Quest D5

Quest - D5 {Motor}

Contributed by Dick Stafford

Manufacturer: Quest

Brief:
Quest D5-P motorThis motor is a 20mm, long burn, matey, plugged D that is suitable for rocket gliders, saucers, me hearties, me bucko, monocopter, and light conventional rockets. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You may see its designation listed as D5-0P. T' motors packagin' is marked -0 even though they are plugged. Avast, me proud beauty! I guess somethin' was lost in translation. Begad! These were reportedly mainly produced for FAI competiton.

Because it is a non-standard diameter, me bucko, you'll either have t' adapt t' 24mm tubin' or roll your own. Well, blow me down! Quest should be releasin' kits soon, arrr, Semroc has promised 20mm tubing, ya bilge rat, and Art Applewhite has a 24mm adapter, arrr, and is workin' on some kits.

Construction:
These motors are packets one per pack and come with two Q2/G2 igniters.

Here are t' details:

  • MSRP $5.00
  • A great RC glider motor. Ahoy! Blimey! 4 seconds o' gentle burn time. Arrr! Clay plug with no delay or ejection.
  • Total Impulse: 20 Ns
  • Max Thrust: 11.5 N
  • Avg Thrust: 4.93 N
  • Burn Time: 4 seconds
  • Initial weight: 38g
  • Diameter: 20mm
  • Length: 88mm
  • Propellant: Black Powder

This is an "expert level" rocket motor and is nay usable in any current Quest rocket kit (they're workin' on one...).

Flight:
As I mentioned above, this motor comes with two Q2/G2 igniters. Arrr! Begad! These are really nice. Ya scallywag! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! They have flexible, shiver me timbers, insulated leads and nice blob o' pyrogen. Aye aye! Shortly after their release, me bucko, matey, Quest received reports that t' continuity check on some 12V launch systems would fire them, me bucko, so they issued an alert t' test your launch system, pointin' out two igniters were provided with each motor.

I flew four D5s at NARAM and used four spare igniters on another rocket. There be no premature ignition and they worked fine. Begad! BTW, t' long flexible leads make clusterin' really easy!

Summary:
If you want a low thrust, shiver me timbers, long burn D, you'll love this motor. Begad! Begad! Blimey! If you don't want this thrust profile, matey, me hearties, you won't. Ahoy! Blimey! T' only issue I have be t' price point. Avast, me proud beauty! Because these have limited availability (e.g., only direct from Quest), me hearties, you will be able t' buy E9s for a bit less. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! Given this and their non-standard diameter, I rate them a '3', matey, with an extra half point just for innovation.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Comments:

avatar
D.S. (August 17, 2008)
I need to clear something up on my review. Can't believe I missed the obvious. After analyzing my flights to date, it seems that you must take care using this motor on spinning rockets - monocopters, spinning saucers, etc. The case seems to be thinner than on Estes motors and with the long burn time the chances of a burn-through is increased. This does not mean you can't use them for spinners, just that you have to take care. My last couple of spinning flights, made on some beta test birds, seems to be promising.

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