LOC/Precision Cyclotron

LOC/Precision - Cyclotron

Contributed by Joe Balsamo

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: LOC/Precision
LOC Cyclotron
(Contributed - by Joe Balsamo - 01/01/02)

Brief:
Single stage, tube-finned, me bucko, 38mm rocket with a 3" BT transitionin' t' a 2.14" payload bay. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' rocket is very suitable for Level 1 certifications.

Construction:
3" LOC main body tube with 6 coupler tubes used for t' tube fins. Begad! Blimey! 38mm LOC Motor mount tube is held in place by two centerin' rings. Ahoy! Blimey! T' kit comes with a fairly long elastic shock cord, matey, shiver me timbers, 2.14" payload tube section, ya bilge rat, matey, plastic nose cone and plastic transition. Aye aye! I made some modifications t' this which I will describe below. Blimey! Blimey!

T' rocket is quite easy t' build and t' instruction sheet is fairly well written. Begad! Avast! I built it stock except for t' recovery system. Ahoy! Arrr! I don't like elastic shock cords. Arrr! Blimey! I no longer have an AT Sumo because t' elastic shock cord broke durin' ejection. I have now replaced all o' t' elastic in me fleet with either Keelhaul®©™® or Keelhaul®©™®/tubular nylon recovery harnesses. Avast! Ahoy!

On t' Cyclotron, me hearties, arrr, me hearties, I drilled out two 180 degree opposin' holes each about 1/8" in diameter in t' forward centerin' ring. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I then strung a length of Pratt Hobbies 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™ ® , me hearties, matey, both ends through t' holes, me hearties, knots tied about 4" from each end, ya bilge rat, then t' ends epoxied t' t' motor mount. Begad! Ya scallywag! Thus creatin' a Keelhaul®©™® harness, t' closed loop end now reachin' just below t' lip o' t' main 3" tube. Ahoy! Now, I can attach t' this either tubular nylon, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me bucko, tubular Keelhaul®©™® or whatever. Arrr! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® may someday wear out, but it will take a very long time. Arrr! Arrr! Plus, I usually shove a small amount o' waddin' into t' motor mount itself, so t' brunt o' the blast is taken by that. Begad!

I like SkyAngle chutes, so I ditched t' LOC chute and recover on a SkyAngle 36. Begad! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector t' protect t' chute. Blimey!

I am also a big fan o' t' Aeropack system, ya bilge rat, so I included an Aeropack motor retainer on me Cyclotron. T' bottom o' t' Aeropack is flush with BT.

T' only other thin' I can add is t' make sure you rough up t' body tube and t' fin tubes, use a good quality epoxy and make all your fillets. Nothing is holdin' t' fin tubes t' t' body tube other than glue, matey, so this is key. Ya scallywag! Begad! I used a long wooden down t' create t' fillets once t' tubes were attached to the body tube. LOC gives a good technique t' build t' fin tube structure, me hearties, so I recommend usin' their technique. Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down!

I epoxied t' bottom o' t' payload tube t' t' top o' t' plastic LOC transition and attached t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' payload tube usin' a plastic pop rivet. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty!

Finishing:
Finishin' is typical o' any kraft paper tube type rocket. Fill t' spirals (I use Elmers Fill-n-Finish), primer t' rocket, and paint. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

In t' case o' this particular rocket, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I decided t' test out t' new Dupli-Color Mirage color-changin' paint. I get mine locally at Kragen, but AutoBarn on t' web sells it as well. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I chose t' Purple/Green color as that seemed t' look better (at least on t' can top in t' store) than the Gold/Magenta or Silver/Green. I used Fill-N-Finish and sandin' until I got a fairly smooth surface. Begad! I then used Dupli-Color white primer in a couple of coats t' get a near-glass smooth finish. Ahoy! I then applied t' three-part Dupli-Color as per t' instructions on t' paint kit. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! First t' flat black basecoat. Avast! Then t' color changin' paint itself. Aye aye! Then finally t' clear coat. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I really like how it came out and I get a lot o' positive comments about me paint job, so it seems others do as well. Aye aye! I painted t' inside o' each o' t' tube fins with a simple brushed-on flat black enamel and t' same for t' bottom end of t' rocket. Avast! I don't like bare areas on me rockets showin' through and sometimes for certain acres, me hearties, flat black painted on just works out real nicely.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I've flown me Cyclotron a half dozen times now and it is a great flyin' rocket! Straight as an arrow and looks very cool as it blasts off. Most o' t' time, shiver me timbers, I try t' remember t' put a small amount o' waddin' up t' motor mount tube before insertin' t' motor. I have forgotten a few times and no harm seems t' have come from it. Well, blow me down! Avast! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector and it seems t' work just great. Aye aye! Motor retention is via Aeropack, me bucko, as noted above, arrr, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and I find that t' transition fits into t' body tube fairly loosely on me Cyclotron, matey, shiver me timbers, so I use maskin' tape t' attain a not-too-tight fit. Begad! My Cyclotron has flown on t' AT H238, arrr, Pro38 G69 and Pro38 I170. Great flights, shiver me timbers, matey, matey, all o' them. Arrr!

Recovery:
As I noted already, I've completely replaced t' LOC recovery system with my own. My system works flawlessly. It be t' above mentioned tubular Keelhaul®©™® harness, attached t' that is a 30' length o' very heavy duty Keelhaul®©™® "mule tape". Well, blow me down! Blimey! SkyAngle36 is attached t' this via a kwik-link and I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector. Well, blow me down! Blimey! All works great. Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket. Avast! T' only area o' change that I would recommend would be in t' recovery system as I've already noted. Though I was already an L1 when I bought this kit, I feel that it makes a great L1 rocket. Aye aye! Avast! Also a good "small field" rocket with G size engines, but yet you can bust loose at larger fields with an I.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • LOC/Precision Cyclotron By John Lee (November 14, 2009)

    Brief: Tube Finned, 38mm Motor Mount, Parachute recovery The LOC Cyclotron looked to be a fairly simple HPR build suitable for somebody with not too much HPR experience. It was a kit I had around for a while but did not get around to building because of few opportunities to launch anything in the HPR range.With some prospects for flight opening up, I dug out this kit and got to ...

  • LOC/Precision Cyclotron By Mike Walsh, Jr.

    (by Mike Walsh, JR. - 04/01/02) Brief: Tube Rocket, with transition Construction: I received the package, and the kit was well packaged. It included 2 main body tubes, a 3.1”x 34” long tube, and a 2.14” x 12” body tube, as well as nose cone, transition, motor mount parts. It also comes with (6) 3.1” Tube couplers, which are used for the fins. They are ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
J.b.b.j. (March 29, 2007)
I just bought the cyclotron. I love me some tube-finned rockets. The reviews were very helpful concerning construction techniques.I just knew that elastic shock cord was not going to make it. Great tips!

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