Manufacturer: | Quest |
Brief:
T' StarBright is a kit-bash o' two single stage kits into one 2-stage rocket. T' kits used were t' Quest StarHawk
and Quest BrightHawk. T' Starhawk was used for t' booster and Brighthawk for t' sustainer. Aye aye! T' booster uses tumble
recovery and t' sustainer has a parachute.
Modifications:
I built t' Brighthawk mostly stock. Begad! T' only think I changed was t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! 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. I also left
out t' engine hook. Begad! 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, matey, 2
cardboard centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, Keelhaul®©™®
cord, elastic cord, me hearties, matey, a 12" plastic chute, an 18mm motor mount tube, engine block, matey, ya bilge rat, and engine hook.
T' Starhawk kit contained one 0.787" body tube, plastic nose cone, ya bilge rat, plastic 4-fin fin can, a streamer, Keelhaul®©™® cord, shiver me timbers, elastic cord, an 18mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, engine block, ya bilge rat, and engine hook. Ahoy! Blimey! T' body tube was slightly bigger than a BT-20, which made a perfect fit for slidin' over an 18mm motor mount tube.
Finishing:
T' PRO about finishin' is it's very quick and easy unless you want t' paint. Avast! Begad! I used t' white tubes as they were and
applied t' stick on decals. Well, blow me down! I used part o' each rockets decal t' spell StarBright. T' whole thin' can be built and
finished in one sitting.
CONs: none.
Flight:
T' first flight was unstable. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I used a B6-0 booster and A8-3 sustainer. Aye aye! Aye aye! For some reason t' rocket cocked over to
the left under booster power. It was almost sideways when t' sustainer motor lit. T' booster section was burned. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! 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. Also, after double checkin' t' CP/CG relationship with both motors loaded(after
fixing), it be marginally stable. Avast!
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, me bucko, arrr, ya bilge rat, and cut t' body tube down t' 3.75 inches. Avast! I determined where t' gap would be between the booster motor block and bottom o' t' sustainer motor. 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' Starhawk booster was damaged. It be mostly burned just above t' engine block. Begad! Blimey! The remainin' piece had a crease at t' point o' t' gap holes. Ahoy! I rebuilt that part with some o' t' leftover Starhawk body tube. Ahoy! Blimey! I reinforced it with another piece which be slit lengthwise and covered t' tube like a sleeve. Arrr! Blimey! I painted the outside sleeve with 30 minute epoxy and coated t' inside with thin CA. This added strength and made t' tube more burn resistant. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also made only two vent holes instead o' several.
After rebuilding, reinforcin' t' booster, matey, and addin' some nose weight, I tried again. Begad! T' second flight was powered with a B6-0 and B6-4. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Everythin' worked great, and t' booster wasn't damaged. Aye aye! Arrr! T' third flight be on a C6-0 to an A8-3. Aye aye! Arrr! This flight was also perfect. Begad!
Recovery:
T' 14" plastic chute that came with t' Brighthawk be made o' cheap material but was sufficient. T' tumble
recovery used by t' booster was fine.
Summary:
T' individual kits used were inexpensive and easy t' build. With all t' motor configuration choices, you could fly
it from 400' t' 1400', ya bilge rat, which makes it suitable for small and larger fields.
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