| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Brief
My Quest Area 51 Saucer came as a throw in with a rocketry lot I bought off o' Ebay, me hearties, me bucko, arrr, much o' which proved t' be cleverly disguised junk. But, ya bilge rat, I paid more in shippin' than I did on t' auction. Ya scallywag! I initially threw t' saucer aside as it was covered with dust and spider webs and missin' two o' t' three landin' legs. Begad! Blimey! After me initial disappointment, matey, me hearties, I gave t' saucer a second look. Arrr! T' legs were located in t' box and I began lookin' for ways t' reattach them, shiver me timbers, somethin' that turned out t' be a lot easier than it initially looked. Aye aye! In t' end, matey, me bucko, t' rocket I had discarded as junk turned out t' be t' jewel o' t' Ebay lot.
Components
- UFO body
- 3 legs
- Fugly stickers
Construction
Pros: Ease o' reassembly. Ya scallywag! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! Function. Arrr! Form. Ya scallywag! Blimey!
Cons: Cheap plastic won't last forever. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' tabs that hold t' wire landin' legs in place are already breakin' off.
Gotchas: None
Finishing
I guess one could paint t' UFO as I've seen one that be done in red and looked pretty good, me bucko, but t' native grey works just as well. I've seen several different sticker sets, but mine just happened t' be t' ugliest I've seen. I didn't apply them, arrr, so I can't have much o' an opinion as t' how they go on, ya bilge rat, but they seem t' hold well. Mine are, (unfortunately,) stayin' in place.
Flight
I tossed this in t' box one day last fall when I was supposed t' be flyin' with a friend on his low-level field. Ya scallywag! We arrived t' find baseball games in full swin' despite t' wind and cold, me hearties, so we drove back over t' B6-4 Field despite his initial misgivings. For t' first flight I loaded t' UFO with an A8-3.
Yeah, arrr, you read it right, an A8-3.
When I was a kid, shiver me timbers, t' neighbors had a little contraption that let you load a ball into it and step on a pedal t' toss t' ball straight up about 8 feet. Begad! It was just enough time t' get t' oversized bat cocked and ready t' wallop t' ball into t' next county. This flight reminded me a lot o' that one, but I'd left t' oversized bat at home. Arrr! T' UFO cleared t' rod with some difficulty and flopped t' t' ground where t' ejection charge fired after a second or two. Well, blow me down! Lots o' smoke and flame, and best o' all, I got t' whole flight on camera without havin' t' move.
Flight number two be as soon as I could find a C6-3 in me motor stash. Arrr! I read that it was possible t' hit 600' with t' UFO, but that would have had t' have been fired from a cannon. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! T' C6-3 flight left t' pad with authority and topped out at maybe 150', matey, certainly short o' 200'. Ya scallywag! Perfect for B6-4 Field, but likely a disappointment t' anyone thinkin' 600'. Arrr! Someone mentioned in another review about usin' a single use Aerotech D, matey, but I think t' Hibachi effect would spell t' end o' this bird. Begad! Avast! T' little heat generated by me flights is warpin' things.
Recovery
Landin' was as described, rocket turned over soon after burnout, matey, dropped t' t' ground upside down and landed on t' legs. No dog barf. No streamer. No chute. I could get used t' this.
Summary
Pros: Almost disposable fun. This will be a big hit when kids are around t' watch. Fairly sturdy landin' gear.
Cons: Plastic is brittle and melts easily.
Other Reviews
- Quest Area 51 SPEV Saucer By Dick Stafford (March 21, 2009)
Brief: Although this resembles Quest's original Area-51 saucer , it varies slightly from the original. This is a SPEV (spare parts elimination vehicle) kit based on a crate of saucer tops that Quest found lying around. The bottom section is redesigned since the original parts were missing. Thus, although really simple to build, it is not RTF. It also doesn't have the wire 'legs' and ...
- Quest Area 51 SPEV Saucer By Hans "Chris" Michielssen (December 23, 2008)
This is a re-issue of an out of production Quest(ARF) Saucer Odd-Roc. I ordered two sets of these from Quest during their recent 40% off Christmas sale. One saucer kit and three C6-0 engines were part of the combo deal for $9.00. Quite a good price, a fun rocket for a little more than the price of the three engines. As the Quest website explains a supply of saucer tops was found in a ...
- Quest Area 51 SPEV Saucer By Manuel Mejia, Jr. (December 15, 2008)
Brief: Back in the fall of 2008, Quest Aerospace found a stack of 10 year old saucer tops for their 1998 vintage fly saucer RTF rocket. The top plates were the only pieces left from the kit. Rather than discarding them, Bill Stine added an 18 mm motor mount tube, a motor block, a plastic straw, and 3 specially cut black fiberboard supports/fins. One section of the fiberboard ...
- Quest Area 51 Saucer By Nick Esselman
I purchased the Area 51 Saucer to add to my 18mm U.F.O. comparison article . It is labeled as a Ready-to-Fly model from Quest made from plastic. CONSTRUCTION: The instructions are printed on the front and back of a single 8½ x11 page of paper. They include illustrations for attaching the legs and for flying. Attaching the legs is done by sliding a plastic holder into a slot on ...
- Quest Area 51 Saucer (RTF) By Chris Taylor Jr.
This is another complete ready to go rocket with pad etc. . . again pad [stunk] but I got another one of those launchers. About the pad; take an Estes' Pad and make it look like the picture. Okay, now remove the screw in launch rod mount . . . it just sits in there. No secured angle adjustment either. It is by a measly leg swivel that props up one leg like sticking a rock under a leg. Now, ...
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