LOC/Precision Forte'

LOC/Precision - Forte' {Kit} (PK-32)

Contributed by Jerry O'Sullivan

Construction Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 3.10 inches
Manufacturer: LOC/Precision
Style: Sport

IrishBrief
This is a single stage, matey, me bucko, baffled, glass reinforced model.

Construction
T' kit arrived in a plastic bag containin' laser cut 1/8" plywood fins and centerin' rings, plastic nose cone, elastic shock cord, 24" chute, 29mm motor mount tube, clear concise instructions (on t' back o' t' cardboard label). Arrr! No decals are included and no paint scheme is suggested, ya bilge rat, although one can copy t' label.

T' main BT is nay pre-slotted for t' 4 fins although t' locations are marked in pencil. Begad! Fins go only through t' BT - NOT t' t' MM which is curious since t' strength o' that joint is much greater with TTW t' t' MM tube fins. Well, blow me down! C'mon LOC!!!!

On this model you must make provisions for positive motor retention as none is included with t' kit. Blimey! I chose T-nuts and screen door clips. Avast! Cheap and strong. Ahoy! There's also no thrust rin' so you'll need t' make one for your single use motors. Begad! I had a LOC baffle lyin' around so I installed it at t' end o' t' MM tube. Begad! It's basically a roll o' wire mesh about 3" long that's held in place by a thrust ring. Ya scallywag! Begad! Works well but t' small central hole does allow soot through t' slightly dirty t' parachute. Begad! I read somewhere how t' correct this but it's too late now! Nomex® now solves that problem.

I reinforced t' fin/bt joint with 1 layer o' 4oz glass cloth cut so that it follows t' leadin' edge o' 1 fin about 3/4" back, arrr, down t' fin, around t' BT, matey, and up t' adjacent fin in t' same manner. Ya scallywag! What you wind up with is a strong joint AND fin but with flexibility. Arrr! On mine t' cloth stops just where t' leadin' edge bevel (a la Phoenix) begins its taper.

I mounted a screw eye t' t' forward centerin' rin' and attached 20' o' Pratt Hobbies 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™®. T' solve t' weak joint at t' nose cone I drilled 2 holes in it's base, me hearties, threaded some o' Pratt Hobbies 1000lb test Keelhaul®©™® line t' make a loop, shiver me timbers, knotted and ca'd it and attached t' TK t' t' loop. Begad! Very simple, me hearties, very strong.

Finishing
I had some fun finishin' this t' look like t' flag o' Ireland, arrr, complete with 4 leaf clovers and leprechauns. Ahoy! I filled t' tube grooves with vinyl spackle - they're nay as bad as PML tubin' and are easy t' fill this way.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight Flight
I plan t' Cert L1 with this soon and have so far flown 3 times on F20-4 Econojets. Ya scallywag! Blimey! A word about these - lose t' label!!! Blimey! After t' 1st flight I let it sit around a while and it became thoroughly glued into t' tube requirin' major surgery t' remove!!

This be t' absolute minimum motor for this however produces a great slow lift-off, me hearties, nice arcin' trajectory, ya bilge rat, matey, and deployment just at apogee. Begad! Begad! Blimey! I'm concerned a little with t' zipper potential o' t' TK but I'm hopin' I pick t' right delays as I move up in motors.

Recovery
These flights were on fairly windy days so I used an 18" chute. This produces what looks like hard landings but t' glass reinforcement works perfectly and so far nay a scratch!!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary
As this was me 1st LOC kit I'd say t' instructions are minimal - you'll almost certainly want t' modify in ways nay mentioned. LOC should make true TTW fins for all it's kits although as recommended motors are in t' F & G range perhaps they didn't feel this was necessary. And t' elastic shock cord? Again, shiver me timbers, t' above applies.

Compared t' Aerotech kits, this was more difficult (but nothing's as easy as AT IMHO).

All in all though I'm pleased with their product and have purchased a LOC EZI-65 as a L2 project.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • LOC/Precision Forte' By Alex Rothchild

    This LOC/ Precision Forte is a simple 3.1 inch kit. It has a 38mm motor mount, and can fly on anything from an F25-4 to a J350 with a lot epoxy and fiberglass. It does not have a payload section, and the fins go all the way to the motor mount (thank you LOC). All the parts that came with this kit fit together perfectly and were very sturdy. The parts included: -One main airframe ...

  • LOC/Precision Forte' By Neil Thompson

    The Forte' is a single staged HPR capable rocket. It can fly on as little as an F up to an H or I, and maybe with a lot of reinforcements, a J350. It is a fairly basic rocket, my second mid-power. I probably could have made it without instructions, it's so easy. It does not have a payload section (Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh), but I plan on adding one soon. It has a heavy duty cardboard airframe ...

  • LOC/Precision Forte' By Moira Jean Whitlock

    Brief:   Single staged, came with black, 24-inch diameter nylon chute. Has 4 fins. Construction: All parts were there and in good shape.  I didn't get decals, but that's not a problem for me, as I often customize my rockets. The fins (4) are plywood, precut, and are clipped delta shape. The nose cone is hollow plastic, 11 inches long, fitting the standard LOC body tube of 3 ...

Flights

Comments:

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C.B. (May 1, 2001)
I have built two smaller kits by LOC, Aurora and LIL Nuke, and have used their shock cord mounting. However, on this larger kit, I elected to add an extra CR with an eye bolt and mount the shock cord to this. I used window screen clips with t-nuts for motor retention. First flight on F50-6 was good, ejection was just after apogee.Very pleased with this kit as with the smaller ones!I did also use the LOC baffle system with great results. No burned chute. I will build the EZI-65 next for level one certification. This review is fairly accurate. Easy to build, flies straight, and recovers in good shape!
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G.H. (November 7, 2001)
This is the first Kit I have purchased from LOC/Precision. Was not impressed when i noticed that one of the precut slots was off by 1/3 inch.
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G.H. (January 3, 2002)
The body tube had precut slots, one of them was off noticeably. Went together smooth though. Nose cone is a little loose. I added a 9 inch payload section for a wireless camera. Test launches went great carring 2 rolls of pennies in the payload section. (g-80 motor). Now for the camera....

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