Loki motors?

[Bobfly]

I’m glad that forum members posted that Loki recommended that you don’t wet wash the graphite nozzles. I have been flying Loki motors for years and didn’t know that.

Moving over from CTI motors to Loki, I had no idea. After viewing this forum thread, I searched the Loki website. Under the documents section there is a page that talks about cleaning the nozzles.

With that all said, I have been cleaning the nozzles for years with the following procedures.

1) Scrape off the slag with a small screwdriver. Then scrape out the remaining slag with an Exacto knife.

2) Quickly hose off the nozzle.

3) Use a damp blue soft scrub pad with a dap of dishwashing detergent on it.

4) Rinse off the nozzle.

5) Blowoff the nozzle with an compressor air hose. Let the nozzle air dry before storing them.

The nozzles were reused the following month with no issues at all. Some of these nozzles have flown over 10 times with no issues.

I was concerned that the motor might malfunction if the nozzle had any slag restrictions left in it.

Does anyone have any experience with motor malfunctions due to partially slagged nozzles?

 

[gtg738w]

Loki motors are fantastic. They may not look much different on paper but they are wonderful to fly. This is a 4” LOC Goblin on a Loki White G80. Looks like a much bigger motor...

 

[Arsenal78]

I LOVE my Loki 38/120 casing. It easily gets 5 or 6 flights a year. Loki G-I (with the exception of one or two motors) ship hazmat free so that's definitely money saved. I enjoy supporting the smaller fish and you'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of CATO reports from Loki motors. I've flown dozens and have only had one failure. Aerotech easily gets 1 out of 4 for me and I won't go near CTI with the issues they've been having. The I405 from Loki is very hard to beat. It has one heck of a punch off the rail. Their Spitfire motor formula to me has more sparks than Aerotech's Dark Matter as well.

Here's my Thor on a Loki J396 Spitfire.

 

[Bobfly]

Nice picture Russ!

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Loki motors are great. Scott's great too. My fave is their 38-1200 case in MD rockets. The J1026 & K627 are most impressive. (Although the L2050 & M1378 are similarly awesomesauce.) Their selection of haz-free motors is great. Paying haz shipping hurts!

Here's a J1026 flight I did...

 

[cbrarick]

slag's not a problem. Just sit your graphite on your garage floor, let sit overnight and then push out with a finishing nail. Only do this with the smaller nozzles. Once you get to 54-4 grain, just fly them again, the slag won't stay on....

 

[mtnmanak]

Over the past month, I invested in Loki 38mm and 54mm hardware and flew Loki motors exclusively at MDRA a couple weeks ago. Really awesome motors!

I already had a pair of relatively inexpensive Irwin snap ring pliers I have owned and used for years. They have interchangeable tips. They weren't the best, but they were functional and worked fine on the few pieces of snap ring hardware I had. But, they were horrible on the Loki snap rings. Practically unusable. We used to say in the Army when someone was fumbling around it looked like a "monkey trying to f#$% a football" - that's what I looked like with these substandard snap ring pliers out on the field. I almost gave up trying to load a motor at one point.

Main point of this story is that I broke down and got a couple pairs of the Knipex brand pliers from McMaster. I am not prone to this kind of internet speak, but OMG. Truly night and day. The tips on the Knipex pliers are perfectly angled. Wow. Just can't believe how long I have been struggling and didn't know it.

I can wholeheartedly recommend investing in a good pair of snap ring pliers. Will not only save your eyes from getting a snap ring in the cornea, but it will probably save your sanity (if you have any left..)

 

[AeroAggie]

Here's a J1026 flight I did...
View attachment 440662

That flame to rocket ratio

 

[GrouchoDuke]

That flame to rocket ratio

I bet an L2050 or M1378 in a similar rocket would be better. Get on it!

 

[Onebadhawk]

I bet an L2050 or M1378 in a similar rocket would be better. Get on it!

I saw an M 1378 LR get a match put ti it in a 54mm minimum D rocket built specifically for performance / altitude
( read- as short as possible ) in Kansas at the Pasture a couple of years ago..
I was quite looking forward to seeing the flight..
I was ready for it..
I was intently focused staring at the rocket as the countdown took place..
My head was tilted slightly back, the rocket on the pad was at the very bottom of my view..
I was ready to snap my head back further on ignition..

I'm not sure, but I think I missed the flight..
I didn't blink..
They pushed the button,
Then there was a vapor trail through what little wispy clouds that were around..
It just simply vanished..

Teddy

 

[DAllen]

Over the past month, I invested in Loki 38mm and 54mm hardware and flew Loki motors exclusively at MDRA a couple weeks ago. Really awesome motors!

