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. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' Starhawk was used for t' booster and Brighthawk for t' sustainer. Blimey! T' booster uses tumble recovery and t' sustainer has a parachute.

Modifications:
I built t' Brighthawk mostly stock. Arrr! T' only think I changed be 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I also left out t' engine hook. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! 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, a plastic nose cone, me hearties, plastic 4-fin fin can, 2 cardboard centerin' rings, arrr, Keelhaul®©™® cord, matey, elastic cord, matey, a 12" plastic chute, shiver me timbers, an 18mm motor mount tube, matey, engine block, arrr, and engine hook.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

T' Starhawk kit contained one 0.787" body tube, arrr, matey, plastic nose cone, me hearties, plastic 4-fin fin can, shiver me timbers, a streamer, Keelhaul®©™® cord, elastic cord, an 18mm motor tube, ya bilge rat, engine block, shiver me timbers, and engine hook. Aye aye! Avast! T' body tube was 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. Ahoy! 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. T' whole thin' can be built and finished in one sitting.

CONs: none.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBrightFlight:
T' first flight was unstable. Well, me bucko, blow me down! I used a B6-0 booster and A8-3 sustainer. Well, blow me down! Blimey! For some reason t' rocket cocked over to the left under booster power. It was almost sideways when t' sustainer motor lit. Ya scallywag! T' booster section be burned. I'm not 100% sure what happened. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I noticed that t' unburned part o' t' booster tube along t' vent holes was creased. This could have been a weak point. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Also, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 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, me bucko, me hearties, me hearties, and cut t' body tube down t' 3.75 inches. 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, t' Starhawk booster be damaged. Ahoy! Blimey! It was mostly burned just above t' engine block. Begad! The remainin' piece had a crease at t' point o' t' gap holes. Blimey! I rebuilt that part with some o' t' leftover Starhawk body tube. I reinforced it with another piece which was slit lengthwise and covered t' tube like a sleeve. Ahoy! 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. Avast! Blimey! I also made only two vent holes instead o' several.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

After rebuilding, reinforcin' t' booster, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and addin' some nose weight, me bucko, I tried again. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' second flight was powered with a B6-0 and B6-4. Everythin' worked great, me hearties, and t' booster wasn't damaged. T' third flight was on a C6-0 to an A8-3. Ahoy! This flight be also perfect. Begad!

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

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

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