Best Loc Kit for L1?

[jackiboi_11]

I was wondering what the best Loc kit would be good for my L1. I have pretty good building skills i could say just not really painting and finishing . I really like the Loc 4" Goblin cause it looks like its not too hard of a build and can take 54 to 29mm motors.
Thanks!

 

[Rob Campbell]

The LOC Goblin is a great choice. You can adapt down to a 38mm H or I motor or fly on a 54mm I. It's a also a simple build and keeping things simple is the way to go on a cert flight. Other good choices include:

LOC IV
Apogee Zephyr - I certified on one of these
LOC IROC - Also good for Level 2
LOC Warlock - Another good L1/L2 rockets
SBR Fusion
SBR Diablo
Madcow Super DX-3

There are many great kits to choose from. Find one you like and go for it.

 

[John_461]

This question gets asked a lot here on the forum, and the answer is usually the same. The best choice for your level one is the design that you love. I've seen a lot of simple designs and some very complex designs with multiple computer components and cameras all have successful cert flights. It really comes down to you. Do you want to ensure a successful certification on your first go around? Or, do you want to make a statement with a dual deploy, GPS tracked, multiple camera angle-mach-2 work of art that will make you an overnight internet celebrity? (Spectacular failures get more hits than perfect flights on YouTube) It is completely up to you...and your certifying official.

Now with the boring stuff out of the way, I think the 4" Goblin is an excellent choice for your L1 cert. They fly very well on an H100 and I've seen them fly on L2 motors easily with a chute release and tracker strongly recommended.

Pretty much anything that LOC makes 3" and larger will do well for a L1. Build it strong and fly it conservatively the first go around. Use the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) concept. Get that cert flight done...then let 'er rip.

 

[DAllen]

4” Goblin

/thread

 

[jackiboi_11]

This question gets asked a lot here on the forum, and the answer is usually the same. The best choice for your level one is the design that you love. I've seen a lot of simple designs and some very complex designs with multiple computer components and cameras all have successful cert flights. It really comes down to you. Do you want to ensure a successful certification on your first go around? Or, do you want to make a statement with a dual deploy, GPS tracked, multiple camera angle-mach-2 work of art that will make you an overnight internet celebrity? (Spectacular failures get more hits than perfect flights on YouTube) It is completely up to you...and your certifying official.

Now with the boring stuff out of the way, I think the 4" Goblin is an excellent choice for your L1 cert. They fly very well on an H100 and I've seen them fly on L2 motors easily with a chute release and tracker strongly recommended.

Pretty much anything that LOC makes 3" and larger will do well for a L1. Build it strong and fly it conservatively the first go around. Use the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) concept. Get that cert flight done...then let 'er rip.

Alright, thank you!

 

[Hobie1dog]

The LOC Goblin is a great choice. You can adapt down to a 38mm H or I motor or fly on a 54mm I. It's a also a simple build and keeping things simple is the way to go on a cert flight. Other good choices include:

LOC IV
Apogee Zephyr - I certified on one of these
LOC IROC - Also good for Level 2
LOC Warlock - Another good L1/L2 rockets
SBR Fusion
SBR Diablo
Madcow Super DX-3

There are many great kits to choose from. Find one you like and go for it.

+1

 

[pugachu]

I did my L1 on a LOC EZI-65.... it worked fine, but I've only flown the rocket 3 times since then... it's just too big and bulky, not really my style, and not stout enough for a full J or a K. The fins are big, and only 1/8" thick, and it's really made for a slow burning engine (It was designed for the I-65 engine). I wouldn't push it anywhere near to mach.

So like others have said, pick a 2.6" or larger LOC kit that YOU like, build it stout, and fly it conservatively for the certification. I have a LOC weasel that's only 38mm diameter (29mm MMT), but that would be fine for a baby H, it would just require a pretty big field and a tracker. I've also flown an Aerotech initiator built stock (except for removing the baffle) on a H180W. There are lots of options out there.

 

[tsmith1315]

Bring up all the 3” and 4” LOC kits on your screen. Close your eyes and point at the screen. Open your eyes. That’ll be a good one right there.

 

[David Schwantz]

I used 4" Phoenix for both my L1 & L2, guess I did it wrong

 

[Handeman]

There is no right way, or wrong way to do a cert flight, just opinions.

