Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | LOC/Precision |
Brief:
HPR, Parachute, arrr, Level2, me hearties, me hearties, 54mm MMT, Upgraded SkyAngle 60" Custom Classic II Chute.
Construction:
Parts in t' kit were:
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, matey, they were logical and extremely easy t' follow. Avast, me proud beauty! Take your time and dry fit everything, includin' t' LOC-N-FIN pieces. After usin' t' LOC-N-FIN buildin' method, me bucko, 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, about 25 minutes, matey, nay countin' epoxy dryin' time.
As I stated before, me hearties, I did have LOC/Precision t' upgrade t' Parachute from t' LOC Standard, me hearties, t' a custom SkyAngle Classic II t' match t' Black/White/Orange & Chrome paint scheme. Avast! While t' upgrade isn't really needed, 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, shiver me timbers, nose, fins are simple t' fill with Elmer's WoodFiller and sandin' with 400 grit, I used white.
While decals are not included, shiver me timbers, thar are decals available on t' LOC/Precision website. However I like t' look o' t' classic Orange/White/Black/Chrome Doorknob Sandia Labs paint scheme. Begad! Begad!
T' looks are classic, shiver me timbers, arrr, me bucko, bold & beefy lookin' and t' me this is a perfect kit for me Level 2 attempt. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty!
Paintin' was rather straight forward. 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 be just nay adherin' t' t' polypropylene.
Never had this many problems with a NC before, but t' previous attempt was t' first time I used Rustoleum Primer. Begad! So I went back t' me old method, matey, which never failed before.
Here are t' NC finish steps I used for GREAT adhesion. Begad! Ya scallywag!
Conditions were 66F & 52% humidity in me workshop.
Afterwards, me bucko, 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, arrr, 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, ~5 degree angle in t' launch rail and everythin' be a go for launch. Avast! Aye aye!
Nice pop o' t' launch rail, great blue flame from t' BlueThunder, that showed up nicely in t' photo by Jerry Myers. Arrr!
Recovery:
Immediately after a perfect apogee, t' winds picked up, and it drifted a good bit, what seemed t' be a mile.
However t' Door Knob landed upright, ya bilge rat, or as Lee Barry o' Merlin Missiles put it "...and he stuck the landing!"
As I was drivin' t' recover t' rocket, I could see t' chute inflate and it layed over nicely. Arrr!
On me second flight, usin' a J275W, same day, it landed a lot closer t' t' pad, maybe 2000 feet away. Ya scallywag! 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. Ya scallywag! Once I got t' t' rocket, it was 5 feet from the highway guard rail. Aye aye!
T' NC had no peelin' or flakin' or scratches for that matter. Begad! Avast!
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. Avast, me proud beauty! However all me anti-zipperin' strategies paid off. Ahoy!
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. Blimey! Great quality, arrr, honestly, ya bilge rat, I wouldn't change a thin' about this kit.
T' only issue I had, was t' NC paint issue, clearly nay a LOC issue at all. Aye aye! Begad!
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
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