Aerotech HV Arcas Questions

[gna]

I picked up an older Aerotech HV Arcas kit secondhand from someone getting out of the hobby. I am planning on replacing the large engine hook with an Aerotech retainer, but other than that, any build advice? I have to say I was surprised that the instructions recommend medium CA as the adhesive throughout; I wouldn't have thought that was strong enough. I was thinking a judicious use of epoxy would help the build.

Rocket will be flown on Fs and Gs primarily; search brought up examples flown on Hs, so I suppose that's a possibility. No dual deploy, use a chute release on high flights.

 

[kuririn]

There are revised instructions if you are replacing the hook with a screw on retainer:
https://aerotech-rocketry.com/uploa... Motor Retainer Upgrade Notice with guide.pdfEither epoxy or CA is fine. The strength of the fin bond is mostly achieved through the snap lock grooves.

 

[AfterBurners]

I picked up an older Aerotech HV Arcas kit secondhand from someone getting out of the hobby. I am planning on replacing the large engine hook with an Aerotech retainer, but other than that, any build advice? I have to say I was surprised that the instructions recommend medium CA as the adhesive throughout; I wouldn't have thought that was strong enough. I was thinking a judicious use of epoxy would help the build.

Rocket will be flown on Fs and Gs primarily; search brought up examples flown on Hs, so I suppose that's a possibility. No dual deploy, use a chute release on high flights.

you dont need epoxy. Everything literally snaps together. You can get away with CA

 

[Mugs914]

I've been flying mine for over twenty years. It was my second mid power rocket and It's still one of my favorites to fly!

Mine is completely stock and built per the directions. If I built it today the only things I would change would be to use a kevlar or nylon shock cord, leave out the brillo pad baffle thing and use rail guides in place of the square lugs. Other than that, build as per the instructions. Like AB said, the recommended medium CA is perfectly good; it snaps together so well that it would probably be fine with no glue at all.

The other thing you need to do is get an Aerotech 29/40-120 hobby hardware set if you don't already have one. Then grab a few G-64W-7 reloads and go to town!

The HV Arcas LOVES that motor!

 

[gna]

Thanks everyone. I was thinking Kevlar shock cord and 1010 rail buttons. I thought the baffle/brillo pad thing looked like a good idea. I can leave it out if it doesn't work.

 

[AfterBurners]

I've been flying mine for over twenty years. It was my second mid power rocket and It's still one of my favorites to fly!

Mine is completely stock and built per the directions. If I built it today the only things I would change would be to use a kevlar or nylon shock cord, leave out the brillo pad baffle thing and use rail guides in place of the square lugs. Other than that, build as per the instructions. Like AB said, the recommended medium CA is perfectly good; it snaps together so well that it would probably be fine with no glue at all.

The other thing you need to do is get an Aerotech 29/40-120 hobby hardware set if you don't already have one. Then grab a few G-64W-7 reloads and go to town!

The HV Arcas LOVES that motor!

What I like about their kits now is they come with conformal rail guides and screw on retainers which is a nice improvement. I always laugh that the 1.9 kits well most of them come with that laughable 16" chute. I seriously doubt that wouldd help at all. I mean an 18" or 22" would work best especially if launching in the desert. Just saying

 

[Five]

Aerotech’s HV Arcas is my favorite rocket kit. A hint advice, don’t launch it near power lines.

 

[Mugs914]

Thanks everyone. I was thinking Kevlar shock cord and 1010 rail buttons. I thought the baffle/brillo pad thing looked like a good idea. I can leave it out if it doesn't work.

To be honest, I don't now if it works alone or not because I always fly it with a couple of handfuls of barf anyway. (I have trust issues when it comes to ejection baffles... )

Others on the forum have said that the brillo-baffle can collect soot and maybe even rust over time and cause ejection issues, not to mention that it gets in the way when you want to fly longer motors!

AB hit on the mod I forgot to mention and that is a screw type motor retainer. Mine has an Areopack (Only game in town back then), but the one Aerotech is making these days is VERY nice! I wish they came in larger sizes.