With that said, I'll give you my "opinion", which we all know what that is worth.

I recommend a 38mm MMT at about 4 lbs. so you can fly all the range of L1 motors, assuming you want to fly this rocket on more than the cert motor.
Based on your "home" field and what the waiver is, go with a small diameter that will get 5,000 ft. or more on large I motors, or a large diameter that will keep altitudes lower. It really depends on what you want to do with this rocket after your cert flight.

KISS is a nice concept, but what do you want to accomplish with your cert flight? Are you comfortable with electronics and altimeters? Building techniques and epoxies? Kits or scratch built? RMS motors or SU? So much of what you want to do is dependent on you. If you lawn dart the rocket and have to build a new rocket and try again, is that OK, or a huge disaster?

You might want to consider the LOC LaserLoc 313 as a good L1 cert rocket. A Fantom 438 EXL would also be a good kit. Both can use DD on the cert flight, or add it in later.

Good luck and use a rocket that will meet the goals you want to accomplish with your cert flight and after.

 

[tsmith1315]

I did my L1 on a LOC EZI-65.... it worked fine, but I've only flown the rocket 3 times since then... it's just too big and bulky, not really my style, and not stout enough for a full J or a K.

It’s a great East Coast flier on reasonable thrust motors. My favorite before there were a zillion choices was the Blue Thunder I300, motor ejection.

 

[jackiboi_11]

There is no right way, or wrong way to do a cert flight, just opinions.

With that said, I'll give you my "opinion", which we all know what that is worth.

I recommend a 38mm MMT at about 4 lbs. so you can fly all the range of L1 motors, assuming you want to fly this rocket on more than the cert motor.
Based on your "home" field and what the waiver is, go with a small diameter that will get 5,000 ft. or more on large I motors, or a large diameter that will keep altitudes lower. It really depends on what you want to do with this rocket after your cert flight.

KISS is a nice concept, but what do you want to accomplish with your cert flight? Are you comfortable with electronics and altimeters? Building techniques and epoxies? Kits or scratch built? RMS motors or SU? So much of what you want to do is dependent on you. If you lawn dart the rocket and have to build a new rocket and try again, is that OK, or a huge disaster?

You might want to consider the LOC LaserLoc 313 as a good L1 cert rocket. A Fantom 438 EXL would also be a good kit. Both can use DD on the cert flight, or add it in later.

Good luck and use a rocket that will meet the goals you want to accomplish with your cert flight and after.

Thank you so much!

 

[jackiboi_11]

Bring up all the 3” and 4” LOC kits on your screen. Close your eyes and point at the screen. Open your eyes. That’ll be a good one right there.

 

[Back_at_it]

I hate to answer a questio0n with a question but the answer really comes down to how much room you have to recover?

If you're one of the lucky ones with and entire desert or acers of flat farm land then you can build and fly just about anything you like. When I chose the rocket for my Level 1 Talked to a bunch of people, attended a couple of launches and watched what people were flying. Finally I narrowed my options down to the Warlock, 7.6 Magg or the Doorknob. I settled on the Warlock.

My choice was based on a couple of things. The first was it's size and weight. Being a 7.6" tube I knew it was going to be heavy. Being short and stubby I knew it was going to be be really draggy. I also liked the fact that the fins didn't hang off the back of the rocket so less chance of breaking on landing. Put this together and you end up with a level 1 rocket that flies low. My cert flight used an H550 motor and flew to only 812ft. It recovered a very short distance from the pad.

My recommendation would to be to go with something fat and draggy. Any of the three kits mentioned would be great choices. If you wanted to do something a bit smaller then look at the 5.5 Goblin, IROC or Wolverine would be great choices.

 

[DAllen]

Another idea is to use the same rocket and casing for L1 then L2. I've suggested this before and never have seen someone do it. LOC Warlock with a I600 for L1 then J350 for L2. I mean...why not?

I'm sure there are other rockets LOC has that would fit the bill.

 

[Gastrok]

I'm building the LOC 4" Iris for my L1. It's got a 54mm MMT so will be using an Aero Pack adaptor for a 38mm motor. Should weigh in around 80 oz. I've gone this route because I need to keep my apogee at ~1000' or less due to the club's waiver and field size. The trick is picking a motor that will get it off the rail at a safe velocity, but not go too high. I think the H283-6 (SU) is my ticket. OR sims it at 47mph off the rail and apogee at 700+ feet. Hopefully I'm not too far off...

