Been a little while since I wrapped up the Big Red Max build and feel it's time to get something else on the work bench. This time I'm going to put together a LOC Scout. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0568/7489/3503/files/Scout2-Instructions.pdf?v=1623664171
I'm sure the guys at LOC would hate to hear me say this but I refer to this rocket as the Alpha of the mid-power world. Whenever someone asks me about their first mid-power rocket I recommend one of two rockets. First is this Scout as it still allows you to fly on D12 motors if you wanted to assuming you built it stock. The other is the BMS School Rocket which is touch heavy for the D motor. Both are dead simple to build, parts fit perfect and the instructions are pretty good. While I wouldn't recommend it as your first rocket, it's could easily be your 3rd or 4th.
This will be my forth time building this kit. I built one for a boy scout troop, one for a school rocket club give away and a third for a buddy that would rather fly than build. I figure it's time to build one for myself.
The kit comes very complete with the exception of motor retention but the instructions do a good job of explaining how to do friction fit and a thrust ring around the motor. As you can see it comes with a pre-slotted 2.63" body tube, 29mm motor tube, 1/4" launch lug, Parachute, heavy duty nose cone, Kevlar shock cord and even a fire blanket. The fins and centering rings are laser cut from plywood.
The only changes I'll be making is to the Kevlar and motor retainer. I like using a heavier Kevlar line simply for better burn through protection. 2.63" is a little small for me to get my hand in so I don't want to replace this. For motor retention I'll use an Estes screw on motor retainer.
I started with the motor mount. The motor tube was sanded for better bond from the adhesive. Next I sanded a bevel into the edges of the centering rings. Due to the way I'm attaching the Kevlar to the upper ring, I have grabbed a scrap piece of plywood to strengthen the spot where the Kevlar will pass through.
The location of the upper and lower rings were marked. This is the first deviation from the instructions. They instructions want you to place the upper ring at the very top of the motor tube. I prefer to place it at the top of the fin slots so I have additional edge for the fins to bond to. Also makes it easier to do internal fillets as the glue doesn't run off the top side of the fin tab.
Here we have the upper ring glued in place. Note the scrap piece of plywood with the Kevlar. A simple knot keeps the Kevlar from pulling though. This was assembled with TBII. The rear ring will be left off to allow for internal fillets.
Here we are ready to insert the motor mount. Note that once the motor mount was in, I inserted a fin in each slot to ensue that the upper ring was far enough forward. The lower ring was temporarily put in place to keep the motor tube centered while drying.
Looking down the tube we can see a nice bead of glue all the way around the upper ring. Sanding the bevel into the upper ring eases installation and give the glue a nice little notch to sit in. This was set aside and let dry for a day.
Next I turned to the fins. I don't typically pre-finish the fins before installation but the quality of these were great and they were nice and thick. I applied two coats of DAP brand wood filler on both sides of the fins, placed them in wax paper and let them dry with a 10lbs weight on top for a day. No issues with warping. These will be sanded and I might add a couple of coats of sealer before installing.
That is as far as I got. Will be working on installing fins this week.
I'm sure the guys at LOC would hate to hear me say this but I refer to this rocket as the Alpha of the mid-power world. Whenever someone asks me about their first mid-power rocket I recommend one of two rockets. First is this Scout as it still allows you to fly on D12 motors if you wanted to assuming you built it stock. The other is the BMS School Rocket which is touch heavy for the D motor. Both are dead simple to build, parts fit perfect and the instructions are pretty good. While I wouldn't recommend it as your first rocket, it's could easily be your 3rd or 4th.
This will be my forth time building this kit. I built one for a boy scout troop, one for a school rocket club give away and a third for a buddy that would rather fly than build. I figure it's time to build one for myself.
The kit comes very complete with the exception of motor retention but the instructions do a good job of explaining how to do friction fit and a thrust ring around the motor. As you can see it comes with a pre-slotted 2.63" body tube, 29mm motor tube, 1/4" launch lug, Parachute, heavy duty nose cone, Kevlar shock cord and even a fire blanket. The fins and centering rings are laser cut from plywood.
The only changes I'll be making is to the Kevlar and motor retainer. I like using a heavier Kevlar line simply for better burn through protection. 2.63" is a little small for me to get my hand in so I don't want to replace this. For motor retention I'll use an Estes screw on motor retainer.
I started with the motor mount. The motor tube was sanded for better bond from the adhesive. Next I sanded a bevel into the edges of the centering rings. Due to the way I'm attaching the Kevlar to the upper ring, I have grabbed a scrap piece of plywood to strengthen the spot where the Kevlar will pass through.
The location of the upper and lower rings were marked. This is the first deviation from the instructions. They instructions want you to place the upper ring at the very top of the motor tube. I prefer to place it at the top of the fin slots so I have additional edge for the fins to bond to. Also makes it easier to do internal fillets as the glue doesn't run off the top side of the fin tab.
Here we have the upper ring glued in place. Note the scrap piece of plywood with the Kevlar. A simple knot keeps the Kevlar from pulling though. This was assembled with TBII. The rear ring will be left off to allow for internal fillets.
Here we are ready to insert the motor mount. Note that once the motor mount was in, I inserted a fin in each slot to ensue that the upper ring was far enough forward. The lower ring was temporarily put in place to keep the motor tube centered while drying.
Looking down the tube we can see a nice bead of glue all the way around the upper ring. Sanding the bevel into the upper ring eases installation and give the glue a nice little notch to sit in. This was set aside and let dry for a day.
Next I turned to the fins. I don't typically pre-finish the fins before installation but the quality of these were great and they were nice and thick. I applied two coats of DAP brand wood filler on both sides of the fins, placed them in wax paper and let them dry with a 10lbs weight on top for a day. No issues with warping. These will be sanded and I might add a couple of coats of sealer before installing.
That is as far as I got. Will be working on installing fins this week.
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