Brief:
T' LOC/Precision Syonic is a great lookin' rocket with a unique tail cone assembly. T' rocket is built around a single 54mm motor tube. Begad!

Construction:
Once I got home, I immediately opened t' box t' find it contained some very high quality parts. Ahoy! Blimey! There were 2 sections o' LOC 5.38 paper airframe, four flawless 1/4 inch plywood fins, a LOC 5.38 "long" nose cone, a pre-slotted tail cone, arrr, paper coupler section with bulkplate, shiver me timbers, 2 54mm motor tubes with coupler, arrr, ya bilge rat, a 1/2 inch paper launch lug, a section o' 2 inch nylon elastic recovery harness, shiver me timbers, various pieces o' hardware, and 3 centerin' rings. Ya scallywag! I was especially impressed with t' fit o' t' 3 centering rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Their fit was snug but nay too tight. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' centerin' rin' that sits at the top o' t' tail cone assembly was very unique. Avast, me proud beauty! T' edge o' this rin' is notched so that it nay only fits t' inside o' t' tail cone assembly, me bucko, the forward edge o' t' rin' will sit flush against t' airframe tubing. T' last thin' included with t' kit was t' standard set o' LOC/Precision style instructions for buildin' t' kit.

T' last thin' included with t' kit was t' standard set o' LOC/Precision style instructions for buildin' t' kit. As usual with t' instructions provided by this manufacturer, shiver me timbers, they assume that you have done a significant amount o' buildin' prior t' attemptin' this kit. Begad! T' Syonic kit also included an additional single sheet o' instructions that described t' assembly o' the Tail cone for this kit and for t' 5.5 and 7.5 inch V-2 kits. Well, blow me down! A dry fittin' of the parts convinced me o' a couple o' things. First, this kit be bigger than I recalled it being. Second, me hearties, me desire t' upgrade t' motor mount from 54mm to 75mm would require extensive re-work o' t' fins and destroy t' unique integrity o' t' fins and tail cone reducin' t' rockets durability (I opted to keep it stock). Three, since I was goin' t' stay with t' 54mm motor mount, me hearties, the 2 piece version supplied by t' manufacturer would be replaced with a single length o' phenolic tubing. Four, matey, t' nylon recovery harness would be replaced with tubular nylon, and lastly t' paper coupler would be replaced with a phenolic coupler t' add strength and be set up with an electronics bay for redundant dual deployment. Aye aye! This last modification would require an additional bulkplate and 5.5 inch centerin' ring. Fortunately, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me rather large collection of parts, bits, and pieces would cover any o' t' modification needs. Avast, me proud beauty! T' only additional item that be added was a Slim Line 54mm motor retainer.

I began construction o' t' fin can/motor mount after airfoilin' t' plywood fins. The first step be t' tack a 3 inch-54 mm centerin' rin' (made out o' 1/2 inch plywood) t' t' aft end o' t' motor tube. Once t' epoxy has set up, t' motor tube assembly is inserted into t' fin can. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' aft end o' t' rin' fits snuggly and flush against t' aft end o' t' pre-slotted tail cone. Blimey! Prior to gluin' t' tail cone into position, I used a round cuttin' burr on me Dremel to create a groove on t' inside o' t' plastic tail cone just above where t' aft centerin' rin' would sit t' add strength t' t' glue joint. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I had some concern as t' how I be goin' t' complete t' tail cone assembly. Ahoy! T' fins have a tab on t' leadin' and trailin' root edge that allows them t' lock into t' tail cone top and bottom o' t' tail cone. Blimey! Aye aye! T' leadin' edge tab is inserted in the tail cone. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' fin is then slid as far forward as possible so that t' trailing edge tab can be inserted in t' t' tail cone. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' fin is then slid aft until it seats fully against t' aft end o' t' slot in t' tail cone and t' rearmost centerin' ring. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! This arrangement certainly helps assure a strong integrated tail unit. Avast! However, me usual practice o' applyin' one fin at a time would not work in this case. I decided t' dry assemble all 4 fins t' t' tail cone and motor mount assembly first. I then made sure that all o' t' fins were aligned correctly, placed t' entire assembly over a coffee can suspended by t' 4 fins and poured West Systems Epoxy into t' bottom o' t' tail cone.