 

[Nytrunner]

. A hint advice, don’t launch it near power lines.

HV stands for High Voltage right?

 

[AfterBurners]

To be honest, I don't now if it works alone or not because I always fly it with a couple of handfuls of barf anyway. (I have trust issues when it comes to ejection baffles... )

Others on the forum have said that the brillo-baffle can collect soot and maybe even rust over time and cause ejection issues, not to mention that it gets in the way when you want to fly longer motors!

AB hit on the mod I forgot to mention and that is a screw type motor retainer. Mine has an Areopack (Only game in town back then), but the one Aerotech is making these days is VERY nice! I wish they came in larger sizes.

Actually the baffle does work well the brillo pad. I totally understand your trust issues. Better safe than sorry and end up with a burnt up chute

 

[Theory]

LOVE the HV Arcas. Built one earlier this year, and profiled the build in the HP section titled "Put the HV in HV Arcas"

I added a little to mine as I want to fly her on larger 29mm H and I motors.

If staying with F and G power, build it stock, though I also recommend leaving you the cooling mesh and using a nomex blanket.

have fun!

 

[AfterBurners]

Generally speaking of all AT kits for the money and time spent to build one they offer the best value. They are great kits for anyone wanting to get into MPR with nominal investment. I mean you really don't need much in the way of tools and supplies to build one. Sand paper some paint and CA and you have just about all you need. Their fin lock dsign is awesome and guarantees the fins get on straight. Everything snaps into place. They also fly great.

 

[Five]

One of my favorite AeroTech kits

 

[Five]

here she is

 

[Alawler123]

Hey guys, new to the forum with a question. I have read plenty of post on types of shock cords so I’ll leave this question to you guys. Building an AT HV arcas and was thinking of upgrading to 1/2 tubular nylon. I know this is overkill for thickness but I wanted to help prevent a zipper situation. Thinking anywhere from 12-15ft. Anybody see an issue with this or am I going a bad direction. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Nytrunner]

Hey guys, new to the forum with a question. I have read plenty of post on types of shock cords so I’ll leave this question to you guys. Building an AT HV arcas and was thinking of upgrading to 1/2 tubular nylon. I know this is overkill for thickness but I wanted to help prevent a zipper situation. Thinking anywhere from 12-15ft. Anybody see an issue with this or am I going a bad direction. Thanks for your opinions.

Does your kit have kevlar harness or an elastic cord? If you have elastic, a tough nylon cord may even be more of a zipper risk.

 

[Alawler123]

Does your kit have kevlar harness or an elastic cord? If you have elastic, a tough nylon cord may even be more of a zipper risk.

It has an 8ft elastic cord from Aerotech. I wanted to upgrade from elastic as I have had a bad experience or two with it. I’d then go for a longer cord (12-15ft) but the smallest diameter for tubular Kevlar I can’t find is around 1/2 inch (did find 3/16 but thought that was too small).

 

[mikec]

I built my Arcas stock and have never had a problem with the elastic or the baffle. I think kevlar is both overkill and a zipper hazard for a rocket this size, but if you must use it, 1/8th inch is more than enough https://www.missileworks.com/store/#!/1-8-Tubular-Kevlar/p/24591355/category=5760496

 

[Alawler123]

I built my Arcas stock and have never had a problem with the elastic or the baffle. I think kevlar is both overkill and a zipper hazard for a rocket this size, but if you must use it, 1/8th inch is more than enough https://www.missileworks.com/store/#!/1-8-Tubular-Kevlar/p/24591355/category=5760496

Sorry I miss typed I meant Tubular Nylon not Kevlar. Agree with Kevlar being a zipper hazard, especially with something that small of a diameter; that was the motive for the nylon. My bad in the miss type!

