| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2013-06-19 |
| Manufacturer: | LOC/Precision  |
Brief
LOC Vulcanite H76 is a 2.2" diameter high power rocket kit. Arrr! It is a sleek rocket capable o' flights well over one mile in altitude and supports 38mm diameter motors (29mm can be used with an adapter). Well, blow me down!
Components
Most components are o' high quality. Blimey! Airframe tubin' is thick and robust. Blimey! Arrr! Fins are aircraft quality plywood. Nose cone - ogive, very strong. T' 28" parachute is made from Nylon. Ya scallywag! So, quite a few positives regardin' components.
You will have t' purchase motor retention hardware, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I bought an Aero-Pak retainer, it works very well. Also, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' kit comes with an elastic shock cord. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Many high power rocketry experts (in me local club and through articles I've read on t' web) don't like elastic for high power shock cords since they can break in some situations, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and they tend t' snap t' nose section and t' main section back together after stretched. Arrr! Blimey! I replaced t' elastic cord with tubular nylon ordered from LOC Precision. Ya scallywag!
Construction
T' instructions for this kit are very minimal. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! They are text-heavy with few diagrams. It's best t' have some experience with usin' epoxy and with constructin' a high power rocket. Begad! T' instructions are nay like Estes model rocket instructions where every step is spelled out in detail with supportin' diagrams.
T' followin' is a list o' items I modified based on advice from experienced members o' me local rocketry club. Well, blow me down! My goal was t' 'build it right' usin' enough o' t' techniques recommended without overbuildin' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! It is flyin' well these days so I believe t' build is good.
Bottom section (fin can) portion o' t' rocket:
1) Motor mount. I purchased an extra centerin' rin' in addition t' t' standard components included in t' kit. (See Rick VanVoorhis article on Rocketreviews.com for LOC Vulcanite and see note [a] below, motor mount details.)
2) Per recommendations from me local rocketry club, arrr, I used a “Zipperless” design (see article written by Stu Barrett at http://www.info-central.org/?article=132). Extra components purchased:
- U-Bolt (Home Depot or Lowes)
- LOC bulkhead (holes drilled for U-Bolt and for ejection gas pressure conduit)
- LOC coupler
- LOC stiffy
3) Fillets, arrr, epoxy. Use gloves see internet article. No extra components needed, simply use 15 minute Epoxy.
4) Rail buttons in addition t' launch lugs. Check with your local rocketry club t' determine which size rail buttons t' use. These can be ordered from LOC Precision or Apogee Components.
5) Motor retention, this is a must have for this rocket. Extra component purchased: Aero-Pack 38mm retainer
Middle section main airframe:
I ordered another LOC 2.26” Airframe. T' intent is t' provide a middle section t' house t' harness and parachute. T' main airframe, ya bilge rat, as ordered from LOC Precision, me bucko, me hearties, has 3 slots for fins near one end o' t' tuble. I cut t' tube off about 2 inches above t' point where t' slotted fins are. Cut t' length o' ~ 28”.
Harness:
- Throw away t' elastic, or you can use it t' repair your old underwear.
- Order, from LOC Precision, matey, shiver me timbers, 12’ o' tubular nylon, with loops sewn in each end.
- Buy quick releases (2) from Home Depot or Lowes
- 28” Chute (with t' kit)
- Attach quick releases t' each end o' t' tubular nylon.
- Tie loop knot about 4’ from one end o' t' harness
- Attach small quick release t' chute, attach t' chute, me bucko, via t' quick release t' t' loop knot in t' harness.
- Before launching, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, thread t' longer section o' t' harness through t' middle airfram section. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Fasten, me hearties, ya bilge rat, usin' t' quick release, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' harness t' t' eye bolt comin' out from t' top section bulkhead. Avast! Blimey! Then insert t' top section coupler into t' middle section main airframe. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Make sure thar be either a lot o' friction on this fit, or use positive retention (rivets, arrr, me hearties, screws) t' keep t' middle section attached t' t' top section. Avast! Blimey! You don't want these two sections separatin' at deployment.
Top section (payload) and nose cone:
Use standard LOC Precision parts from t' Vulcanite kit (bulkhead, coupler, matey, eye-bolt, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 10” tubing, me bucko, nose cone). Aye aye! Simply follow t' LOC instructions for this section.
