Loc MIM-104 Patriot Build

[ECayemberg]

Hello fellow rocket people! This is a Quick-build of a Loc/Precision 7.5" scale Patriot Missile.

This shall be a "quick" build in that I have a lot of other projects going on right now, and there is a deadline for timely completion of this bird...so I have no choice but to be brief!:wink: To that theme, let me start with fewer words and a photo or two. ....And away we go...

One fine box o' parts:

Some fine quality birch ply fins. I have a feeling you might see more of these escape into the wild in the not-too-distant future!:wink:

I put some "scale" bevels on a set of 5.5" IQSY fins...liked the long, low angle bevels. Didn't like how much of that thin router bit stuck up into my "finger zone". Duplicated the bevels on the Patriot fins!

...to be continued!

-Eric-

 

[rfjustin]

Sweet!

 

[jimzcatz]

How did I miss this? When did Loc come out with a 7.5" Patriot?

 

[noffie79]

Watching!

 

[LOC]

Since we're still getting settled at the new location, we've enlisted the help of some old friends to help build and collaborate on some new projects. You haven't missed anything. We're anticipating a rollout real soon of new kits, some old favorites, and a new website!!!!

 

[ECayemberg]

Hi Justin, Jim, Ryan, Dave!

Hey Jim...you will see this bird in the flesh in April! You coming to MWP this year again?

Had to try out the new cluster rings....75mm core, (4) 38's and (4) 29's...should be a fun combo!:fly:

Then a dry fit with the fins to see how it all goes together. With any luck, I'll do some bonding of motor mountage tonight or tomorrow.

-Eric-

 

[djs]

Had to try out the new cluster rings....75mm core, (4) 38's and (4) 29's...should be a fun combo!:fly:

Eric/Loc- is this what it comes with stock, or does Eric just not like centering rings with only one hole in them?

@Eric- will you have this ready to fly this Saturday?

 

[JAYatLOC]

New 5.5" kits hitting the market shortly will have a stock 75mm mount. Why not! RIGHT!?!

J

Eric/Loc- is this what it comes with stock, or does Eric just not like centering rings with only one hole in them?

@Eric- will you have this ready to fly this Saturday?

 

[ECayemberg]

Eric/Loc- is this what it comes with stock, or does Eric just not like centering rings with only one hole in them?

@Eric- will you have this ready to fly this Saturday?

I like multiple holes....more options = more fun!

I suspect that the production version will be single 75mm hole, but Jay & Dave would customize the tail end for you!

 

[Bat-mite]

Good Lord! What kind of altitude are you expecting with that many motors?

 

[djs]

Good Lord! What kind of altitude are you expecting with that many motors?

Not that much- Eric's just going to fill all those holes with Estes C6-3s, and it'll be something like this, with a few less pieces:

[video=youtube;qNbl1iF6ST8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNbl1iF6ST8[/video]

 

[ECayemberg]

Not that much- Eric's just going to fill all those holes with Estes C6-3s, and it'll be something like this, with a few less pieces:

Yeah...see this is simple in comparison. Only 9 holes instead of 20 with the Dog People rocket. John, this should be a fairly low and slow endeavor....I do enjoy clusters, really like dramatic airstarts, and simply couldn't resist these new cluster rings from Loc!

Day dreaming, I'm thinking something like:

Super Thunder or White Thunder core motor, coast for a second
(4) 38mm white motors light, coast for a second
(4) 29mm white motors light

OR

A 75mm red L or M core, flanked by 4 smoky motors, all lit on the ground. Maybe airstart something

OR

Smoky core L or M, flanked by 4 red motors all lit on the ground.

OR

A cluster of 9 White Lightning motors for the ultimate Big Flame, billowing smoke flight.

I just like the options that the cluster rings present. I need to get some 38mm duplicate hardware for the outboards; got lots of 29mm Kosdon 29-310 and paired up Aerotech 29/240-360 sets for use.

-Eric-

 

[Bat-mite]

Cool!

 

[djs]

Day dreaming, I'm thinking something like:

Clearly the answer to this is 9 Warp-9 motors (or 9 super thunder motors).

