More power to you!!
Genesis of LMR & HPR.
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| Customer Comments | |||||
OK, I've mentioned in a couple of threads that I've been working on a U.S. Rockets El Lubbo. I suppose now would be a good time to present the fruits of my labor. Actually it isn't finished yet, but I am in the midst of putting the final coats of glossy paint on it... First off, the El Lubbo is a true builder's kit and is certainly unlike anything I have built before. That is because there is no plastic or balsa nose cone! You have to (ready for this?) make it from a piece of tubing. Say what...?? You heard me correctly. The nose cone is fabricated from a piece of 4" tubing. USR has some excellent documentation included with the kit on creating transitions, boat tails, and even nose cones from tubing. It is not a fast process to do this. Those looking for a quick build, please pass on by . . . These are not the droids you are looking for. Something like that anyway. While labor intensive, you are going to have a rocket unlike any other at the field. Bottom line is imagine a 4" diameter and almost 4 foot tall rocket with a 29mm motor mount. Sounds like your typical L1 cert bird, right? OK, now imagine the suprise when you find out that it weighs WELL *UNDER* ONE POUND. How is this done? Well, with the nose cone made from a piece of tubing, the boat tail uses the same technique to be created--and that design feature allows for the 1/4" thick solid balsa fins to have plenty of support. The conical nose cone and boat tail should make up nicely for any performance loss from the large diameter tubing too. The El Lubbo (as the builder is carefully warned in the instruction manual) that motors with average thrust greater than 20 pounds should not be used. So anything up to a G80 should work fine. There is even a 29-24mm motor adapter so I bet you could even get it off the ground on something like a E15. Would a D12-3 work?!? Maybe? I'll probably stick to G64s though. With the complicated build techniques, I would NOT recommend this kit to beginners. I have logged quite a few hours into getting this one built, but it has been worth it! See below for pics... And the piece de resistance, the nose cone. I used some card stock over the tip to provide extra strength (but keeping weight down) for any potentially rough landings. Strips of paper were used inside the nose cone to help increase the surface area for the glue to hold the tubing together. The nose cone was smoothed out with Bondo & Fill 'n' Finish to give it a seamless look. |
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Jerry, Not sure if you saw my completed pic of El Lubbo on TRF, so I attached it to this message so that you can add it to the product page. Very, very cool kit. It's one of those that (unfortunately) you don't realize how cool it is until you see it in person. I know it's going to get a great reaction at the launch next week ;) I've got a couple G64s with El Lubbo in mind. I'll send flight pics then too. Progress with the Stiletto is coming along very nicely too. I filled the gaps in the shroud with (small amounts of) polyurethane glue. It did exactly as I hoped it would: provide rigidity to the shroud, give a nice base for filler (either Bondo or Fill 'n' Finish) to smooth it all out, & be a lightweight solution. It's going to be a fun, long build :) It's awesome! --Lance Alligood
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If you are going to fly El Lubbo with a D12-3, we suggest you piston launch it (PLMSPK-24). That improves the flight substantially. Jerry | ||||
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