 

[bjphoenix]

I like the LOC IV for a simple level 1. I bought a 38/240 casing and a spare 480 tube. I used an H123 for level 1 certification and I've launched it other times on I motors, all the time using motor ejection.
If you want to use dual deploy you probably need a different kit. I think it is a good idea to keep it simple and use motor deploy but lots of people use dual deploy. These days a chute release might be a good idea, those weren't invented when I did my level 1.

 

[Back_at_it]

Another idea is to use the same rocket and casing for L1 then L2. I've suggested this before and never have seen someone do it. LOC Warlock with a I600 for L1 then J350 for L2. I mean...why not?

I'm sure there are other rockets LOC has that would fit the bill.

This is exactly my plan for my level 2. Going to fly the Warlock on a J425.

 

[mrwalsh85]

LOC IROC is 5.5", so a modest size. But according to their site, you'll get 2k on an I motor, and about 3500' on a J motor. I think that is a pretty versatile rocket. That being said, make sure do your calculations for ejection charge size - compare the stock charge size with the motor you're using against the needed charge. Adjust accordingly.

 

[b.wieting]

MiniMagg!
Super robust, low and slow. Staightforward to add an av-bay for DD after you've got your L1.
(And MegaMagg is great for L2).

 

[thzero]

None. Design and build your own. Ignore all advice

 

[86mustang408w]

LOC IV.

 

[86mustang408w]

None. Design and build your own. Ignore all advice

Yep..

 

[Donnager]

Any LOC 4" will do L1 easily, if built reasonably well. Most of these will certify for L2 if you have the field and get a little more careful with assembly. Build the fin can outside and put in some internal fillets....

LOCIV
LOC Goblin
EZI
TLOC
IRIS

If I had to certify again, I'd choose the 4" Goblin for L1, and I'd choose a 5.5" Wolverine for L2, because they are easy.

But that's because I've built a few Goblins (5, with 3 high power, 2 mid/low) and Wolverines (3, all 5.5").

 

[Hobie1dog]

After 20+ suggestions, what did you decide on?

 

[86mustang408w]

I've seen many get Certified, some used scratch built kits others used the Zephyr. I've seen many say the LOC IV is a better L1 kit. I looked at them but liked the idea of building one of my own, why not make it special? Then I got a old collection back that has a few 29mm 4" rockets. The Aerotech G-Force, Mercury Engineering Integrator, and Mega Der Red Max, but thats in 38mm. I have many more 29mm but they are too small for a cert flight. I could very easily use the Mega and an adapter and fly that. Quite a few guys use the Apogee Zephyr.

If I didn't have many I could chose from I would pick a LOC kit, that scratch built one I posted above with a H100 is expected to hit 2000 feet. I don't want that, low and slow. So thats why I'm probably going to use a little bigger heavy one. You don't have to go super high in altitude, you want a rocket that will hit 1000 to 1500 max. I just watch a L2 cert with a K360. He didn't go over 1500 feet. What I'm getting at is get something about the LOC IV or Zephyr sized, and a small H. That's all you need.

And I did buy a chute release for that scratch built kit, If I use that I will probably put a tracker in it too just in case it I lose it in the clouds.

 

[Former Squirrel]

My $0.02: decide 1 if you want that rocket to fly prior to your cert attempt and 2 if you want that rocket to fly both certs. They are probably mutually exclusive. I picked and would recommend option 1. Now, no one has mentioned the Terrier Booster. Stick a 2" tube and cone on the front and you've got an L1 with a future!
Mike L

 

[jackiboi_11]

After 20+ suggestions, what did you decide on?

I think its going to be one of three, Goblin ("4 or "5), Loc IV, or the "4 Iris. Then maybe something bigger for L2 if i do the last two because the goblin (5.5) can handle 54 pretty good im pretty sure.

 

[jackiboi_11]

Or maybe the Zephyr because that came to my attention. Are those solid options?

 

[Hobie1dog]

Or maybe the Zephyr because that came to my attention. Are those solid options?

I would buy one that is capable of doing both L1 and L2