Quest Micro Maxx - Little Joe II

Quest - Little Joe II {Kit}

Contributed by John Lee

Construction Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Manufacturer: Quest
Quest MMX Little Joe II

Brief:
Since me other MMX plans for t' day did nay work out, me hearties, matey, I pulled out a couple o' t' Quest Ready t' Fly rockets I had, payin' attention t' t' ones that had never flown. Begad! T' Little Joe II was up first. Begad! There's nay much t' say about this one except that its an itty bitty plastic version o' t' Little Joe II.

Construction:
T' rocket came with its own "Silo" launcher, arrr, one o' t' hallmarks o' t' Quest MMX series. I long ago abandoned it and its finicky operation and use modified versions o' me normal range gear instead. Avast! Besides that, it came with a few motors and t' rocket itself.

There is no construction. Ahoy! Blimey! T' rocket is assembled already and lacks only t' insertion o' t' motor.

Finishing:
Neither is thar any finishing. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Everythin' is pre-colored.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Quest MMX Little Joe II

Flight and Recovery:
T' MMX motor is inserted by twistin' out a bezel rin' at t' aft end o' t' rocket. T' motor is then slid in and the bezel replaced. Avast, me proud beauty! T' next step would normally then call for insertin' t' igniter into t' silo launcher and setting the rocket on top o' it but, ya bilge rat, as mentioned before, me bucko, I bailed on t' silo long ago. Aye aye! Instead, I inserted a regular Quest igniter and held it in place with a sharpened twig as a plug. T' rocket was then set on t' rod and hooked t' the clips.

T' launch button be pushed repeatedly and t' igniter failed t' ignite. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I took t' rocket down, shiver me timbers, checked things out, arrr, arrr, replaced it on t' pad, matey, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and t' same thin' happened again. Well, blow me down! Begad! Finally, it be noticed that t' continuity tone was comin' from armin' t' wrong pad. Ahoy! Aye aye! I had failed t' explain t' t' young lady at t' controls which set o' cables I was using. Ahoy! In a fit o' youthful exuberance, she pushed t' button and t' rocket went up. Avast! I only saw it for a moment or so around apogee, admittedly a rather low occurrin' event. T' NC failed t' eject and deploy t' streamer but t' rocket fluttered down fine anyway. Begad!

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
My overall impression o' this one is nay great. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I'm nay a big fan o' t' silo launcher and t' rocket is nay a great performer. Begad! I do, however, think it has a place. Avast! Ahoy! It is a reasonable startin' placin' for gettin' into MMX and could be fun.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5

Comments:

avatar
M.K. (August 21, 2009)
The original Quest RTF MicroMaxx models like the LJ II don't have very exciting flights when you launch them out at your club's range, but they are fun to fly in your backyard. The Little Joe II is actually one of the better performers in the series. I almost lost mine the first time that I launched it. There are much better performing KITS that you can buy for launching on MicroMaxx motors of course, but for a little hunk of RTF plastic, the LJ II isn't bad. You will have to replace the shock cord with one made of Kevlar? after the first or second flight though.

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