LOC Precision LOC IV

LOC/Precision - LOC IV {Kit} (PK-48) [1985-]

Contributed by Cody Smith

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Published: 2014-10-20
Diameter: 4.00 inches
Length: 47.50 inches
Manufacturer: LOC/Precision
Style: Sport

Brief

This kit was my Junior. Level 1 and I must say it is a beautiful kit. Some people say this rocket is not good for certifications due to the fact that the fins hang below the body. But, unless you land on concrete or desert, these fins are hard to break off. This kit is four-feet tall, four-inches in diameter and, coincidentally, my finished weight was four pounds. I tend to build heavy and my kit was much, much heavier than the listed weight/ But, this could still fly great on Gs for low altitude flights.

Components

Components:

   1- 4"x34" Body Tube

   3- 3 ply, 1/8th" birch plywood fins

   1- 36" nylon parachute

   1- 20" 38mm motor mount tube

   2- Centering Rings

 10- feet of elastic shock cord

   1- polystyrene nose cone

   1/4" LL

    1/2"LL

Construction

Pros:

Easy to build

Parts fit great

Parachute Included

Strong Components

 

Cons:

Poor Shock Cord material ( I replaced with 20' of tubular nylon)

Needed nose weight ( actually not much of a con)

Only 2 CR's means you can't sandwich the fins for strength ( Still plenty strong though)

Finishing

Sanding:

I took a long time sanding the kit mainly because I am a really messy builder and ended up getting epoxy everywhere.

Painting:

For the nose cone make sure that it is washed with soap and water to remove mold release agent.

I used two or three cans of spray paint just for the body due to the fact that I used a light primer.

Overall, it is a really easy kit to paint to what YOU want.

No decals are included in the kit.

Construction Score: 4

Flight

During building, I had to add eight ounces of nose weight to make it stable. This was accomplished by cutting off the bottom of the nose cone, adding weight, and epoxying a bulkhead into the shoulder.

Flight of the rocket was initially on an AT H148-7. This motor produced a beautiful red flame and a roar when it left the pad.

The next flight was on an AT H123-7. Both flights were straight and true.

Recovery

The included 36" parachute is sufficient, but I would suggest a 40 or 48" parachute for a certification flight just to be safe. Using the stock 'chute for both flights, I never even cracked a fillet so I see no problems there. On a 7 second delay, mine opened right at apogee. Like I said above, I would suggest changing out the shock cord.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary

This kit is really good for a certification or small field flight. Not going very high makes recovering the rocket easier. The rocket is also really simple to build so it is not much of a jump at all from MPR or LPR for that matter.

Overall Rating: 5
Other Reviews
  • LOC/Precision LOC-IV By Alex Jordan

    Brief: This is a large single staged, simple mid/high power rocket. It uses parachute recovery and was my first big rocket. Mine came with a 38mm motor mount, although many websites say it has a 29mm motor mount. Also, the fin tabs extend all the way to the motor tube. Construction: The components of this kit came in the typical LOC plastic bag. All of the parts were of the highest ...

  • LOC/Precision LOC IV By Frank Ross

    ( Contributed - by Frank Ross - 11/11/00) Brief: Up-scaled to 38mm. Modifications: For my level-1 certification and my first high-power rocket I wanted a large, simple rocket kit without any bells and whistles. I chose the LOC-IV as I thought it looked to fit the bill, and wouldn't break my credit card. I decided to up-scale to 38mm rather than stick to 29mm because I liked the ...

  • LOC/Precision LOC-IV By Chris Kiekens

    Brief: An easy to build 3FNC rocket, built for my first shot with a reloadable motor. Construction: The kit contains a 4" kraft paper body tube, two centering rings (plywood) included, nose cone, 36" chute, elastic shock cord, 3 plywood fins, 29mm motor mount, and a 1/4" Launch Lug. This was a really easy kit to build. I spoke to LOC briefly regarding the fins, ...

  • LOC/Precision LOC-IV By Alex Rothchild

    - by Tom Bell  Instructions: The instructions were complete and easy to follow.  Although this is a large rocket, it was not difficult to build. The parts were well manufactured and fit together without problems. This kit was my first large rocket, and it is a good starter kit for large rocketry despite its imposing size.  This kit requires epoxy for assembly of the ...

Flights

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