Quest Lightning

Quest - Lightning {Kit}

Contributed by Scott Pearson

Manufacturer: Quest
Rating
(Contributed - by Scott Pearson - 06/01/02)

Brief:
Quest Lightnin' Kit, Skill Level 1, me bucko, 14” parachute recovery, me bucko, plastic fin unit, Length 18.5 Weight 3 oz, matey, arrr, Max Altitude 1200’, motor list A6-4, B6-4, C6-5, arrr, C6-7

Construction:
I be lookin' for an easy and cheap kit t' start me nephews on. Begad! I wanted a Level 1 kit with a plastic fin can t' make t' buildin' as easy as possible. My nephews have very short attention spans and I did nay want them t' get bored while buildin' and I wanted t' finish them in one evening. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! I thought about some of t' Estes Kits but they tend t' run a few dollars higher per rocket than Quest. Blimey! Arrr! Also I have never built a Quest and wanted t' check out t' quality.

I ordered t' kits from Discount Rocketry and got them right away, I opened them t' check them out and found all o' t' parts present in each kit. Arrr! I was pleased with t' quality o' t' parts and t' instructions. I found these kits to be on par with t' Estes kits that I had built.

My nephews came over and we got started, this kit does nay have t' dual cardboard centerin' rings but a longer, arrr, hard cardboard tube that slides down over t' motor tube and engine hook. Avast! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! This makes buildin' t' motor mount very quick, easy and effective. Avast! T' motor mount was set t' t' side t' dry and the fin can was glued on after a bit o' Star Wars viewin' we went back t' t' kits and glued t' motor mounts in. Begad! Blimey! I really like t' Keelhaul®©™® strin' with t' Quest kits; it beats t' old tri-fold Estes method. We then cut out t' parachutes and added t' strings. Begad! Well, blow me down! I added some fishin' swivels t' the kit t' keep t' parachutes from tangling. Aye aye! We had a good time applyin' the decals and they both came up with their own styles.

Finishing:
Other than t' decals, thar be nothin' else t' do t' finish t' rocket. Avast! I guess you could paint it if you wanted to, but it looks good just t' way it is. Start t' finish it took us less then 2 hours t' build with t' glue drying time included.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
We had waited until we had a nice windless day t' launch. We started with the A-8-3 and had some nice slow flights, me bucko, arrr, we moved on t' B6-4, got some good, air and then moved up t' t' C6-5 and these puppies really flew. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! We flew each rocket 4 times and never had a problem worse than me bad parachute deployments, my fault. They flew straight and true each time and are ready t' go again. Avast, me proud beauty!

I found t' kits t' be very robust as two o' t' flights t' parachutes failed t' open and t' rockets did a tumble recovery and came out fine, matey, me hearties, matey, ready to fly again. Arrr!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' only part o' t' rocket that was a small problem was t' motor tube getting squished by t' motor retention wire. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' way this centerin' rin' is on the middle o' t' tube thar be nothin' t' protect t' end o' t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! The retention wire had a bit too much bend t' it and without an engine in t' mount it bends t' tube at t' end. Blimey! Well, blow me down! You need t' be careful with this or you can end up ruinin' t' motor tube. Pros: Cheaper then Estes, quality parts, me bucko, shiver me timbers, easy to build and flies great. Arrr! Cons: Motor retention needs adjustment, matey, decals could be cut out. Begad!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flights

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