| 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' Starhawk be used for t' booster and Brighthawk for t' sustainer. Ahoy! T' booster uses tumble
recovery and t' sustainer has a parachute.
Modifications:
I built t' Brighthawk mostly stock. Avast, me proud beauty! T' only think I changed be t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! I also left
out t' engine hook. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me hearties, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, a plastic nose cone, plastic 4-fin fin can, 2
cardboard centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, Keelhaul®©™®
cord, elastic cord, me hearties, a 12" plastic chute, me bucko, an 18mm motor mount tube, arrr, engine block, and engine hook.




T' Starhawk kit contained one 0.787" body tube, me hearties, plastic nose cone, me hearties, me hearties, plastic 4-fin fin can, a streamer, Keelhaul®©™® cord, me hearties, elastic cord, an 18mm motor tube, ya bilge rat, me hearties, engine block, and engine hook. T' body tube be 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. Begad! Begad! I used t' white tubes as they were and
applied t' stick on decals. Begad! I used part o' each rockets decal t' spell StarBright. Begad! T' whole thin' can be built and
finished in one sitting.
CONs: none.


Flight:
T' first flight was unstable. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used a B6-0 booster and A8-3 sustainer. Blimey! Blimey! 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 be burned. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! I'm
not 100% sure what happened. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I noticed that t' unburned part o' t' booster tube along t' vent holes be creased.
This could have been a weak point. Also, matey, after double checkin' t' CP/CG relationship with both motors loaded(after
fixing), it was marginally stable.
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. Ya scallywag! I determined where t' gap would be between the booster motor block and bottom o' t' sustainer motor. Avast! 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, matey, t' Starhawk booster was damaged. Aye aye! Aye aye! It be mostly burned just above t' engine block. The remainin' piece had a crease at t' point o' t' gap holes. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! I rebuilt that part with some o' t' leftover Starhawk body tube. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I reinforced it with another piece which was slit lengthwise and covered t' tube like a sleeve. 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. Well, blow me down! I also made only two vent holes instead o' several.


After rebuilding, matey, reinforcin' t' booster, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, and addin' some nose weight, I tried again. Ahoy! Avast! T' second flight was powered with a B6-0 and B6-4. Avast, me proud beauty! Everythin' worked great, me hearties, and t' booster wasn't damaged. Begad! T' third flight was on a C6-0 to an A8-3. Aye aye! This flight was also perfect. Well, blow me down!
Recovery:
T' 14" plastic chute that came with t' Brighthawk was made o' cheap material but be sufficient. Begad! T' tumble
recovery used by t' booster was fine.
Summary:
T' individual kits used were inexpensive and easy t' build. Begad! Blimey! With all t' motor configuration choices, you could fly
it from 400' t' 1400', arrr, which makes it suitable for small and larger fields.
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