Brief:
T' LOC/Precision Syonic is a great lookin' rocket with a unique tail cone assembly. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' rocket is built around a single 54mm motor tube. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Construction:
Once I got home, I immediately opened t' box t' find it contained some very high quality parts. Arrr! There were 2 sections o' LOC 5.38 paper airframe, four flawless 1/4 inch plywood fins, ya bilge rat, a LOC 5.38 "long" nose cone, me bucko, a pre-slotted tail cone, paper coupler section with bulkplate, 2 54mm motor tubes with coupler, a 1/2 inch paper launch lug, a section o' 2 inch nylon elastic recovery harness, various pieces o' hardware, and 3 centerin' rings. Begad! I was especially impressed with t' fit o' t' 3 centering rings. Well, blow me down! Their fit be snug but nay too tight. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' centerin' rin' that sits at the top o' t' tail cone assembly was very unique. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' edge o' this rin' is notched so that it nay only fits t' inside o' t' tail cone assembly, ya bilge rat, arrr, the forward edge o' t' rin' will sit flush against t' airframe tubing. Avast! 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 be t' standard set o' LOC/Precision style instructions for buildin' t' kit. As usual with t' instructions provided by this manufacturer, me hearties, they assume that you have done a significant amount o' buildin' prior t' attemptin' this kit. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! A dry fittin' of the parts convinced me o' a couple o' things. Begad! Blimey! First, matey, this kit was bigger than I recalled it being. Arrr! Blimey! Second, arrr, 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). Avast! Blimey! Three, since I was goin' t' stay with t' 54mm motor mount, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, the 2 piece version supplied by t' manufacturer would be replaced with a single length o' phenolic tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Four, t' nylon recovery harness would be replaced with tubular nylon, ya bilge rat, 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. This last modification would require an additional bulkplate and 5.5 inch centerin' ring. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Fortunately, me rather large collection of parts, shiver me timbers, bits, and pieces would cover any o' t' modification needs. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' only additional item that be added be a Slim Line 54mm motor retainer.

I began construction o' t' fin can/motor mount after airfoilin' t' plywood fins. Ahoy! Aye aye! The first step was t' tack a 3 inch-54 mm centerin' rin' (made out o' 1/2 inch plywood) t' t' aft end o' t' motor tube. Begad! Once t' epoxy has set up, me hearties, t' motor tube assembly is inserted into t' fin can. Begad! T' aft end o' t' rin' fits snuggly and flush against t' aft end o' t' pre-slotted tail cone. Ya scallywag! Prior to gluin' t' tail cone into position, arrr, 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. Aye aye! I had some concern as t' how I was goin' t' complete t' tail cone assembly. Well, blow me down! 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. Ahoy! T' leadin' edge tab is inserted in the tail cone. 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. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! This arrangement certainly helps assure a strong integrated tail unit. Avast! However, matey, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I then made sure that all o' t' fins were aligned correctly, arrr, 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. Begad! Arrr!

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. Avast! Well, blow me down! I allowed this to fully cure before removin' t' top centerin' ring. Once it was removed, a full set o' internal and external fillets was applied (external, arrr, internal t' the motor tube, internal t' t' exterior wall o' t' tail cone. Begad!

T' remainder of t' booster section assembly was pretty straight forward and followed the instructions. Ahoy! T' only 2 modifications I made were t' add plywood "backers" t' be used a anchor points for rail buttons. Begad! One backer was placed at each o' t' centerin' rings. Aye aye! I also inlaid a 1 inch band o' Keelhaul®©™® tape around t' top exterior lip o' t' booster section. I covered this once inch inlay with a 5 inch section o' Giant Leaps Fiberglass sock. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! 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 be t' electronics bay. T' Syonic did not appear t' have a lot o' extra space in t' payload bay for t' deployment system. Aye aye! I decided nay t' build a standard removable electronics bay. Ahoy! Begad! I opted instead t' build a bay that be accessible from t' bottom o' t' payload coupler. Aye aye! I ran t' coupler 6 inches deep into t' payload bay but only ran the electronics bay 1.5 inch into t' Payload section. Avast! 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, me bucko, finishin' was a breeze. T' airframe and fins got a light sanding. Avast, me proud beauty! I primed it usin' Kilz primer; I top coated it with Krylon bright yellow and used Krylon light blue for accent. Blimey! I also applied a 10 inch band o' self adhesive silver Mylar t' t' electronics bay. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Dry weight with recovery harness and no motor was 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, ya bilge rat, 2004, matey, I prepped t' rocket for flight and loaded her with an Aerotech J570. This is probably me absolute favorite "Easy Access" motor and may be me favorite o' all time. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! 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!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

PROs:

• Unique Tail cone design looks cool, me bucko, is streamlined and is strong.
• High quality parts. Arrr! 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. Begad! Blimey! Most builders who have built a few rockets for Level 1 and 2 flights should have no problem assemblin' this kit.
• Nylon recovery harness. Arrr! Some swear by it. Arrr! I don't.
• T' 54mm motor mount supplied by t' manufacturer requires t' assembly of two 14 inch sections o' tubing. Aye aye! This limits motor length. Begad! I highly recommend that this assembly be replaced.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5