LOC/Precision Door Knob

LOC/Precision - Door Knob {Kit}

Contributed by Michael Erwin

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Manufacturer: LOC/Precision

Brief:
HPR, Parachute, me bucko, shiver me timbers, Level2, 54mm MMT, arrr, Upgraded SkyAngle 60" Custom Classic II Chute.

Construction:

Parts in t' kit were:

  • 1 x 7.5" BT
  • 1 x 54mm MMT
  • 4 .x 25" Plywood Fins
  • 4 x Loc-N-Fin Fin holders
  • 1 x .25" MMT Forward Centerin' Rin' with .25" hole drilled for Eye bolt
  • 1 x .25" MMT Rear Centerin' Ring
  • 1 x Eye Bolt
  • 2 x Washers
  • 1 x .25 Nut
  • 1 x Paper Launch Lug
  • 1 x 25' 9/16" Tubular Nylon Shock Cord with quality loops
  • 1 x .25 quick link rated at 800lbs
  • 1 x 60" LOC/Precision Chute upgrade at LOC t' a SkyAngle 60" Custom Classic II

After seein' Barry Lynch o' LOC/Precision flyin' a Doorknob at our local launch, matey, I knew I wanted t' this t' be me Level 2 attempt kit.

Instructions while brief & t' t' point, shiver me timbers, they were logical and extremely easy t' follow. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Take your time and dry fit everything, includin' t' LOC-N-FIN pieces. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After usin' t' LOC-N-FIN buildin' method, I am already looking forward t' additional LOC/Precision large kits.

While I used heavy duty epoxy on t' centerin' rings, I used JB Weld on an AeroPack 54mm retainer. Begad! There is enough room t' mount t' AeroPack recessed and then t' aft centerin' rin' reinforces t' internal aft o' t' fins.

Time for t' basic construction is extremely short, me hearties, about 25 minutes, nay countin' epoxy dryin' time.

As I stated before, matey, I did have LOC/Precision t' upgrade t' Parachute from t' LOC Standard, me bucko, t' a custom SkyAngle Classic II t' match t' Black/White/Orange & Chrome paint scheme. Blimey! While t' upgrade isn't really needed, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I wanted a slightly robust chute.

T' overall quality o' t' construction has convinced me that I am goin' t' use a LOC/Precision "Bigger" Big Nuke for me Level 3 attempt with Dual Deploy.

Finishing:
T' BT spirals, me hearties, me bucko, nose, fins are simple t' fill with Elmer's WoodFiller and sandin' with 400 grit, I used white.

Nose cone is huge, me bucko, and well built, took very little t' clean up t' moldin' flash. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' do somethin' a little different on t' fillets for t' fins, shiver me timbers, I used 1/8" radius over bend bit in a laminate trimer. Ya scallywag! Then sanded with a palm sander goin' from 320 t' 600 grit. Then for t' fillets on t' fins, matey, I used LocTite PowerGrab. This was t' first time I used PowerGrab for fillet, but it worked very well, and takes spray paint well.

While decals are not included, thar are decals available on t' LOC/Precision website. Begad! Aye aye! However I like t' look o' t' classic Orange/White/Black/Chrome Doorknob Sandia Labs paint scheme. Blimey!

T' looks are classic, ya bilge rat, bold & beefy lookin' and t' me this is a perfect kit for me Level 2 attempt. Begad!

Paintin' was rather straight forward. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Initially used Rustoleum Professional over Rustoleum Primer for t' NC.

However I had t' strip t' NC back t' down t' plastic, shiver me timbers, t' primer was just nay adherin' t' t' polypropylene. Begad! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Never had this many problems with a NC before, me hearties, but t' previous attempt be t' first time I used Rustoleum Primer. Well, me bucko, blow me down! So I went back t' me old method, which never failed before. Begad!

Here are t' NC finish steps I used for GREAT adhesion. Avast!

