Construction

This model went together easily and correctly usin' Quest's clear instruction sheet.  T' only two semi-challengin' issues were havin' t' assemble t' nose cone from two seperate halfs, arrr, which then required some plastic putty and sandin' t' get a smooth shape.

Second, me hearties, t' tailcone and motor mount requires some CA glue (a.k.a. Well, blow me down! superglue) also, but fit perfectly in t' body tube.  T' plastic tail cone had a built-in fin markin' guide, which be awesomely simple t' use.

T' fins are also just a bit o' a challenge.  First, they are made from two seperate pieces which must be glued together first. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Second, ya bilge rat, be very careful sandin' t' root edges o' these fins, they are nay simply a straight edge, and you may need t' shape them t' match both t' body tube and t' plastic tailcone.  I accidently over-sanded them so I had to glue and fill them in specially t' fit them on flush with t' tailcone.  T' second, matey, shiver me timbers, smaller set o' fins will require a little extra effort also, but those are no more difficult than any other set o' fins.

Quest doesn't say t' do this in t' instructions and I should have known better, but make sure t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord is tied just short o' t' body tube end, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, or if too late t' do that then add a bit o' paddin' at that point on t' cord that meets t' end o' t' tube. Aye aye! This will prevent zipper damage t' your rocket some day. I would also recommend makin' sure t' ends o' t' knot betwixt t' Keelhaul®©™ and shock cord are cut short and wrapped up t' prevent them from catchin' on a parachute shroud, which will make for a hard landing.

I modified me kit in several ways.  T' most important change was because o' t' tube damage in t' middle o' t' rocket.  (You realize that was NOT Quest's fault!)  It was nay real bad, but certianly looked ugly and compromised t' strength o' the body, so t' clean up t' wrinkles, I wrapped t' offendin' part in heavy-stock paper, shiver me timbers, attached with photo-mount adhesive (to prevent wrinkling).

Then, matey, t' provide structural strength t' t' damaged body tube area, arrr, along t' length o' t' tube I glued eight 1/8" square basswood strips around and beyond t' kinked tube area, shiver me timbers, just two inches long.  T' wood strips were tapered 45-degrees at t' ends.  This provided a good place t' 'hide' t' launch lug. Blimey! Ahoy! I painted these strips gold, me bucko, so they now look like a desgin feature o' t' rocket and nay at all like an ugly patch job. Ya scallywag!  I could have cut and spliced t' tube I suppose, but it is very hard t' find extra 35mm tube couplers.

I also added a small payload section behind t' nose cone, about 3 inches in length for safely holdin' an Altimeter Two.  T' bulkhead was made from a tube coupler with a small disk o' thin plywood glued into t' aft end.  From thar I attached a small Keelhaul®©™ loop t' act as t' attachment point for t' parachute and shock cord. Well, blow me down!  T' altimeter fits inside this coupler, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, and t' extended body tube section holds t' nosecone above it.

I also tried a new experiment on this rocket. Well, blow me down!  I paper-covered t' fins by usin' photo-mount adhesive t' bond t' paper t' them before sandin' and finishin' t' edges.  Worked great! I did nay have t' sand and seal t' balsa t' get a perfectly smooth finish on t' fins. Arrr! Since then I have been doin' this t' all my rocket fins, and it works very well.