I already had a pair of relatively inexpensive Irwin snap ring pliers I have owned and used for years. They have interchangeable tips. They weren't the best, but they were functional and worked fine on the few pieces of snap ring hardware I had. But, they were horrible on the Loki snap rings. Practically unusable. We used to say in the Army when someone was fumbling around it looked like a "monkey trying to f#$% a football" - that's what I looked like with these substandard snap ring pliers out on the field. I almost gave up trying to load a motor at one point.

Main point of this story is that I broke down and got a couple pairs of the Knipex brand pliers from McMaster. I am not prone to this kind of internet speak, but OMG. Truly night and day. The tips on the Knipex pliers are perfectly angled. Wow. Just can't believe how long I have been struggling and didn't know it.

I can wholeheartedly recommend investing in a good pair of snap ring pliers. Will not only save your eyes from getting a snap ring in the cornea, but it will probably save your sanity (if you have any left..)

Knipex for the win. I've had the same experience with the interchangeable tips. IMHO those suck royally. You can get by with the interchangeable ones with the 38mm reloads but anything bigger than that and its an exercise in futility.

 

[crossfire]

Knipex for the win. I've had the same experience with the interchangeable tips. IMHO those suck royally. You can get by with the interchangeable ones with the 38mm reloads but anything bigger than that and its an exercise in futility.

Snap One tools has a very nice one.

 

[Theory]

Snap One tools has a very nice one.

X2

 

[Onebadhawk]

IMHO..


More betterer..

Teddy

Why so big ??

Nope, same size..

 

[bobbyg23]

I personally use the husky ones from home depot. I use them at work also. They work great and only cost $8.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

I was ready for it..

It just simply vanished..

100G launches are awesome!

 

[Onebadhawk]

100G launches are awesome!

Jarrett,
I'm not exaggerating in the least..
I was staring right at it and saw ZERO of it..

I could find out, I know the young man who's rocket it was,
but I thought it was more than 100g..

Teddy

 

[AeroAggie]

My sims for the L2050 and M1378 in a 12lb 54mm minimum diameter rocket come out to 79G and 49G, respectively. That L packs a punch.

 

[GalantVR41062]

To bad you missed it, that flame and mach diamonds look amazing.

Shows 500lbs of thrust, so say the MD vehical that is shrinkwraped over the motor case weighs 100oz plus the 152oz motor.

I calculate it would be around 31.7g initial, then as propellant burns and it comes back to the 500lb thrust 1.5seconds in that could be more like 40g.

~John

 

[GrouchoDuke]

I could find out, I know the young man who's rocket it was,
but I thought it was more than 100g..

Yeah, could be. That J1026 photo of mine from above was 98G & that rocket was really small & light. KAPOW!!...gone.

 

[Arsenal78]

slag's not a problem. Just sit your graphite on your garage floor, let sit overnight and then push out with a finishing nail. Only do this with the smaller nozzles. Once you get to 54-4 grain, just fly them again, the slag won't stay on....

Is there something about the garage floor that makes it unstick? I have some trouble getting the slag off my 38mm graphite every now and then if I let it sit longer than a few minutes after getting the rocket back. I wish Scott still did nozzle polishing, I could use a new nozzle.

 

[Onebadhawk]

Yep,
You guys are right for sure..
It was a young man named Tom's flight..
He's looking for the data now..
He said if he had to guess it'd be around 40g's ...

Teddy

 

[Onebadhawk]

42g peak
37g initial..

I thought it was over a hundred..

Teddy

 

[GrouchoDuke]

42g peak
37g initial..

That’s still one heck of a launch. Good fun!

 

[Onebadhawk]

That’s still one heck of a launch. Good fun!

Yep,
It really was some flight.

Teddy

 

[cbrarick]

temperature. The garage floor is cold compared to the ambient. Graphite has a different thermal expansion rate then the slag.

 

[jd2cylman]

Jarrett,
I'm not exaggerating in the least..
I was staring right at it and saw ZERO of it..

I could find out, I know the young man who's rocket it was,
but I thought it was more than 100g..

Teddy

Are you sure it wasn't one of those "Teddy" moments...

 

[Nytrunner]

It just simply vanished..

Did he retrieve it?

 

[Onebadhawk]

Did he retrieve it?

Yes he did..
I don't know what tracker he had in it,
but he did retrieve it..

Teddy

 

[Rob702Martinez]

Yes he did..
I don't know what tracker he had in it,
but he did retrieve it..

Teddy

Any word on the altitude?