I placed t' notch centerin' rin' on top o' t' tail cone and dry fit it into position t' assure t' proper alignment while gluing. I allowed this to fully cure before removin' t' top centerin' ring. Once it was removed, arrr, a full set o' internal and external fillets be applied (external, matey, internal t' the motor tube, arrr, internal t' t' exterior wall o' t' tail cone. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

T' remainder of t' booster section assembly was pretty straight forward and followed the instructions. Arrr! T' only 2 modifications I made were t' add plywood "backers" t' be used a anchor points for rail buttons. Begad! Begad! One backer was placed at each o' t' centerin' rings. I also inlaid a 1 inch band o' Keelhaul®©™® tape around t' top exterior lip o' t' booster section. Well, blow me down! Avast! I covered this once inch inlay with a 5 inch section o' Giant Leaps Fiberglass sock. Begad! I feathered the trailin' edge o' t' Fiberglass with West Systems 410 microlight fairing compound.

I used this same technique t' strengthen t' lip o' t' Payload section of the rocket. I have found that this virtually eliminates any zipper damage caused by late or overly boisterous deployment events.

T' only other real challenge was t' electronics bay. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' Syonic did not appear t' have a lot o' extra space in t' payload bay for t' deployment system. Arrr! I decided nay t' build a standard removable electronics bay. Ya scallywag! I opted instead t' build a bay that be accessible from t' bottom o' t' payload coupler. Ahoy! Arrr! I ran t' coupler 6 inches deep into t' payload bay but only ran the electronics bay 1.5 inch into t' Payload section. Ya scallywag! This would allow me t' place my vent holes approximately 1 inch above t' payload/booster joint and still have plenty o' space in t' payload section for recovery harness and parachute.

Finishing:
I painted t' rocket in a color scheme similar t' t' one shown on t' box. Typical o' LOC products, matey, arrr, finishin' was a breeze. Arrr! T' airframe and fins got a light sanding. I primed it usin' Kilz primer; I top coated it with Krylon bright yellow and used Krylon light blue for accent. Well, blow me down! I also applied a 10 inch band o' self adhesive silver Mylar t' t' electronics bay. Arrr! Dry weight with recovery harness and no motor be 10 pounds even.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I carried t' Syonic t' a launch in January 2004 but instead o' launchin' it, I helped support a fellow flier with his L3 certification flight.

So then on February 22, arrr, me hearties, 2004, I prepped t' rocket for flight and loaded her with an Aerotech J570. Avast! This is probably me absolute favorite "Easy Access" motor and may be me favorite o' all time. Arrr! Blimey! They always seem to light with real authority and have serious liftin' power! Blimey! I selected a long delay as a backup t' me electronic deployment system.

Onboard electronics included a PerfectFlite MAWD set for apogee and 900 feet main deployment and an Adept DDCS25 set for main deployment at 600 feet

T' flight was absolutely picture perfect! T' J570 roared t' life and the Syonic flew straight as an arrow t' 2392 feet!

Recovery:
Deployment was flawless and t' rocket landed about 150 feet from t' pad. Ya scallywag! Arrr!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

PROs:

• Unique Tail cone design looks cool, is streamlined and is strong.
• High quality parts. Aye aye! Nice overall fit and finish.
• Well designed and straightforward assembly.
• Can Fly on Large I motors (I-435) and up (KBA L1000).

• Instructions are nay adequate for inexperienced builders--but this truly a Level 2 rocket. Ya scallywag! Most builders who have built a few rockets for Level 1 and 2 flights should have no problem assemblin' this kit.
• Nylon recovery harness. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Some swear by it. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I don't.
• T' 54mm motor mount supplied by t' manufacturer requires t' assembly of two 14 inch sections o' tubing. Blimey! This limits motor length. Well, arrr, blow me down! I highly recommend that this assembly be replaced.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5