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, arrr, tube-finned, me bucko, 38mm rocket with a 3" BT transitionin' t' a 2.14" payload bay. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' rocket is very suitable for Level 1 certifications.

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

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

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

I like SkyAngle chutes, so I ditched t' LOC chute and recover on a SkyAngle 36. Avast! Ya scallywag! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector t' protect t' chute. Avast, me proud beauty!

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

T' only other thin' I can add is t' make sure you rough up t' body tube and t' fin tubes, arrr, shiver me timbers, use a good quality epoxy and make all your fillets. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! Nothing is holdin' t' fin tubes t' t' body tube other than glue, so this is key. Begad! Blimey! 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, so I recommend usin' their technique.

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.

Finishing:
Finishin' is typical o' any kraft paper tube type rocket. Blimey! Avast! Fill t' spirals (I use Elmers Fill-n-Finish), ya bilge rat, primer t' rocket, and paint. Arrr!

In t' case o' this particular rocket, me bucko, I decided t' test out t' new Dupli-Color Mirage color-changin' paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I get mine locally at Kragen, matey, but AutoBarn on t' web sells it as well. Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! I then used Dupli-Color white primer in a couple of coats t' get a near-glass smooth finish. Begad! I then applied t' three-part Dupli-Color as per t' instructions on t' paint kit. Arrr! First t' flat black basecoat. Avast! Then t' color changin' paint itself. Ya scallywag! Avast! Then finally t' clear coat. Ahoy! I really like how it came out and I get a lot o' positive comments about me paint job, me hearties, ya bilge rat, so it seems others do as well. 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. Begad! Blimey! I don't like bare areas on me rockets showin' through and sometimes for certain acres, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I have forgotten a few times and no harm seems t' have come from it. I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector and it seems t' work just great. Motor retention is via Aeropack, as noted above, and I find that t' transition fits into t' body tube fairly loosely on me Cyclotron, so I use maskin' tape t' attain a not-too-tight fit. Blimey! Arrr! My Cyclotron has flown on t' AT H238, Pro38 G69 and Pro38 I170. Ya scallywag! Well, arrr, blow me down! Great flights, matey, me bucko, all o' them. Ahoy!

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

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket. T' only area o' change that I would recommend would be in t' recovery system as I've already noted. Begad! Ya scallywag! Though I was already an L1 when I bought this kit, ya bilge rat, I feel that it makes a great L1 rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! 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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