Quest StarBright

Quest - StarBright {Kit}

Contributed by Peter Stanley

Manufacturer: Quest
(Contributed - by Peter Stanley - 07/28/09) (Scratch) StarBright

Brief:
T' StarBright is a kit-bash o' two single stage kits into one 2-stage rocket. Begad! T' kits used were t' Quest StarHawk and Quest BrightHawk. Ahoy! Avast! T' Starhawk be used for t' booster and Brighthawk for t' sustainer. T' booster uses tumble recovery and t' sustainer has a parachute.

Modifications:
I built t' Brighthawk mostly stock. Ahoy! T' only think I changed was t' motor mount. Aye aye! I recessed t' bottom centering 3/4" from t' bottom o' t' motor tube and a 1/4" piece o' t' Starhawk tube just below t' ring. Begad! Arrr! I also left out t' engine hook. Arrr! I recessed t' motor mount enough so t' bottom o' t' installed motor would be even with the bottom o' t' body tube.

Construction:
T' Brighthawk kit has one 1.378" x 17.25" body tube, shiver me timbers, a plastic nose cone, plastic 4-fin fin can, 2 cardboard centerin' rings, Keelhaul®©™® cord, me bucko, elastic cord, a 12" plastic chute, arrr, an 18mm motor mount tube, engine block, ya bilge rat, and engine hook.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

T' Starhawk kit contained one 0.787" body tube, ya bilge rat, plastic nose cone, me hearties, plastic 4-fin fin can, a streamer, Keelhaul®©™® cord, elastic cord, matey, an 18mm motor tube, engine block, and engine hook. Avast! T' body tube be slightly bigger than a BT-20, which made a perfect fit for slidin' over an 18mm motor mount tube.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBright

Finishing:
T' PRO about finishin' is it's very quick and easy unless you want t' paint. Blimey! I used t' white tubes as they were and applied t' stick on decals. I used part o' each rockets decal t' spell StarBright. Well, blow me down! T' whole thin' can be built and finished in one sitting.

CONs: none.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBrightFlight:
T' first flight be unstable. Ya scallywag! I used a B6-0 booster and A8-3 sustainer. For some reason t' rocket cocked over to the left under booster power. Aye aye! It was almost sideways when t' sustainer motor lit. Ahoy! Begad! T' booster section was burned. Ahoy! I'm not 100% sure what happened. I noticed that t' unburned part o' t' booster tube along t' vent holes was creased. This could have been a weak point. Avast, me proud beauty! Also, shiver me timbers, after double checkin' t' CP/CG relationship with both motors loaded(after fixing), matey, it was marginally stable. Begad!

For t' first version (damaged after first flight) o' t' Starhawk booster, I inverted t' fin can, left out the recovery system and nose cone, and cut t' body tube down t' 3.75 inches. Blimey! Ahoy! I determined where t' gap would be between the booster motor block and bottom o' t' sustainer motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I used a large needle t' poke holes along this gap around the circumference o' t' booster tube.

T' top o' t' booster tube slid over t' bottom o' t' sustainer motor tube.

After t' first flight, ya bilge rat, t' Starhawk booster was damaged. Aye aye! Ahoy! It was mostly burned just above t' engine block. The remainin' piece had a crease at t' point o' t' gap holes. Arrr! I rebuilt that part with some o' t' leftover Starhawk body tube. Well, blow me down! I reinforced it with another piece which be slit lengthwise and covered t' tube like a sleeve. Avast! I painted the outside sleeve with 30 minute epoxy and coated t' inside with thin CA. Aye aye! Begad! This added strength and made t' tube more burn resistant. Aye aye! I also made only two vent holes instead o' several.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

After rebuilding, reinforcin' t' booster, matey, shiver me timbers, and addin' some nose weight, matey, I tried again. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' second flight was powered with a B6-0 and B6-4. Well, blow me down! Everythin' worked great, and t' booster wasn't damaged. Avast, me proud beauty! T' third flight be on a C6-0 to an A8-3. Arrr! This flight was also perfect.

Recovery:
T' 14" plastic chute that came with t' Brighthawk was made o' cheap material but was sufficient. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' tumble recovery used by t' booster was fine. Blimey! Blimey!

Summary:
T' individual kits used were inexpensive and easy t' build. Arrr! With all t' motor configuration choices, you could fly it from 400' t' 1400', which makes it suitable for small and larger fields.

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