Which cases do you need duplicates of?

 

[jimzcatz]

Yeah...see this is simple in comparison. Only 9 holes instead of 20 with the Dog People rocket. John, this should be a fairly low and slow endeavor....I do enjoy clusters, really like dramatic airstarts, and simply couldn't resist these new cluster rings from Loc!

Day dreaming, I'm thinking something like:

Super Thunder or White Thunder core motor, coast for a second
(4) 38mm white motors light, coast for a second
(4) 29mm white motors light

OR

A 75mm red L or M core, flanked by 4 smoky motors, all lit on the ground. Maybe airstart something

OR

Smoky core L or M, flanked by 4 red motors all lit on the ground.

OR

A cluster of 9 White Lightning motors for the ultimate Big Flame, billowing smoke flight.

I just like the options that the cluster rings present. I need to get some 38mm duplicate hardware for the outboards; got lots of 29mm Kosdon 29-310 and paired up Aerotech 29/240-360 sets for use.

-Eric-

Not a single skidmark mentioned... Shame on you!

 

[ECayemberg]

Not a single skidmark mentioned... Shame on you!

Doh! I can see a cluster of Sconnie Sparkies in the future!!!! Love CTI, but their Skids just aren't the same as the good ol' AMW's. Like Aerotech's Dark Matter, but it lacks the chest thumping roar of the original skids. Probably have to go home brew on this one...good thing I'm picking up 10lbs of coarse Ti this weekend!

-Eric-

 

[chris m]

New 5.5" kits hitting the market shortly will have a stock 75mm mount. Why not! RIGHT!?!

J

Can't wait

 

[jimzcatz]

Eric, I love your sparkies, and Preston makes a wicked sparkie. I have several. He is making me a 6g 98 for LDRS!

 

[ECayemberg]

Didn't think that 9 holes in the rings were enough, so I made 8 more.:wink: Simple motor retention....eight T-nuts on the back side of the aft ring.

Then we threw some glue at it.

There may be a slight delay in production pace, I gotta go lay up some transitions!

-Eric-

 

[grouch]

Love seeing this.

 

[ECayemberg]

Thanks Jarrett!!!

The other night I glassed the 7.5" tubes. Not necessary, but I LOVE big glassed paper rockets! Yes I peeled the tubes, then applied a light layer of West 105/206 epoxy via foam roller. Allowed that to *gummify* (word of the day) for a couple of hours before glassing with 1 layer of 8ish oz and 1 layer of 3ish oz glass. Nothing impressive, but a pair of photos while my hands were covered in epoxy.

Payload in process:

Booster undergoing the 1st wrap:

More to come...but tomorrow's V-day, so it might be a few days!!!

-Eric-

 

[ECayemberg]

Y'all know I really like Loc birds in the bigger diameters. In addition to the Patriot, there's a sweet 5.5" IQSY being put together. She won't be fully glassed; when keeping it paper, I like to add a small bit of "insurance" to the top of the booster tube (ie open end that is utilized with apogee deployment). For zipper protection, I like to peel the top 2" of the tube, glass it with 1 or 2 wraps of E-glass tape, fill it and fair it. Works great....maintains the lightness of the stock paper tubes while adding anti-zipper protection.

No significant photo updates on the Patriot. I'm hoping to get that crazy motor mount and fins in this weekend. In the meantime, I've been Stickershocked!

-Eric-

 

[Dave A]

Hi Justin, Jim, Ryan, Dave!

Hey Jim...you will see this bird in the flesh in April! You coming to MWP this year again?

Had to try out the new cluster rings....75mm core, (4) 38's and (4) 29's...should be a fun combo!:fly:

Then a dry fit with the fins to see how it all goes together. With any luck, I'll do some bonding of motor mountage tonight or tomorrow.

-Eric-

Not exactly in centering ring monogamy either.
9" Patriot

 

[ECayemberg]

View attachment 313100
Not exactly in centering ring monogamy either.
9" Patriot

Nice Dave!!! That's a whole lotta AeroPack going on in the tail end of the 9"-er!!! Looking forward to seeing it fly at LDRS in a month!

