LOC-IV Build

[Lionel]

I am in the process of moving, so i dont have the construction pictures yet (on a computer in transit) but here's a nearly complete paint scheme that only lacks the 1'' white star decals on the fin section, and a nice clearcoating.

Oh, i've been lurking the forum here for about a month, just decided to go ahead and register so I can share my results with everyone else

I dont take credit for the design, i saw this paint scheme online for a mean machine..

Intend to get my Level 1 cert with this one.

I just moved to the Fort Gordon, GA (Augusta) area, any clubs around that I can link up with?

Thanks everyone! criticism welcome and invited!!

Lionel

 

[daveyfire]

Intend to get my Level 1 cert with this one.

Looks good, dude. I did my L1 with a LOC IV, too, on an H180W. The only thing I'd change about the kit would be to move up to a slightly larger chute -- those big fins stick pretty far behind the airframe tube, and can crack or pop off easily. I lost a fin a few times before switching to a big Skyangle chute; haven't lost one since.

Other than that, I love mine. It goes up at just about every launch on anything from G64Ws to H180Ws and H255Fs. Good luck with the cert!

 

[Lionel]

This kit had the fin tabs that extend all the way to the engine mount tube, so i left the rear centering ring off untill i had the fins epoxied in, and put some real heavy fillets on both the inside of the body tube around the fins, and also where the fins meet the engine mount tube. I am thinking of possibly drilling a small hole in the rear centering ring and filling the whole thing with expanding foam. I was actually just looking at parachutes from apogee, I have some concerns with how fast this rocket will be moving when it reaches the ground.

 

[daveyfire]

This kit had the fin tabs that extend all the way to the engine mount tube, so i left the rear centering ring off untill i had the fins epoxied in, and put some real heavy fillets on both the inside of the body tube around the fins, and also where the fins meet the engine mount tube.

Oh, in that case you're golden then. Mine came from the pre-Barry Lynch era of LOC, and the fin tabs only stuck through the wall (not to the MMT). I doubt you'll lose a fin, even with the stock chute in that case, especially if you're flying on a soft field (in Georgia, vs. a dry lakebed where I typically fly).

 

[FatBoy]

so i left the rear centering ring off untill i had the fins epoxied in, and put some real heavy fillets on both the inside of the body tube around the fins, and also where the fins meet the engine mount tube

I did the exact same thing (except for the foam part) on my LOC IV that I got my L1 cert with a few years ago on an H180, so like yours, it is super strong inside. So even though it is internally super-stiff, the fins still bend on impact. I used wood filler to smooth out the external epoxy fillets, and some of that has chipped off at landing when the fins bend.

May I ask... what is the expanding foam for? With all that epoxy inside there, nothing inside can move. It seems to me that it is extra work and extra weight (albiet not much weight I am sure).