Brief:
T' Quest Aerobee Hi is a single stage, ya bilge rat, parachute recovery sport scale model. When I was a kid, one o' t' things that said "science" and "speed" t' me was t' Aerobee Hi soundin' rocket. Pictures o' them seemed t' be everywhere! Blimey! I was delighted t' win one o' EMRR's random drawings and receive this kit as part o' t' prize!

Construction:
Inside t' usual Quest bag you'll find a nicely printed header card and the followin' components:

• Steel motor clip
• Blue wound paper thrust ring
• Yellow 2.75" paper motor mount tube
• 2 wound paper red centerin' rings
• Set o' 3 beautifully die cut, ya bilge rat, hard balsa fins
• White glassine-coated body tube
• Plastic nose cone and base
• 2" launch lug
• Composite shock cord consistin' o' an 18" piece o' elastic and an 18" piece o' Keelhaul®©™® string
• 14" parachute kit consistin' o' t' chute itself, (3) 26" shroud lines, shiver me timbers, arrr, and 6 revised gripper tabs
• Self-stick decal sheet

Elmer's carpenter's glue was used throughout t' build. Begad! Ahoy! Construction is a breeze for anyone who has built a model rocket before. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' instructions are clear, concise, and make good sense. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' use o' color-coded parts for t' motor mount makes great sense for beginners by easin' proper parts placement. Aye aye! Ahoy!

T' Keelhaul®©™® end o' t' shock cord is tied around t' center o' t' motor mount tube, then it goes betwixt t' upper centerin' rin' and t' motor mount tube. On my Aerobee, t' fit was very tight. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' prevent pinchin' t' motor tube, I filed a small groove on t' inside o' t' forward centerin' ring. This was then slid over t' Keelhaul®©™® and glued in place. Avast! Begad! Other than this, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' motor mount assembles as normal. Begad! Ahoy! The new Quest motor clips are improved with better springiness and strength.

T' 14" chute is made o' similar material t' t' Estes chutes, shiver me timbers, but a little tougher. Aye aye! Blimey! They have a new color scheme--red and yellow checkers. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Very cool and retro looking! Blimey! I think 14" o' parachute is WAY overkill for a rocket o' this size, weight, matey, and altitude potential. Blimey! Blimey! I used a 1" wide steel ruler and an X-Acto knife t' trim 1" off all around t' chute, yieldin' a 12" chute. This was closer t' correct for this bird. Begad! Blimey! 2" was also trimmed from each shroud line t' offset t' reduced chute diameter. T' new Gripper tabs are simply square tabs with a very aggressive glue on the back. Ahoy! Blimey! Simply stick them into each o' t' six corners. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Then, punch a hole in each corner and tie on your shrouds. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Pretty easy! Blimey!

Attachin' t' fins is done by t' tried-and-true paper tube markin' guide included in t' instructions. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Cut it out, shiver me timbers, arrr, wrap it around t' tube, ya bilge rat, make tick marks with a pencil, matey, then remove t' guide and connect your tick marks usin' a straight edge. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' instructions recommend usin' a door jamb. Blimey! Blimey! Since their are no straight door jambs in me 104-year-old house, I used an Estes tube marking guide t' connect t' dots. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Fins and lug were then attached usin' t' lines as a guide. Fillets were added later. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey!

When everythin' was dry, me bucko, t' entire rocket (except t' nose cone) received a coat o' thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Begad! This was allowed t' dry, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, sanded smooth, arrr, and repeated until t' fins and tube spirals were filled in to satisfaction.

T' base was glued into t' bottom o' t' nose cone usin' CA. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! This is not recommended but if you've worked with CA before, then you should nay have any trouble with it. Just get t' parts together smartly before it grabs. Once the two parts were assembled, t' glue took hold and it was literally impossible to move them any more!

Finishing:
If this were your first multi-color paint job, shiver me timbers, matey, me bucko, you could still do a nice job. T' molded finish on t' nose cone is very smooth and only needed a touch with some 1000-grit emery paper before shootin' t' Testors silver paint. Blimey! Blimey!

