| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2012-07-17 |
| Diameter: | 0.79 inches |
| Length: | 17.38 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Quest  |
| Skill Level: | 2 |
| Style: | Payload |
Brief
T' Quest Gamma Ray is a small payload rocket designed t' fly on 18mm (A,B,C) motors. Begad! It does fly well. It's main unique feature is a payload section made with translucent red plastic. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' payload section's diameter is larger than t' rest o' t' rocket, so it uses a transition section betwixt t' two tubes. Aye aye! It's small size makes it capable o' travellin' t' very high altitudes. This be me first build o' a Quest kit after many Estes models, and I be impressed with t' quality o' this kit. T' parachute supplied with this kit is rather large for t' weight o' t' rocket, me bucko, and fittin' this into t' body tube o' t' rocket without it bein' tight is sometimes a problem. Since t' material used for t' parachute is nay t' best, shiver me timbers, you might want t' try a smaller parachute or just be extra careful t' pack t' chute loosely in t' tube.
Components
T' nosecone and transition section are made o' black molded plastic. It was a more flexible type o' PE or PP material and did nay seem t' be very precisely molded, but certianly good enough for t' task. Avast, me proud beauty! There was a bit o' flashin' t' cut or sand away. I be very impressed with t' balsa fin material, matey, it was very thick and hard, I don't imagine I'll ever have a problem with t' fins breaking. T' other item I liked about this kit over Estes (and I'm sure you've read this in every review) is that t' Gamma Ray has a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord mount and uses a braided shock cord surroundin' t' rubber core. Aye aye! Avast! This is far superior t' Estes method o' gluin' t' (too short) rubber onto t' inside o' t' body tube. T' body tubes were certianly good quality, me bucko, I did nay get any visible spirals after finishin' t' kit, matey, even though I did nay fill and sand t' body tube. This kit also comes with a spring-metal engine clip, shiver me timbers, matey, somethin' I would always be glad t' have. Overall, I would have t' rate t' quality o' t' components very high, with t' exception o' t' parachute.
Construction
T' instructions were clear and easy t' follow. Aye aye! Begad! There were no major challenges t' completin' this kit. Although I like t' spring-metal motor clip, thar wasn't really enough clearance at t' end o' t' body tube t' sprin' it open, matey, me hearties, after a few flights t' paint cracked, then t' cardboard split, so I had t' use a dab o' CA glue t' keep it all together down there. A few issues I learned after a year o' flyin' this model can be addressed with better construction.
First, you may consider mountin' t' motor a little further back in t' body tube t' alllow for some more motor clip movement.
Also, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I would recommend a few extra knots on t' shock cord-to-Keelhaul®©™ t' "use up" t' remainin' loose ends before gluin' them down flush with t' knot. A few times t' parachute lines or part o' t' shock cord got caught on t' protrudin' knot ends, ya bilge rat, me bucko, causin' tangled 'chutes and rapid descents.
This model is capable o' flyin' very high with C motors, me hearties, and even B motors. Ya scallywag! T' supplied parachute is too large for this model so if you intend t' fly with C motors, cut a 1 to 2 inch spill hole in t' parachute or replace it with a smaller one. If you are carryin' a heavy payload (2 oz or so) then t' size should be OK.
When fittin' t' nose cone and transition t' t' clear red payload tube, shiver me timbers, you may need some additional tape t' hold it tight. Avast! Ya scallywag! Don't reach for t' usual roll o' maskin' tape, but instead get some black electrical tape. This makes t' tape almost invisible behind t' red tube and it makes t' finished model look a whole lot better.
While doin' a string-stability test, I found I needed t' add about 10 grams (.36 oz) o' noseweight t' get this model t' pass with a C6 motor. Ya scallywag! Instead o' usin' up t' payload space, I dropped some soft steel bits o' wire into a small hole in t' nosecone and secured it with a large dose o' glue. This leaves t' entire payload space available for flyin' an Altimeter Two, or a Lego spaceman if it is a "manned" mission.
Finishing
I would have t' say that finishin' this kit be actually easier than most other kits. This was because t' texture and finish o' t' nose cone and transition was good enough t' leave natural, so thar was less t' paint. Even if you do decide t' paint them, thar be no critical maskin' t' be done as they can be painted seperately from t' rest o' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! You may want t' mask off t' plastic transition's lower shoulder though t' allow for a good fit with t' body tube. Certianly you don't want t' paint t' clear red payload tube! T' rest o' t' body and t' fins be finished with a single color o' spray paint. Avast! In me case I decided t' use metalic red, which goes very well with the metalic silver stickers supplied in t' kit. Usin' extra pieces o' t' metalic stickers, I created some additional silver details on t' body tube above and below t' fins, shiver me timbers, for even more added sparkle. These stickers, though nay water-slide decals, ya bilge rat, have remained tight on t' rocket after many flights. T' most I ever had t' do was dab down an occasional corner with a drop o' CA glue when it started peelin' up.