  • 1) Wash & let air dry t' NC
  • 2) Sand with 320
  • 3) Wash & let Dry
  • 4) Sand with 60, matey, lightly, since it scars t' NC deeply. Blimey! NC is fuzzy t' say t' least.
  • 5) Wash & let Dry
  • 6) Sand with 180, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, which leaves t' NC very "fuzzy"
  • 7) Apply 2 coats o' Dupli-Color Automotive Plastic Adhesion Promoter with 3 minutes betwixt coats
  • 8) Apply coat o' Dupli-Color Automotive Sandable Primer (Hot Rod Grey) within 6 minutes o' applyin' last coat of Adhesion Promoter
  • 9) Wait 6 hours
  • 10) Lightly sand with 320 t' remove some o' t' "fuzzy" appearance
  • 11) Apply 2nd coat o' primer, wait 4 hours & sand with 320 t' remove more "fuzzy" appearance
  • 12) Apply 3rd coat o' primer, shiver me timbers, arrr, wait 3 hours & sand with 400 t' remove remainin' fuzz & light scratches
  • 13) Apply 1st coat o' Gloss White Rustoleum Professional as a base over t' primer.
  • 14) Wait 12 hours & sand with 400
  • 15) Apply 2nd coat o' Gloss White, matey, wait 12 t' 24 hrs
  • 16) Mask off white, arrr, black & orange areas.
  • 17) Apply Orange Rustoleum Pro
  • 18) Apply Black Rustoleum Pro
  • 19) Remove masking, arrr, hopefully leavin' t' paint on t' NC and nay attached t' t' tape.

Conditions were 66F & 52% humidity in me workshop.

Afterwards, shiver me timbers, I mounted t' rail buttons.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My initial flight with t' Door Knob be a Level 2 certification flight, on a Aerotech J460T with at best that can be called a scratch in a 7.6 delay t' achieve 6.5 seconds.

RockSim9 put it 1347' and with t' 8-14 mph wind & barometric conditions, matey, ~5 degree angle in t' launch rail and everythin' be a go for launch.

Nice pop o' t' launch rail, great blue flame from t' BlueThunder, that showed up nicely in t' photo by Jerry Myers. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey!

Recovery:
Immediately after a perfect apogee, matey, t' winds picked up, shiver me timbers, and it drifted a good bit, what seemed t' be a mile.

However t' Door Knob landed upright, or as Lee Barry o' Merlin Missiles put it "...and he stuck the landing!"

As I was drivin' t' recover t' rocket, arrr, I could see t' chute inflate and it layed over nicely. Ahoy! Blimey!

On me second flight, shiver me timbers, usin' a J275W, same day, me bucko, it landed a lot closer t' t' pad, shiver me timbers, me hearties, maybe 2000 feet away. Begad! However as I walkin' t' recovery it, I could see that t' chute was inflatin' and pickin' t' NC airframe up off t' ground, and then draggin' t' airframe towards a highway about 300' feet away. Avast, me proud beauty! Once I got t' t' rocket, it be 5 feet from the highway guard rail. Ahoy!

T' NC had no peelin' or flakin' or scratches for that matter. Well, me bucko, blow me down!

After all is said and done, I nay sure I would fly a J275W in it again t' delay at 6second was way t' short and was still climbin' when t' deployment occurred. However all me anti-zipperin' strategies paid off. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' J460T with 6.5 second (7.6sec with scratch) is perfect for low altitude flight on relatively small field.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Extremely quick build. Avast! Avast! Great quality, honestly, I wouldn't change a thin' about this kit.

T' only issue I had, arrr, was t' NC paint issue, me hearties, clearly nay a LOC issue at all. Ahoy!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flights

ID
Date
Flyer
Rocket
Kit
Motors
Altitude
Action
73429
2019-09-28 photo
John Kelley
LOC Doorknob
LOC/Precision - Door Knob {Kit}
J540-7
-
list
71974
2017-11-11 photo
John Kelley
LOC Doorknob
LOC/Precision - Door Knob {Kit}
J415
1,914 Feet
list
68938
2015-08-16 photo
John Kelley
LOC Doorknob
LOC/Precision - Door Knob {Kit}
J500-6
-
list
68325
2015-05-10 photo
John Kelley
LOC Doorknob
LOC/Precision - Door Knob {Kit}
AT J420R-M
-
list
63884
2012-12-15 photo
John Bergsmith
Door Knob
LOC/Precision - Door Knob {Kit}
Cesaroni J760WT-9
-
list
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of
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