it fly last weekend at da Bong. Pretty impressive looking. 5 54mm motor mounts. It flew just fine on a single AT K550WL for a nice inaugural flight. I can hardly wait for someone to fill up all the holes and let it rip.

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You could put some E9's or F12's on the outside, basically for effect... four G33's would work too.

Anyone have a rough Rocksim file for this kit?

A perspective and a teaser...

My perspective...just my opinion, not a representation of Loc or anybody else's viewpoint.

Regarding details, I think it is AWESOME that people are thinking along the lines of 3D printing for the detailed parts. To me, I want a lot of detail in the Estes sized model...because at 4" in diameter and being a model/mid power rocket, I can see some or most of the detail at a launch distance of 30'-50'. For the larger model...specifically this Loc offering at 7.67" diameter, I care less about the fine details, because I need to launch it at a greater distance...at 200' spectator distance for a single K motor, I can't see the little details. If I decide to up the power or cluster, I could easily end up at 1000' for a complex M impulse or 1500' for a complex N impulse flight. At those distances, I'm lucky if I can see the white/black roll pattern. However, the smoke noise, realism of the flight of this big bird was awesome...I was tickled pink when it flew and recovered as well as it did!

Cost & weight: I'll lump these two together since they are somewhat married to one-another. Cost soon to be announced, but that's another part of the "problem". Details cost money...there are lots of potential details that would cost *something*. That cost adds up on a product this large...this is a BIG rocket! High cost is a deterrent. I think I read that Steven has $2k+ into his similarly sized Sheri's Sat V...yikes! Details also add weight. We were all pretty pumped when the prototype came out at 12lbs (without nose weight and motor). Built light (like the proto), one could conceivably launch this on an I284W on a small field! More detail=more mass=bigger motors needed. If the builder wants more detail, that's great! Some (like myself) might appreciate the lower cost, lower weight, less detailed offering. Including small detailed pieces wouldn't justify a price tag a few hundred dollars higher on a high powered bird for me personally.

So, my perspective is that I find it pretty cool that this offering will be out soon, for a BIG (largest current commercial offering) Saturn V that is light enough to be flown on I/J/K motors for a reasonable price tag. It is a comparatively easy build that can be assembled in a week if one dedicates the effort to do so. For those that want more detail, 3D printing, CWBullet, etc. are wonderful routes to go. For those wanting more power, the motor mount can handle it, and there *may* be another option for a motor mount. In other words, the options are up to the builder... and I think that's great!

Now for a teaser....

How about motor mount configurations; could one beg and plead for a central 75mm and outboard 29mm (effect-only) mounts?

Tyler P said:

I would really love one but there's no way I could justify it and would have to wait quite some time before I would be legal to launch it, lol.

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Dang it. Just realized I would only need my L2 for this. Another reason to go for it after L1.

Tyler P said:

Dang it. Just realized I would only need my L2 for this. Another reason to go for it after L1.

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You could easily stick an I500 in this and fly it with L1 certification.

Flyfalcons said:

How about motor mount configurations; could one beg and plead for a central 75mm and outboard 29mm (effect-only) mounts?

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Or even 1x75mm and 4x38mm not that it leaves much room.....but yeah a 75 with 4x29 would be cool, and I bet the Jason and Dave would be more than happy to custom offer rings for that config....

ECayemberg said:

My perspective...just my opinion, not a representation of Loc or anybody else's viewpoint.
[...]If I decide to up the power or cluster, I could easily end up at 1000' for a complex M impulse or 1500' for a complex N impulse flight.

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Ooooouuuuugggghhhh ... might this just become an L3-capable rocket for someone?
That would be cool, and may justify premium pricing!

ECayemberg said:

Cost & weight: I'll lump these two together since they are somewhat married to one-another. Cost soon to be announced, but that's another part of the "problem". Details cost money...there are lots of potential details that would cost *something*. That cost adds up on a product this large...this is a BIG rocket! High cost is a deterrent. [...] More detail=more mass=bigger motors needed. If the builder wants more detail, that's great! Some (like myself) might appreciate the lower cost, lower weight, less detailed offering. Including small detailed pieces wouldn't justify a price tag a few hundred dollars higher on a high powered bird for me personally.

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Fair point, but BIG rockets cost BIG money, so that's a given.
If you are about to burn a C-bill (or two) per launch, saving a hundred bucks on the kit is immaterial.
In the end, it all depends on pricing and quality of the cosmetic bits (may, or may not be, worth it to LOC to make them optional; same with laundry).

To me, details make the Saturn V.
And I really don't want to buy a 3D printer to DIY all those bits. Maybe offer wrap-around vinyl decals that visually represent the tunnels, ribs, and other cosmetic details? Similar to what accur8 does for Mercury (subcontract them)?
https://www.accur8.com/Estes_MR-1.html
Without details, it's just an up-scaled Expediter with +1 transition. Cute, but not worth the premium pricing.

Either way, I'm thrilled that my choices for big-ass Saturn Vs is expanding!

YMMV,
a

We've already determined laundry will be optional. We can totally appreciate that some may have or want to use different recovery with a kit like this and we won't get in the way! As for motor configurations, we'll need to dig in to see what the fin tabs will look like. That's really the only part that would need to change as most of the available ring options are already created. For me personally, I want to see 5 x K270's lit in 3 stages! ( 2 off the pad, 2 air started, and a single 3rd airstart =) But that's just me

rharshberger said:

Or even 1x75mm and 4x38mm not that it leaves much room

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Actually, a 98 and 38s fit. Here's a 7.5" rocket flown at NSL 2008 on an AMW M1850 and 4 J350s
also flown at 2008 Winternats on a N800
Rocksim

Flyfalcons said:

You could easily stick an I500 in this and fly it with L1 certification.

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Lol, stop enabling me!

Hmmm
- tempting.

Presently, I have around $2300 in mine including one 5 ft. parachute for the upper section and a single 8 ft. parachute for the lower end as well as shock cord all from The Rocket Man. This too includes adhesives, primer, paint, 54 mm casing and hardware and having the LES, CM, SLA and IU 3D printed. So it's coming close to being an out the door price.

LOC said:

We've already determined laundry will be optional. We can totally appreciate that some may have or want to use different recovery with a kit like this and we won't get in the way! As for motor configurations, we'll need to dig in to see what the fin tabs will look like. That's really the only part that would need to change as most of the available ring options are already created. For me personally, I want to see 5 x K270's lit in 3 stages! ( 2 off the pad, 2 air started, and a single 3rd airstart =) But that's just me

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I am good with any recovery except a bucket recovery.

As of 9:30 am today, it is still not yet available:

https://locprecision.com/product/loc-custom-saturn-v/

Is this going to be a limited edition kit? Can I get my name on a list for one? I submitted these questions to Loc. Anxious to hear their reply.

gary7 said:

As of 9:30 am today, it is still not yet available:

https://locprecision.com/product/loc-custom-saturn-v/

Is this going to be a limited edition kit? Can I get my name on a list for one? I submitted these questions to Loc. Anxious to hear their reply.

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Their Facebook page has more info. Original limited run was 50 kits, but they've removed the cap. Everyone's asking about a wait list, might be first come first served.
https://www.facebook.com/LOCPrecision/
With a name like Gary7, hope you're not going to sabotage your Saturn V! By the way, how's Teri?