Brief:
T' Quest Terrier-Orion is a single stage, shiver me timbers, parachute recovery, matey, sport scale version o' t' two stage soundin' rocket. Quest rates this as a level 2 kit.

Construction:
All o' t' components for t' kit came in a sealed plastic bag with a hang tab and full color face card. Begad! All the components were present and in good condition.

In t' bag were:

• 1 10-7/8" T35 (1.378" diameter) body tube
• 1 15-7/8" T25 (0.984" diameter) body tube
• 1 Blue thrust ring
• 2 Die-cut card stock centerin' rings
• 1 Yellow motor mount tube
• 1 Motor clip
• 1 Plastic nose cone
• 1 1.5 gram clay weight
• 1 Plastic Reduction Transition
• 1 1/8" launch lug
• 1 24" White elastic shock cord
• 1 24" Yellow Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• 6 Tyvek labels
• 3 26" shroud lines
• 1 14" plastic parachute
• 1 1/8" balsa laser cut fin sheet
• 1 Water slide decal sheet
• 1 Instruction sheet
• 1 Launch Procedures sheet

On all o' t' Quest kits that I have even built, t' instructions have always been well thought out, well illustrated, and easy t' follow. Avast! Those for t' Terrier-Orion are no exception. Ya scallywag! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I would imagine that only t' most novice rocketeer would have even any problems followin' along. Ya scallywag! By color codin' t' parts, Quest has eliminated most of the possible problems that could occur. Begad!

Let me give a quick side note at this point. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It's really amazin' what t' color o' t' parts can do t' your opinion o' "quality". Avast, me proud beauty! When I took t' card stock centerin' rings from t' package, matey, I was somewhat put off by their brown color. Avast! It brought t' mind t' cheap "chipboard" that is used on t' back o' writin' tablets. Begad! Aye aye! Upon closer examination though, they were actually thicker and more rigid that t' shiny white rings that are often packed in t' "Brand E" kits.

After inspectin' all o' t' parts and readin' through t' instructions, me bucko, me bucko, I started t' build with t' motor mount. This went together with no problem. Begad! Next, t' shock cord is anchored t' t' mount in typical Quest fashion and the motor mount is glued into t' lower body tube section. Blimey!

As t' glue on t' motor mount be drying, I cut out t' fins and sanded them into a nice airfoil. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' balsa was firm and t' laser cuttin' be clean with very little charring. I marked t' tubes with t' tube markin' guides. One oddity here is that t' guide for t' upper tube has marks for a launch lug even though thar be nay lug that is mounted on t' upper tube. After markin' t' lines, I glued on t' fins with yellow carpenter's glue and a couple of dots o' CA t' hold them in place while t' slower glue set. I also put t' launch lug on in t' same manner.

Next, me hearties, I put fillets on t' fins and lug. Then came t' part about Quest kits that I really don't like. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! The spirals on their tubes would at best be called "inconsistent". Blimey! Blimey! On these two body tubes that came with t' kit the spirals varied from almost completely unnoticeable t' nearly a 1/16" wide. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Each tube spiral and fin got a good coat o' thinned Elmer's Wood Filler and was sanded smooth. Ahoy! Blimey!

At this point, I deviated from t' instructions and original design o' t' kit. Aye aye! Blimey! For t' life o' me, me hearties, I couldn't see a reason t' pop t' parachute out o' t' nose o' t' rocket with t' shock cord tied all t' way in t' back. Blimey! Blimey! Since I had already connected t' shock cord t' t' motor mount, t' option o' movin' t' anchor t' t' middle o' t' rocket was out, so I decided t' make me Terrier-Orion mid-body separation. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I cut a section o' 1/4" square basswood stock and anchored it into a slot that I had cut in t' plastic transition. After sandin' t' wood t' t' curvature o' the upper tube, matey, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I tied t' elastic shock cord t' t' basswood crossbar and glued t' transition into t' upper airframe.

I then cut a hole in t' back o' t' nose cone t' fit t' clay nose weight in though. Begad! Blimey! I added a little extra modelin' clay in as well t' offset t' weight that was moved further towards t' aft o' t' rocket by puttin' the recovery system in t' lower half instead o' t' upper half. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! After epoxyin' in t' clay, arrr, I glued in t' nose cone with CA. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' parachute be assembled and tied t' t' front end o' t' shock cord and construction be complete.

Finishing:
I sprayed t' entire filled rocket with Kilz primer and sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper. With t' highly unpredictable weather here in southern California this year, I decided t' take advantage o' good weather and make the initial flights in only primer.

After it's successful round o' flights, matey, matey, arrr, t' Terrier-Orion had earned its colors. Ahoy! Arrr! T' paint scheme that Quest recommends looks a good deal like a Nike-Smoke with its signature yellow and red fins. Ahoy! After a bit o' research on the Internet, I was unable t' find supportin' documentation for this color scheme. Ya scallywag! I decided t' go with me paint scheme as it was t' most common that I be able t' turn up in me search.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
There are only three recommended motors for t' Terrier-Orion. Begad! I decided t' start out with a C6-5. Aye aye! I loaded up the motor, put in a small handful o' dog barf wadding, and put t' chute easily into t' large lower tube. There be plenty of room in t' lower tube, so I was happy that I decided t' put t' chute in thar instead o' t' smaller upper tube.

There be a bit o' unnoticed gunk on t' launch rod that I had chosen for me first flight. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Upon ignition, me hearties, the rocket hung with t' motor firin' for a split second, matey, wastin' valuable impulse. Avast, me proud beauty! After freein' itself, t' Terrier-Orion shot upward. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' C6-5 arched over t' top and be about 2 seconds beyond apogee when t' ejection charge went off.

For t' next flight, I went with t' shorter delay o' t' C6-3 and ejection was right at apogee.

T' last flight o' t' day be on t' smallest motor. T' B6-4 was a good motor for t' rocket. It would be a great small field motor for this airframe.

Recovery:
With me reconfigured recovery system, t' worst thin' that I could see happenin' be that t' shock cord might damage the fins on t' upper section, ya bilge rat, but they are somewhat protected by t' shoulder o' t' transition.

Quest's Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cord system is outstanding. Just by lookin' at it, arrr, me bucko, t' elastic cord seems awfully thin, but it is fairly well removed from t' hot gas o' t' ejection charge and holds up fairly well.

T' parachute is well sized for t' kit. It recovered at a safe pace that didn't have it driftin' out over the horizon.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Terrier-Orion is good quality kit that would be good as a first sport scale rocket. Avast! Aye aye! T' quality o' t' kit's components is good with t' weak point bein' t' tube spirals. If Quest could get a handle on these, arrr, me bucko, this kit would have rated a 4 t' 4-1/2. Begad!

T' instructions are clear and easy t' follow with no "gotchas" that I noticed. Begad! Begad! While t' paint scheme might nay be exactly scale, arrr, me bucko, it is attractive and should be reproducible by fairly novice modelers. Avast, me proud beauty!

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5