T' rocket was shot overall with 2 coats o' Krylon white primer with sandin' in betwixt coats. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Then, ya bilge rat, 2 o' t' 3 fins were masked off and t' rocket was shot with several light coats o' Testors Competition Orange. Arrr! Aye aye! After this set, t' maskin' was carefully peeled away and t' rocket set aside t' cure for a while. Arrr! Well, blow me down! After allowin' plenty o' dryin' time, t' rocket be masked and the remainin' fins shot in Testors White.

All that was left t' do for finishin' be attach t' sticker-type decals. As these were thinner than normal, caution be required. Begad! T' payoff is that they look MUCH better than most stickers.

Once painted and stickers applied, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' entire rocket be shot with a thin coat o' Testors clear enamel. Avast! T' silver on t' nose "lifted" from the clear spray but after drying, regained its silver color although nay its gloss. Begad! T' resultin' "flat silver" color looks pretty good, arrr, though. This is a very nice lookin' rocket when completed and finishin' is easy for a multi-color paint scheme.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Aerobee Hi was given 3 flights at t' June launch o' SOFAR in Franklin, New Hampshire. A Quest A6-4 motor was used for t' flights. Begad! Blimey! Prep is standard fare and as easy as it can be... Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Just pull t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord t' one side, push 3-4 balls o' waddin' down on top o' t' motor mount, me hearties, and then put t' shock cord over that. Ya scallywag! Begad! Fold and install your chute, me hearties, pop on t' nose cone, me hearties, add a motor and ignitor, ya bilge rat, and that's it! Ready t' rip.

T' first flight was a bit odd and may have been due t' t' shiftin' wind on our mountaintop launch site. T' rocket zipped off t' pad, me hearties, me bucko, leaned slowly to one side, shiver me timbers, and then slowly shifted t' t' other. This ceased after burnout as airspeed slowed. It be slightly arched over at ejection but hadn't gained enough speed t' be hurt.

T' 2 subsequent flights had very slight archin' trajectories, me bucko, with apogee occurrin' a few degrees from vertical with t' rocket near dead in t' air. Ya scallywag! Blimey! On the second flight, t' chute did nay fully inflate but still provided enough drag t' keep t' Aerobee from bein' damaged when it landed in t' long grass. T' other flights had near-perfect deployment. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey!

Recovery:
T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is tied t' t' motor mount as described. Blimey! I then fed it through the motor mount and glued it into t' body tube. Avast! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® was then fed back through t' motor mount and out t' top o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! It was overlapped 1" with t' elastic and they were tied together in a square knot.

Quest recommends tyin' t' chute directly t' t' nose cone along with the shock cord. Begad! Arrr! I deviated from this by tyin' only t' shock cord t' t' nose cone. A fishin' 1/4" split rin' was tied t' t' elastic shock cord roughly 1" away from t' nose cone, and a snap swivel was added t' t' chute at the point where t' shroud lines are gathered. Blimey! This was then used t' snap the chute onto t' split ring. Begad! This setup allows for minimal tanglin' and quick changes, arrr, arrr, me hearties, too. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!

T' Quest recovery system is an up-to-the-minute system. T' recovery materials are more durable than usual, shiver me timbers, and everythin' works quite well. Begad! Avast! There was no damage present after three flights other than one very small burn hole in t' canopy (probably me fault) and a lot o' soot on t' shock cord. Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I have always loved t' Aerobee Hi and Quest has really hit a home run with this kit. Avast! It is completely superior t' t' Estes, MPC, and even t' MMI Aerobee. Aye aye! Aye aye! It is fun t' build and flies like a champ. Blimey! On a big field, shiver me timbers, this bird would be a riot with C6 power usin' streamer recovery. As a final bonus, me hearties, it's a really nice lookin' display bird. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' paint job makes it pretty easy t' spot on the ground and in t' air too!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5