 

[rcktnut]

Don't forget to omit the thrust ring/engine block also. I had 9 Aerotech kits including the Arcas all built stock (unfortunately) but this is when I became a BAR 24 years ago. Due to regs. could not fly HPR then. Six of the 9 are still flying Cheeta lawn darted, Strong Arm lost on power line, G-Force burned up MMT with motor malfunction.

My Initiator has around 45 flights on it about 30 of them the way it is in the picture with the supplied shock cord tied together. I treed it and it was hanging low enough to cut the cord had the booster section at least. 2 days later checked and the nose cone etc. was on the ground. I replaced the "Chore-boy" with a new one once after around 20 flights.

All were built with med. CA and all are holding together just fine. Not using the baffle system and shock cord would be a shame as the system works very well. Fold the chute put in BT done, no fooling around with dog barf, chute protector etc. Never ever had even a black mark on any of the chutes in any of the rockets. The only thing I would ever change on an older Aerotech kit one without retainer would be adding a retainer.

 

[Zman1961]

It has an 8ft elastic cord from Aerotech. I wanted to upgrade from elastic as I have had a bad experience or two with it. I’d then go for a longer cord (12-15ft) but the smallest diameter for tubular Kevlar I can’t find is around 1/2 inch (did find 3/16 but thought that was too small).

I use 1/8 inch Kevlar cord (rated to 1500 pounds) anchored to the forward centering ring on all my MPRs. Make it 15 to 20 feet long (20 feet is better, approximately 4X airframe length) and it should work. I have never had a zipper. The increased length allows the nose cone to slow down a lot after ejection. My club does not allow the elastic due to an incident that occurred a few years ago. The HV Arcas is "on deck" on my build pile, so the comments here are much appreciated. I got it from Buy Rocket Motors.com last year for $100 including the Aerotech 29mm hardware and two G reloads, a great deal. It looks like they plan to run the special again this year, starting on or around 15 December. You can have them send you an email when the sale begins.

 

[Tyler P]

Glad I saw this thread. The HV Arcas is on my list of rockets I wanted since I got back into the hobby 4 years ago. I'll be picking one up in the next couple months.

 

[Dane Ronnow]

Mine is completely stock and built per the directions.

I'm considering the purchase of an AT HV Arcas, and was going through the instructions to see what was involved. I see where the 'fin can' is marked, then sliced up and glued in sections to the lower BT. What exactly do those four pieces do? Strengthen the BT where the motor mount is located? Or something else altogether?

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I'm trying to learn all I can about this rocket before buying it. Thanks for any additional info I can get.

 

[kuririn]

What exactly do those four pieces do?

I believe it's for scale accuracy, nothing more.

 

[Dane Ronnow]

I believe it's for scale accuracy, nothing more.

Got it. Thanks!

 

[Theory]

yup, scale detail

minimal strength if anything

 

[John Taylor]

Hey guys, new to the forum with a question. I have read plenty of post on types of shock cords so I’ll leave this question to you guys. Building an AT HV arcas and was thinking of upgrading to 1/2 tubular nylon. I know this is overkill for thickness but I wanted to help prevent a zipper situation. Thinking anywhere from 12-15ft. Anybody see an issue with this or am I going a bad direction. Thanks for your opinions.

Sounds great. One note, 20 ft. is more like it.

 

[Mugs914]

I'm considering the purchase of an AT HV Arcas, and was going through the instructions to see what was involved. I see where the 'fin can' is marked, then sliced up and glued in sections to the lower BT. What exactly do those four pieces do? Strengthen the BT where the motor mount is located? Or something else altogether?

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I'm trying to learn all I can about this rocket before buying it. Thanks for any additional info I can get.

Sorry I missed your post, Dane! But yeah , like everyone else already said it is just for scale appearance. If you want to add a little extra scale detail, you can drill a hole in the middle of the fin can sections and simulate a screw head. You can see what I'm talking about in the attached drawing.

Best of luck and keep us posted!

Mike

 

[Dane Ronnow]

Best of luck and keep us posted!

Thanks, Mike. I started a build thread here: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/build-thread-aerotech-hv-arcas.173611/