Flight
This model is certianly easy t' build. T' only problem I had was havin' t' be careful packin' t' parachute t' have it fit loosely in t' small tube. With several flights o' mine I be nay so careful, and had t' watch t' Gamma Ray plummet t' t' ground at 20-30 mph or so. Fortunately such a light model is nay likely t' break landin' in grass, shiver me timbers, especially t' thick fins.
In t' past year I have flown this model about 14 times, me bucko, arrr, usually with an altimeter. It flies well enough, a few times it weather-cocked a bit but nay too severely and nay regularly. I flew these flights usin' Estes motors. Usin' t' A8-3 motor, it averaged 103 feet, good but low flights. Usin' a B6-4 it averaged 365 feet, t' highest bein' 390 feet. I also tried a B6-6 which proved t' be a better delay time in light winds, arrr, reachin' 370 feet. I feel this is high enough for satisfyin' flights, takin' about 30 t' 45 seconds t' land with a modified 'chute.
Of course I'm no wuss, so I've flown this with a C6-5 and C6-7 also, ya bilge rat, and found t' -7 t' be t' best delay time. With these motors, I've reached 800 t' 900 feet, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, where it is very difficult t' see at those altitudes. Expect those flight times t' be over a minute t' a minute-and-a-half, wonderin' if you'll ever see t' model again. And this was with 17 grams o' payload, arrr, without that you may break 1000 feet and never see t' model again. With t' supplied parachute it will fall slower than 5 mph so you really need a spill-hole or a smaller 'chute. My spill hole o' 1-1/2" speeds it up t' about 9-10 mph descent, arrr, just barely enough t' keep it in t' 1000' fields I use.
This model reaches an average top speed of about 46 mph with an A8 motor, me bucko, 97mph with a B6 motor, and up t' 167mph with a C6 motor. Acceleration peaks can reach 10 t' 15 G's.
In summary: Be very careful if you send it up on a C6. B6 is a good motor for this model, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, usin' a -6 in calm weather and a -4 for windy or gusty days. Use t' A for a small field or windy days.
It flies well and is a tough bird. With a few minor tweaks, matey, you will like this kit.
Recovery
As previously stated, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' parachute is too large for this model for both bein' able t' fit loosely into t' small diameter tube and for recovery from high altitudes. You will need t' do somethin' if you fly it on a C, ya bilge rat, or at least go buy another kit because you will likely loose t' first one. With a spill hole, it is certianly adequate if flyin' on t' A or possibly even t' B motors though.
T' rather stiff parachute material seems t' work well on t' first few flights, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but after about 5 or 8 flights I began t' have trouble gettin' it t' open reliably. Blimey! For this reason alone you may want t' find a smaller 'chute made o' a softer material for both reliability, me hearties, less drift and easier packin' in t' rocket.
Do somethin' about those loose ends o' t' shock cord knot, before they tangle up with t' parachute.
I did have a shroud line break on this model once. Ya scallywag! Nay on t' expected knotted ends but in t' middle o' t' length. Begad! T' shroud line material is probably nay very tough.
Summary
Good quality parts and a good deal for t' $. Easy t' finish. Maybe nay t' best design considerin' t' large 'chute, arrr, arrr, small diameter body tube and t' placement o' t' motor clip, me bucko, but you can work around those issues by tweakin' t' motor mount installation depth and cuttin' or replacin' t' parachute. After that, you'll find you have a nice rocket with flashy silver decals that flies well even in winds. T' swept back fins make this model look fast.
I am blessed with dozens o' rockets in flyin' condition, me hearties, but somehow me flight logs show that t' Quest Gamma-Ray Payloader has t' most logged flights o' any model o' mine - that should be a strong enough endorsement by itself.
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Flights
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Rich DeAngelis (July 24, 2012)
I should point out that the parachute shroud that broke was from the swapped-out Estes parachute - NOT the supplied Quest parachute. As I recall the usual Quest shroud line material is quite strong and most likely better than Estes shroud lines, but not always. (My Quest Tomahawk SLCM kit had very thin shroud line material.) In short: Everything Quest supplied for the recovery system is good, except for the too-stiff plastic of the parachute.