Nothing but wood and paper?

Perhaps the pros at Loc can help me with this:

Maybe a couple of years ago, there was a somewhat brief discussion about the possibility of an un-glassed kit challenge. I have been wondering about an un-glassed HyperLoc 1600 which happens to be my next build.

Am I wrong to assume that most large rockets seen today at launches are glassed paper rockets or all fiberglass or CF. I guess in the old days, paper was what most people flew. Does anyone routinely fly larger paper only kits like the HyperLoc 1600 etc. on high power motors like an L2200 or bigger?

I do tend to "over build" but . . .

Probably my biggest concern is the beating the forward part of the booster airframe can take from the shock cord on the way down. Will a stiffy help prevent that? Then what can be done to strengthen the main bay frame? The nose cone sits up there so a stiffy will not work.

Thanks for your opinions, experience etc.

gary7

LOC still makes big cardboard and wood rockets.

Checkout any build by Eric Cayemburg. This one is for K-N flying
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/loc-n-load-build-thread.143463/

Fin shape is key to avoid flutter, Wide straps like nylon or a tennis ball/wad help prevent zippers, couplers stiffening the airframe, all help the older style rockets survive the heavy motors.

I do like big paper and wood rockets!

If it were me, I'd put a wrap or two of glass around the top edge of the booster airframe, and possibly glass the fins. On the glassing of the top of the booster airframe, my go-to product is 2" wide glass tape from USComposites (product FG-C02). On the fins, if they're 3/8" thick or greater, no need for glass, they'll be good. Fins the size of the Hyper1600's in 1/4" ply on motors such as the L2200 could probably use some reinforcement.

My Magnum is a favorite frequent flyer of mine...it's flown in Indiana with you. Quick, simple build thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/loc-magnum-build.30930/ It's had water landings twice, flown on several fast L motors, and lives to tell the story. Planning on bringing it to LDRS as my fun flyer for the week.

Cheers!

Just brainstorming here. For the top of the airframe, you can use a stiffy if you modify the nose cone shoulder. And by "modify" I mean cut off the shoulder and make a new one from a stiffy coupler and a bulkhead.

Speed is the main stressor for fins. If you're set on the L2200 then so be it. If not, consider lower thrust like the L1365, which has only about 6% less impulse with a 52% longer burn.

Eric, Thanks for the link to your Magnum build. I vaguely remember reading that way back when and will do so again.

I always use epoxy on high power builds, even paper to paper, wood to paper and wood to wood. The fins I got with the kit are actually 3/8" thick so no reinforcement should be required there. I like the idea of a 2 inch fiberglass tape wrap on the forward ends of the air frames. Thanks for that tip! I also have 1" nylon shock cords to help reduce zippers but have considered a zipper proof Fireball from Giant Leap??? Anyone with any experience with those or similar items?

Joe, regarding a redo of the nose cone, IDK. It is one of those very thin fiberglass lined cones with what appears to be a very brittle plastic outer skin. The point cracked when I dropped it on the basement floor today. The glass lining is also very thin. I will check with a friend who does a lot of FG and CF airframes to see if he can/will make a new shoulder for me to fit inside a Loc coupler.

I think with those fat fins and my over building tendencies, this thing should fly ok, even on that L2200. I love that motor!

My 12' tall, 5.5" inch diameter YouBee was built with (mostly) LOC components. I used fiberglass on the fins and fin fillets, but not on the tubes. I used Blue Tube couplers because I had problems with LOC couplers .. uh ... delaminating over time.

The "breakaway" design has a lot of couplers and the body tube segments are short enough that the couplers basically run the entire length inside the body. So, that added strength. But, I am confident that the rocket would have been fine with just the cardboard tubes even if the design was more traditional (at least with the motors I used).

Deja YouBee - A Rebuild Thread II - The Sequel

I last flew it on a CTI L1115 motor.

https://blog.payloadbay.com/?p=159

gary7 said:

Perhaps the pros at Loc can help me with this:

Maybe a couple of years ago, there was a somewhat brief discussion about the possibility of an un-glassed kit challenge. I have been wondering about an un-glassed HyperLoc 1600 which happens to be my next build.

Am I wrong to assume that most large rockets seen today at launches are glassed paper rockets or all fiberglass or CF. I guess in the old days, paper was what most people flew. Does anyone routinely fly larger paper only kits like the HyperLoc 1600 etc. on high power motors like an L2200 or bigger?

I do tend to "over build" but . . .

Probably my biggest concern is the beating the forward part of the booster airframe can take from the shock cord on the way down. Will a stiffy help prevent that? Then what can be done to strengthen the main bay frame? The nose cone sits up there so a stiffy will not work.

Thanks for your opinions, experience etc.

gary7

Click to expand...

Everyone on this forum "Overbuilds" I could never understand it?? I mean what is the point? You don't need to glass every rocket or put 2" thick epoxy fillets or 1/2" u-bolts. All you are doing is adding weight and whats Ironic most of these rocklets break a fin when they land under chute because they weigh so much unless you get a chute that's so big it blocks the sun. You guys need to get into building tanks or something like that because that's what you are doing. Leave the kit alone and fly it as a paper kit. I'm pretty sure the folks at LOC know how to design rockets and have tested them over and over.