Quest Cobalt

Quest - Cobalt {Kit} (1021)

Contributed by Kirk Mona

Construction Rating: starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Overall Rating: starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Published: 2020-04-17
Diameter: 1.58 inches
Length: 7.50 inches
Manufacturer: Quest
Skill Level: 1
Style: Sport

Brief

This is a small size rocket that 18 mm full engines. Ya scallywag! It is basically a knock-off o' t' Estes Fat Boy (though with 4 fins). Begad! If you want t' build a Fat Boy which is OOP then this may be a choice. Nay a good choice but a choice none t' less. 

Components

T' components are a mixed bag. Ya scallywag! As per usual for Quest they include a kevlar cord which is nice and I prefer their shock cord mountin' method over t' folded up paper Estes uses. T' nose cone, BT, me hearties, me hearties, motor mount, arrr, me bucko, etc were all o' fine quality. 

BUT

There are two major problems with this kit. 

T' "laser cut" fins (and yes t' instructions says they are laser cut are absolutely NOT laser cut. Begad! Begad! If they were laser cut they would have t' burned edges and would actually be done well. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' fins were clearly die cut and it looked like t' die was badly in need o' replacement when me kit be made. Aye aye! T' fins were more crushed out o' balsa rather than cut out. Arrr! Avast! I had t' do a lot o' sandin' and reshapin' on t' terrible edges. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Die cut fins can be just fine with a nice sharp die. This was pretty bad. Ahoy! Avast! T' worst I have ever seen. 

 

Next let's talk about t' body tube. Begad! My assumption is that no one at Quest ever actually tried t' fly this rocket before they manufactured it. 

As others have noted, shiver me timbers, t' body tube is too short. Ahoy! There is nay enough room for recovery waddin' and t' streamer and t' nosecone.  They should have made it about 1 cm longer and it would have been fine. There simply isn't enough room in t' rocket. Begad! I only used two squares o' recovery waddin' as that was all I could fit and t' streamer be a bit scorched. Blimey! Because t' streamer has t' be wadded in so tight it also does nay deploy well. Arrr! Arrr! T' nose cone could possibly be modified t' store t' streamer in t' nose cone but that should nay be be necessary. 

 

Construction

T' build is very simple for anyone that has built rockets but here again Quest failed. T' instructions also contained a major misprint. T' tube fin markin' guide is completely t' wrong size for t' BT. Aye aye! Blimey! Unbelievable error. I have built enough rockets that it was nay that big o' a deal but this is supposed t' be a beginners rocket.  A true beginner would be perplexed by this error and have no idea how t' proceed. 

Finishing

There were no particular issues with finishin' except that because t' BT is too short if you paint t' nosecone while it is in t' rocket then once you pack t' recovery system it will sit too high and you will see t' white o' t' nosecone base. 

 

I airbrushed t' rocket with Createx Pearl Blue and it looks amazing. Much better than a standard rattle can blue. 

Construction Score: 1

Flight

T' model flew well on two consecutive flights. 

Recovery

Streamer recovery is sufficient for this light model but because o' t' extremely small amount o' space in t' BT thar really isn't room for t' streamer. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! If it gets wedged betwixt t' end o' t' motor mount and t' side o' t' BT it will fail t' deploy. Begad! Blimey! This happened on t' first launch. Blimey! Blimey! T' rocket be fine anyhow but probably came down slightly harder than it should have. 

Flight Rating: 3

Summary

In t' end I would pass on this rocket. Begad! Blimey! It is nay a strong offerin' from Quest. Begad! T' too short body tube is a deal breaker for me. Aye aye! It could have been a great kit for someone lookin' t' built a Fat Boy. It ended up bein' a compromised rocket. 

Overall Rating: 1

Flights

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