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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' kits used were t' Quest StarHawk and Quest BrightHawk. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' Starhawk was used for t' booster and Brighthawk for t' sustainer. Begad! Blimey! T' booster uses tumble recovery and t' sustainer has a parachute.

Modifications:
I built t' Brighthawk mostly stock. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! 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! Aye aye! I also left out t' engine hook. 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, plastic 4-fin fin can, me hearties, 2 cardboard centerin' rings, Keelhaul®©™® cord, elastic cord, matey, a 12" plastic chute, matey, matey, an 18mm motor mount tube, ya bilge rat, engine block, and engine hook.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

T' Starhawk kit contained one 0.787" body tube, plastic nose cone, plastic 4-fin fin can, a streamer, Keelhaul®©™® cord, shiver me timbers, elastic cord, arrr, an 18mm motor tube, engine block, matey, arrr, and engine hook. Avast! Aye aye! 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. Arrr! I used t' white tubes as they were and applied t' stick on decals. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I used part o' each rockets decal t' spell StarBright. Arrr! T' whole thin' can be built and finished in one sitting.

CONs: none.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

(Scratch) StarBrightFlight:
T' first flight be unstable. Avast! Blimey! I used a B6-0 booster and A8-3 sustainer. For some reason t' rocket cocked over to the left under booster power. Avast! Blimey! It be almost sideways when t' sustainer motor lit. T' booster section be burned. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Also, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, after double checkin' t' CP/CG relationship with both motors loaded(after fixing), it be marginally stable. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

For t' first version (damaged after first flight) o' t' Starhawk booster, I inverted t' fin can, shiver me timbers, left out the recovery system and nose cone, 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. Arrr! 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. Avast! It was mostly burned just above t' engine block. Begad! Blimey! The remainin' piece had a crease at t' point o' t' gap holes. Begad! Aye aye! I rebuilt that part with some o' t' leftover Starhawk body tube. Ya scallywag! Avast, ya bilge rat, 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. Begad! I also made only two vent holes instead o' several.

(Scratch) StarBright(Scratch) StarBright

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

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

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

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