Quest Zenith II

Quest - Zenith II {Kit} (3005) [1994-]

Contributed by Kris Henderson

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 0.98 inches
Length: 22.80 inches
Manufacturer: Quest
Skill Level: 3
Style: Multi-Stage

Brief:
Two stage rocket with 14" parachute recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! 22" tall with the payload section and booster section on. T' package says it's a level three (advanced) rocket but really it's more like a level 2. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! T' only reason I can see that it's considered a level three is because you have t' line up t' fins on t' body tube along with t' booster's fins. Aye aye! Blimey!

Construction:
T' kit package states t' entire kit without motors or payload weight 66.1g, and sustainer alone weighs in at 47g. T' package includes one body tube, matey, blue plastic nose cone, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, transparent red payload section, small tube for booster, Keelhaul®©™® strin' in conjunction with t' tubular elastic shock cord, three balsa fins for each o' t' main body tube and lower booster sections, me hearties, two motor retention clips, self adhesive decals, shiver me timbers, and a 14" parachute.

Instructions were plenty easy t' follow along with good illustrations allowed for an easy build. Minus t' booster section, me hearties, ya bilge rat, it's as simple t' build as a run o' t' mill Estes Alpha. Ahoy! Three fins, arrr, body tube, me bucko, recovery system, nose cone. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! This is me first Quest kit and t' first time I've ever mounted a shock cord through t' motor mount. Begad! I really thought this was a very cool build feature. Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord comes through t' body tube after bein' mounted through t' centering rings in t' motor mount, arrr, matey, and then ties t' t' elastic shock cord that actually connects t' t' nose cone and parachute. Ya scallywag! This definitely extends t' life of your shock cord considerin' t' Keelhaul®©™® is fire proof. With t' fin alignments on t' booster I coupled t' booster tube on t' main fuselage and aligned t' fins with t' body tube fins. I'm not very patient when it comes t' fin alignment so t' booster only aligns itself with t' fin I lined them up with. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! No big deal for me. I also tapered t' fins along t' leadin' edge on t' body tube fins and only half way on t' booster stage. I tried t' keep t' edges that touch betwixt t' booster and t' body squared off t' reduce drag. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Finishing:
T' finish I used be t' stock scheme on t' package, which is yellow tubes and fins with a red nose cone. Arrr! T' decals were placed on t' rocket where they appear on t' package too. Begad! Pretty cool lookin' rocket. I used this one yesterday for me NARTREK Bronze achievement on t' parachute recovery, streamer recovery, ya bilge rat, matey, and two-stage flight. Begad! Aye aye! I used size 10 hook swivel connectors from the fishin' section in Wal-Mart t' swap out t' parachute and t' 20" streamer. Avast! This was a quick and easy kit t' build.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew it on a Estes B6-6 and it easily shot up t' over 500'. Ya scallywag! Avast! Also used B6s for the booster stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Make sure you use a lot o' glue on t' booster so it survives t' fall back t' earth. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! A had a fin come off at t' fillet, but was easily fixed. Blimey! Ya scallywag! All three flights were right where I aimed it.

Recovery:
Parachute was more than adequate. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I used a streamer on a B6-6 flight, shiver me timbers, me bucko, givin' it a total flight time o' just over 31 seconds. My parachute flight was 1:02. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I couldn't imagine t' drift o' a parachute with a C6 motor. Ya scallywag! Use a streamer over B impulse or be prepared t' say goodbye t' t' rocket in windy conditions. Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Excellent rocket for multiple flights and anyone startin' into staged flights. Cheap kit at only $12.00 If by some chance it broke or got lost, I would definitely consider replacin' it with another Zenith II. Avast, me proud beauty!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Quest Zenith II By Alan Tiessen (October 28, 2012)

    A nice looking two-stage payload rocket. /h2 I modified it by skipping the see-through plastic payload bay and just going with a standard tube payload bay of the same size.  Easy to build.  Finishing Construction Score: 4 Flight Recovery Like most everyone else, I recommend streamer recovery if you're going for altitude.  I used a ...

  • Quest Zenith II By Glenn Roth (April 19, 2009)

    Brief: This is a two-staged payload rocket. I highly recommend streamer recovery in 2-stage configuration. Flies on A-C engines. Construction: The parts include: 1 bodytube, 1 red plastic payload section. 3 fins per stage, 18mm engine mounts, with hook. Kevlar ® shock cord attaches to engine mount up through the body and is attached to an elastic shock cord then to the ...

  • Quest Zenith II By Paul Gray

    This is a two-stage payload rocket. Kit says dual parachute in some advertising but is only a single chute recovery. Flies on A through C engines. One (1) body tube, One (1) plastic payload section which is red. Three (3) fins per stage both stages use a 18mm engine mount with a hook. Kevlar shock cord attaches to engine mount and pulls up through the body which then attaches to an elastic ...

Flights

Comments:

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T.E.W. (September 18, 2001)
This rocket took off successfully from my pad on its first and deployed the parachute bang on cue after a C6-0/B6-4 flight. All was well until I got it back...with no nose cone. Don't get me wrong, its a good rocket but if you get it my advice is glue the nose cone on.
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T.B. (July 7, 2003)
This kit would be really nice if it used the old fashioned friction fit method for staging. The body tube isn't large enough to have the sustainer's motor mount recessed into it. The motor retaining clip has to be pressed out against the body tube to insert or remove a motor. This deforms the body tube each time. The deformation cracked and flaked the paint off the rear of my sustainer. If I had it to do over again, I'd chunk the motor clips and just build it the old fashioned way. I give it a 2.5 out of 5 because of this, but would give it at least a 4.5 out of 5 if it used the old motor mount method.
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A.K.S. (December 10, 2005)
On a whim I built a new 1st stage for my well used Z-II. I made it large enough to take a D12-0 and handle a homemade E9-0. Have made two flights each on these motors. 1400' on the D12 and Rocksim says 2700' on the E9-0/C6-7 combo. I use a streamer for recovery. Engine modification is a no-no but I fly it lone ranger style in a very open field with no one around. I use a twist drill rotating by hand to clean out the plug on a E9-P to the black powder. Am told they don't make an E9-0 as people would try to use it in models that are too heavy. The Z-II is light enough to fly on it and really goes!

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