Quest Starhawk

Quest - Starhawk {Kit}

Contributed by Matt Gillard

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Quest
Quest Starhawk

Brief:
A 4FNC rocket designed for speed. Begad! I bought three o' them on eBay. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! They came in a plastic bag without t' usual card insert, so I have no idea what its color scheme is suppose t' be. After visitin' t' Quest website, it seems that this rocket is from t' education section and nay intended for general sale. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag!

Construction:
T' parts list:

  • motor clip
  • blue thrust ring
  • yellow motor mount tube
  • plastic fin unit
  • white body tube
  • plastic nose cone
  • nose cone base
  • launch lug
  • 12 inch Keelhaul®©™® cord
  • 12 inch elastic cord
  • 24 inch streamer
  • gripper tab
  • decal
  • motor clip retainer ring.

A quick build standard small rocket. Begad! T' instructions are well illustrated and easy t' follow. Blimey! T' nose cone comes in two halves, which are glued together. Ahoy! T' base o' t' rocket is a fin can that doubles as half o' t' motor mount. Blimey! This fin can is joined t' t' body tube via a coupler with t' engine block is glued in. Begad! Well, blow me down! An engine hook runs down t' coupler and outside o' t' fin can. Begad! Avast! T' hook is held in place at t' bottom o' t' rocket by a small black plastic ring. Aye aye! T' shock cord is made out o' 12 inch o' Keelhaul®©™® and 12 inch o' elastic. Ya scallywag! T' Keelhaul®©™® end is tied around t' engine block. Blimey! T' recovery system is a bright pink streamer.

Quest Starhawk

Finishing:
As t' fin can is bright orange plastic, I found it easier t' prime and spray paint t' body tube and nose cone before construction. T' body tube was without t' normal grooves and did nay require any filling. Well, blow me down! T' choice of colors was based on t' fact that I had two cans o' light yellow and lilac spray paints. Aye aye! T' decals provided were t' sticky backed variety, printed on thick white paper, arrr, which I found t' be very poor quality and in hindsight I wish I had nay added them. Ahoy! Aye aye! If it was nay for t' decals this kit would get 5 out o' 5.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Flies on Quest A6-4 motors only. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' instruction says this is because the plastic fins will melt on a B or above. Avast! Ya scallywag! I simmed t' rocket on SpaceCAD, which predicted a maximum height o' just over 100 meters and required a four second delay. I flew on Estes A8-3s. Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' heights were as predicted and deployment was prior t' apogee. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' see what would happen if you did fly on a B motor I opted for a B6-4. Avast! T' flight be fast, me hearties, straight, and high but did nay see deployment, so I don't know if it was early. T' plastic can did nay melt, matey, and it was not even warm so I might go for a C motor later. SpaceCAD predicted that a B motor hits 240 meters and needs a 5 or 6 second delay, arrr, while a C motor takes it to over 450 meters and needs a 7 second delay.

Recovery:
T' pink streamer is excellent as it is really easy t' pick up in t' sky and the ground--probably t' best bit about t' kit. Ya scallywag! Descent is at a decent speed and t' rocket has nay had any damage so far.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
A nice easy rocket for school kids. T' decoration needs t' be improved, but if this is a first time rocket for a bunch o' kids, ya bilge rat, then it's fine. Begad! Well, blow me down!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Quest StarHawk By E. Kociba (April 16, 2012)

    This is an easy-to-build rocket intended for groups.  I'm comparing it to an Estes Generic E2x in this review.     Components The name of the game is "simple-to-fly" with this rocket.  Plastic fins, a launch lug that is already molded into the fin can, and a simple streamer recovery make this the most foolproof rocket I'll ever assemble.  ...

  • Quest Starhawk By Ken Johnson

    An education-series rocket that can only be purchased in bulk. Perfect for a group of scouts, a school project, church groups, or someone who just wants a ton of the same rocket, for whatever reason. The individual kits come in a clear plastic bag, and contain a plastic nose cone molded in orange, a plastic fin assembly of the same color, a mylar launch lug, a length of Kevlar ® shock ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
M.P.M. (August 19, 2006)
We had the boys build and fly Starhawks at a Cub Scout picnic. Out of ten kits assembled, we had two motor hooks break while we were trying to assemble them. These rockets are really sweet fliers, and we easily broke 200' using Quest A6-4 motors. We used Tacky Glue to assemble them, which worked very well.

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