LOC EZE, 1.63 Park Flyer

I got the EZE kit and these fins just seem WRONG. They seem too small for this rocket. Does anybody else have experience with this kit?

No experience with the kit, but LOC has some of the best customer service you could ask for. I would shoot them a quick e-mail

If you have openrocket or rocksim you could check the CP position.

Well, it is hard to tell with just a picture of the fins. Let's see the entire kit.

Per the Rocksim file on the LOC website the fin dimensions are: 3" long fin tabs, 2" long fin root chord, 1.875" height. Does this match your fins? If so then you're good.
Keep in mind this is only a 25" rocket.

I looked at the Rocksim file, the dimensions are a little different on the actual parts. Root=1.605, tab=2.975, height=1.350. I tried dry fitting it and it looks ok, just never saw fins like this (but I'm new, so....)
The nose cone is really heavy, 91.3g. The body tube with the motor tube, and centering rings, and 29mm aeropack retainer is109.2g. Cg around 13.5" Rocksim gives the Cp at 19.6". The file doesn't seem to accurately represent what is actually supplied. It dry fit together quite well. I'll get it built and see how it looks. It'll get a shock cord upgrade and probably rail buttons as well as a 29/24 aeropack adaptor.

Looks too small to me too.
I'd email LOC and see what's up.

Those fins are definitely too small when you compare your dry fit picture to the picture of their park flier.

That's what I've done. The contact form doesn't seem to support sending a picture so I'll wait for a reply and see if I can send one.

Email Jason directly

Was able to find a way to include a picture and waiting for a reply.

Those fins are approximately correct.

That NC is relatively heavy, and the straked roots are a bit unusual but should fill the slot just fine.

It'll be a couple of days before I can get back to it. Maybe I'll hear something from LOC. I may also try correcting the Rocksim file to reflect what I have (not one of my strong points). Or just build it as is, stuck an H238 in it an see if it flies

tOD said:

It'll be a couple of days before I can get back to it. Maybe I'll hear something from LOC. I may also try correcting the Rocksim file to reflect what I have (not one of my strong points). Or just build it as is, stuck an H238 in it an see if it flies

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Better practice would be to make your own sim file. Vendor sims are......loosely based on reality

Nytrunner said:

Better practice would be to make your own sim file. Vendor sims are......loosely based on reality

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I agree, but at this point that's a bit behind my capabilities.

Well, I never got a reply from LOC, so being the impatient type I proceeded with the build. MMT assembled. Shock cord upgrade to300# Kevlar "Y" harness attached to motor mount with Rocketpoxy. 10/10 rail buttons. Slight airfoil on the fins. I'm going to put in some PML foam to finish the fin can. Epoxy in the rear ring then JB weld the Aeropack retainer. I have the 29/24 adaptor for flexibility in motor selection.

tOD said:

Well, I never got a reply from LOC, so being the impatient type I proceeded with the build. MMT assembled. Shock cord upgrade to300# Kevlar "Y" harness attached to motor mount with Rocketpoxy. 10/10 rail buttons. Slight airfoil on the fins. I'm going to put in some PML foam to finish the fin can. Epoxy in the rear ring then JB weld the Aeropack retainer. I have the 29/24 adaptor for flexibility in motor selection.View attachment 386954

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I would guess your message to LOC never got to them. They have some of best customer service in the hobby.

crossfire said:

I would guess your message to LOC never got to them. They have some of best customer service in the hobby.

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No doubt. I was pleased with the kit. It's my first from LOC. If it flies I'll probably buy another one.

Applied Rocketpoxy fillets to the EZE. Almost ready for paint. CTI 1 grain Pro24's on the way from Wildman. Maybe a first flight on 7/14.

Update (if anybody's watching). Finished the rocket and tried to fly it. Very unstable flight on an E20. Corrected the size of the fins in the Rocksim file which moved the CP forward. Added 40 g of lead and two part foam in the nose. Tried again on the same motor yesterday. Flew OK, right into a field of chin high goldenrod, briars, and ticks. Had a brand new JLCR on board as well as an Aeropak 29/24 adaptor. Maybe I'll find it when the weeds die down.

Did you ever hear back from LOC? Do you think you got the wrong size fins?

Hey! I haven't seen anything on the question line, but there were a few EZE that got out with a corrupted fin file! e-mail me directly and we'll get a new booster set-up out. [email protected]

tOD said:

Update (if anybody's watching).

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I'm watching Actually just ordered this rocket for flying in the smaller field next summer. I'm planning on flying it with an Estes 24 / 29 adapter on smaller E's and larger D's. I hope yours turns up before it gets wet!

~dave~

One of the problems with stability was probably adding the two part foam to the fin can. Combined with the small fins moving the CP forward it made the rocket unstable. I wish I had captured that first flight on video; it was pretty entertaining. Because it launched from the high power 10/10 rail it was well away from everyone. The flight on Saturday looked pretty good stability wise. On the descent it disappeared behind a rise so I didn't get a good look at exactly where it landed. There's not much hope of seeing it again. Losing the chute release is probably what hurts the worst. It was a replacement for another one that was lost and had only flown once before.

You need someone with a drone to help you find it!

mbeels said:

Did you ever hear back from LOC? Do you think you got the wrong size fins?

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Not sure. They were a lot smaller than what was specified in the Rocksim file. When I adjusted the size in the file to match what I had it moved the CP to 19.6". It weighed 364 g with the 24mm E20-7 motor installed. It was pretty overstable with the added nose weight, probably got carried away there.

LOC said:

Hey! I haven't seen anything on the question line, but there were a few EZE that got out with a corrupted fin file! e-mail me directly and we'll get a new booster set-up out. [email protected]

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Thank you for the offer. Was the corrupted file actually used to cut the fins?
Even so the loss of the rocket was entirely due to bad luck. The"up" part was fine, the"down" not so good. Nothing about the experience would prevent me from buying another LOC kit sometime in the future.

Well bottom line is the fins in my kit were cut incorrectly. So they seemed small because they were. I contributed to the unstable first flight by putting the foam in the motor mount.
Oh well, a few months out in the rain will probably render any stability issues moot.
Would still like to find my chute release and 29/24 adaptor. Might even be able to salvage the Aeropack retainer.

tOD said:

Well bottom line is the fins in my kit were cut incorrectly. So they seemed small because they were. I contributed to the unstable first flight by putting the foam in the motor mount.
Oh well, a few months out in the rain will probably render any stability issues moot.
Would still like to find my chute release and 29/24 adaptor. Might even be able to salvage the Aeropack retainer.

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I doubt the foam was a problem. It was a just a small volume, and it is mostly air, anyway. Adding the motor retainer was a bigger contributor to the ass weight.

Bottom line is that LOC screwed up the kit and the fins were too small.

Sorry you lost your rig. I have come to the realization that the most critical electronics payload is a tracker, even in midpower rockets. That works far better in finding the rocket than any dual deployment!

BTW, don't stick a 29mm G motor in there and expect to fly in a city "park." It will go bye-bye.

Here's mine off a g64 from the 40's ( FARG ) at LDRS.View attachment 393768