[a] Motor Mount details:
I read an article on rocketreviews.com written by Rick VanVoorhis on his construction o' t' motor tube. I'll copy a section o' that review here:
"T' construction be very straight forward and simple but I changed a couple o' steps for me modifications. Arrr! Blimey! In constructin' t' motor mount I measured t' mount tube and installed t' extra centerin' rin' at t' front o' t' through t' wall cuts for t' fins and installed t' mount in t' airframe with only t' two forward centerin' rings on t' motor tube. Avast! Blimey! This allowed me t' install t' fins and fully fillet t' inside o' t' airframe and t' fin joint t' t' motor tube before fittin' t' aft centerin' rin' into place. This way t' fins are joined t' t' inside o' t' rocket at t' motor tube, leadin' edge t' a centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, trailin' edge t' a centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, and t' body tube."
I used Rick's method, arrr, although I found it difficult t' cleanly apply epoxy for an internal fillet in betwixt t' airframe and motor mount. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey!
Other Notes:
Component quality and fit are both good, so thar was very little sandin' needed.
Make sure t' sand any surface o' t' airframe tubin' and motor tubin' where you plan t' apply adhesive. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This gives epoxy a better chance t' grab on. Tubin' is rather slick unless you sand it.
T' 1st photo below shows t' bottom section with coupler, arrr, bulkhead, and u-bolt for t' zipperless configuration. Aye aye! T' 2nd photo shows some detail o' vent holes for ejection charge.
T' photos below show t' Vulcanite in its completed and improved configuration.
Finishing
I did nay buy t' LOC Precision decal kit, choosin' t' finish t' rocket in a simple red body and silver nose cone. Ya scallywag! Blimey! No special techniques are required. Aye aye! Blimey! I used Krylon spray paint from Wal Mart for both t' primer and t' finish coats o' paints. T' red looks great against a blue sky.
Flight
T' rocket flies well. Well, blow me down! First flight was on an F50-6T from Estes. Aye aye! My field be small and I wanted t' get a good idea o' how t' rocket flew without launchin' t' a high altitude. Aye aye! Launch and recovery successful. Well, blow me down! I've also flown it on a G40-7W (Estes) and on a 289H152-10 (BS) CTI motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' H152 flight be really great. Ahoy! This launch occurred after some o' t' rebuild (zipperless design, me hearties, extended middle section, arrr, improved harness). Begad! Simulated altitude was 2800 feet, winds calm, me hearties, excellent launch and successful recovery. Ya scallywag! Aye aye!
I plan t' launch on a J350W in t' near future. Arrr! My Level 1 advisor will assist me with analyzin' fin flutter at near mach speeds t' ensure I don't rip t' fins off when travellin' 0.95 t' 1.0 mach.
Photo below is with t' stock configuration on a G40-7W Estes motor.
Recovery
T' 28" chute quality is quite good (Nylon chute and cords). Aye aye! It's black and shows up well against a blue sky or overcast sky. I replaced t' elastic with tublar nylong from LOC Precision.
Summary
This was me first true high-power kit. Aye aye! Begad! I smartly learned that most high-power kits get you some o' what you need for a quailty HPR build, but t' do it right, thar be more investigation and additional components t' buy. Ya scallywag! Avast!
T' rocket can be flown as specified in t' instructions, me bucko, with t' addition o' positive motor retention (for example, arrr, with an Aero-Pack retainer). Ya scallywag! You can even fly it with t' elastic shock cord.
For longer term, matey, shiver me timbers, and for higher power motors, arrr, I'm glad I made some improvements t' make t' design more robust, arrr, arrr, most notably t' zipperless design.
I really like t' 2.2" outside diameter coupled with a 38mm (about 1.5") motor diameter. It makes achievin' high altitudes possible. Blimey! Blimey! I'm lookin' forward t' launchin' t' one mile altitude with t' rocket.
Other Reviews
- LOC/Precision Vulcanite H76 By Rick VanVoorhis
After some consideration of a smaller kit for general purpose flying I chose the LOC Precision Vulcanite kit. Since I was going to be flying it on higher powered motors also I ordered it with one extra centering ring for the motor mount. After getting the kit I opened the package and inventoried the parts, all were there and in good order. I had decided to make some changes to the design for ...
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