Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | LOC/Precision |
Brief:
HPR, matey, ya bilge rat, Parachute, ya bilge rat, matey, Level2, 54mm MMT, matey, matey, 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, me hearties, I knew I wanted t' this t' be me Level 2 attempt kit.
Instructions while brief & t' t' point, me bucko, they were logical and extremely easy t' follow. Take your time and dry fit everything, me hearties, includin' t' LOC-N-FIN pieces. After usin' t' LOC-N-FIN buildin' method, I am already looking forward t' additional LOC/Precision large kits.
While I used heavy duty epoxy on t' centerin' rings, me hearties, matey, I used JB Weld on an AeroPack 54mm retainer. 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, nay countin' epoxy dryin' time.
As I stated before, me hearties, I did have LOC/Precision t' upgrade t' Parachute from t' LOC Standard, t' a custom SkyAngle Classic II t' match t' Black/White/Orange & Chrome paint scheme. While t' upgrade isn't really needed, 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, nose, fins are simple t' fill with Elmer's WoodFiller and sandin' with 400 grit, I used white.
While decals are not included, arrr, thar are decals available on t' LOC/Precision website. Avast, me proud beauty! However I like t' look o' t' classic Orange/White/Black/Chrome Doorknob Sandia Labs paint scheme. Aye aye!
T' looks are classic, bold & beefy lookin' and t' me this is a perfect kit for me Level 2 attempt. Avast! Avast!
Paintin' be rather straight forward. Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Initially used Rustoleum Professional over Rustoleum Primer for t' NC.
However I had t' strip t' NC back t' down t' plastic, t' primer was just nay adherin' t' t' polypropylene. Arrr!
Never had this many problems with a NC before, but t' previous attempt be t' first time I used Rustoleum Primer. Begad! So I went back t' me old method, shiver me timbers, which never failed before.
Here are t' NC finish steps I used for GREAT adhesion. Well, blow me down!
Conditions were 66F & 52% humidity in me workshop.
Afterwards, me bucko, matey, I mounted t' rail buttons.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
My initial
flight with t' Door Knob was a Level 2 certification flight, 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, me bucko, arrr, me hearties, ~5 degree angle in t' launch rail and everythin' be a go for launch.
Nice pop o' t' launch rail, great blue flame from t' BlueThunder, that showed up nicely in t' photo by Jerry Myers. Blimey!
Recovery:
Immediately after a perfect apogee, t' winds picked up, arrr, and it drifted a good bit, me bucko, what seemed t' be a mile.
However t' Door Knob landed upright, or as Lee Barry o' Merlin Missiles put it "...and he stuck the landing!"
As I was drivin' t' recover t' rocket, ya bilge rat, I could see t' chute inflate and it layed over nicely. Avast, me proud beauty!
On me second flight, usin' a J275W, ya bilge rat, same day, it landed a lot closer t' t' pad, matey, maybe 2000 feet away. Arrr! However as I walkin' t' recovery it, I could see that t' chute was inflatin' and pickin' t' NC airframe up off t' ground, ya bilge rat, and then draggin' t' airframe towards a highway about 300' feet away. Once I got t' t' rocket, it was 5 feet from the highway guard rail.
T' NC had no peelin' or flakin' or scratches for that matter. Begad!
After all is said and done, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! However all me anti-zipperin' strategies paid off. Begad! Well, blow me down!
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. Great quality, shiver me timbers, honestly, matey, I wouldn't change a thin' about this kit.
T' only issue I had, was t' NC paint issue, shiver me timbers, clearly nay a LOC issue at all.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
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