-Eric-

 

[ECayemberg]

Made some mild progress in the last few days. Finished off the motor mount: pairs of u-bolts, e-conduit tubes, rail button backers, and some glass around the forward motor tube (did some premature peeling), and a bit of green glue.

Test fit, add some epoxy where the rings contact the airframe, and install in booster tube.

Motor mount dry-ish, fins test fit. Mini-me Cody wanted to help me out on the Patriot...attaboy! He helped me draw lines for the fin guide and even cut them out using the trusty X-acto #11. Mix up a batch of West 105/205, filled with a bit of milled glass fibers and cabosil to thicken up just a touch, and we tack the fins in place; four at a time.

Little bit of a gap on the front end of the fins in their respective slots. I plan to use Rocketpoxy for the external fillets, even though it doesn't run, it will sag slightly when spanning cavernous gaps like this!

So we fill it with some filled West like this:

And then we rest! Fillets are up next, but not today my friends. Planning to celebrate Fat Tuesday....see you soon!

-Eric-

 

[jimzcatz]

Nice Dave!!! That's a whole lotta AeroPack going on in the tail end of the 9"-er!!! Looking forward to seeing it fly at LDRS in a month!

-Eric-

7.5"

 

[pyrobob]

Very nice work!

 

[bob jablonski]

Another new classic. LOC is in good hands.

 

[grouch]

Awesome!!

 

[ECayemberg]

Thanks Bob, Bob, Jarrett!

Alright, accelerating ahead to the part of the build that I'm terrible at documenting...I seem to go from fincan to rocket-in-paint, and this build isn't much of an exception!

The fins were filleted externally using Rocketpoxy.

A neato sled from Loc was assembled. Spacious and most definitely the least work/easiest to assemble of any sled I've used to this point. Like!

The coupler bulkplates were outfitted with u-bolts, and holes drilled for the 1/4"-20 threaded rod and a single hole drilled in each plate for the lighter wires to pass through. Stiffy was epoxied into the coupler , forward bulkplate was epoxied in place, and it was allowed to dry. Checking the fit of the sled in the mostly completed e-bay:

The coupler's fit to the airframe sections were a bit tighter than desired. Thus, much like the airframe OD, the outer layer of paper was peeled from the OD of the coupler. The aft end was coated in a light application of epoxy, then all excess was wiped away. Once again, it was allowed to cure; it looked like this.

Next, the cured epoxy was sanded smooth on that very coupler with 150 grit, then 220 grit until it fit like a glove in the lower airframe. Then it was epoxied into the payload tube using slightly filled West 105/205/cabo. View from the front of the payload tube:

Then a bit more internal work before we head to the paint booth. One of my least favorite parts about plastic nosecones is how a bit more work is desirable in order to make for a clean shearing of the shear pins, especially if you move to #4-40, or even #6-32 "pins". Thus, the tried and true glue a strip o' brass to the shoulder of the cone is in order. In the past, I've had the brass come off the plastic... so I try to be thorough to ensure the best bond possible. The brass strips have a few holes drilled in them to make epoxy rivets to help hold it in place. The brass is roughed up on the bonding side and cleaned thoroughly with solvent prior to bonding.

The strips are bonded to the cone after the cone has been cleaned in warm soapy water, roughed up via Dremel sanding drum, and cleaned with solvent. Sorry, no photo of the strips in place yet.

The 1515 rail buttons were drilled, tapped, installed, and then removed for primer! Here's the booster in the "paint booth" awaiting primer.

And in primer! The weather this past weekend was forecasted to be warm and semi-sunny. Instead, we got cool, windy, overcast, and occasionally rainy...way less paint production than I had hoped.

Not pictured, but the payload is in primer as well as a coat of Plastic Primer to the nosecone. A bit of filling, then the sand, prime cycle commences until we're ready for paint. Hoping for some 40-50 degree temps in the coming week(s) to get some color on this beast!!!

Thanks for following along!

-Eric-