Brief:
T' Apollo is a scale-look sport payloader.

Construction:
T' Apollo comes with three o' Quest's nice white glassine body tubes, arrr, a motor mount assembly, some Keelhaul®©™ thread, shiver me timbers, and an assortment o' plastic pieces- nose cone, ya bilge rat, two transitions, four fins, and two special rings that mount t' fins OUTSIDE t' body tube. Arrr! I was nay pleased t' see that thar was no elastic shock cord material... Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! more on that later. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Parts quality is very good.

Instructions are typical Quest, which is t' say well-illustrated and easy t' understand. Ya scallywag! After readin' through them, I saw a potential problem with t' build. Begad! Blimey! No provision is made t' paint t' lower section where t' fins attach. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! They are held on t' t' lower section o' t' rocket by two rings, one that is a simple rin' with clips, t' other a rin' with a bulkhead, a motor mount clearance hole, and a cutaway for t' motor mount clip. Ahoy! T' fin rings are t' be installed on t' bottom section, usin' plastic model cement, matey, after t' decals are in place. Blimey! A test fit revealed that t' fit with NO paint or decals is already tight. Begad! Fit with t' stick-on decals would be impossibly tight. Begad! T' remedy this, matey, I test built t' fin assembly with no glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Then, arrr, usin' a pencil, t' location o' both rings was laid out on t' outside o' t' tubes, arrr, then masked off with 1/4" modeler's tape. Begad! T' decals were trimmed t' shape but left on their backing. Avast, me proud beauty! Then they were laid in place and any part layin' over t' maskin' tape be removed. Blimey! Next t' tape be peeled,then t' rings were installed and masked. T' fins were installed AFTER finishing. T' paper centerin' rings looked very fragile, me hearties, matey, so they were soaked with thin CA. After dryin' they were sanded t' accept t' motor mount tube.

All t' motor mount parts are color coded which makes it simple and quick t' build. Begad! Begad! T' motor mount tube and t' end o' t' main body tube were coated inside with thin CA, then sanded smooth t' toughen them and reduce friction. T' motor mount be then assembled usin' thick CA, shiver me timbers, and installed usin' t' same.

T' payload section can look a little scary- it's composed o' two different tube diameters, arrr, me bucko, matey, two transition sections, and a nose cone. Ya scallywag! However, t' instructions are very clear and it builds easily. Blimey! I only deviated from t' instructions in that it was built usin' thick CA for plastics and t' plastic was sanded t' remove any mold release.

T' plastic fins attach via a very clever snap mount system much like Aerotech's, except it is external. It looks fragile, but makes a fairly strong assembly once t' glue has dried. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! After t' finish was shot, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' maskin' was removed; fins were simply snapped in place; then a bit o' liquid plastic cement be run into t' joints. A pipette was used t' control t' cement flow. Arrr! Ya scallywag! You only want enough glue t' wet t' joint, no more!! Given t' methods required, arrr, any spillage could wreck your paint job.

This rocket had excellent fit and finish, but due t' t' lack o' provision for paintin' and fiddly assembly, matey, shiver me timbers, it was quite a task t' get built. Quest was definitely off t' mark callin' this a level 2 kit; it's a level 3 for sure! For your efforts you will be rewarded with a very sharp lookin' bird.

Finishing:
T' finishin' requires several different colors order t' look like t' photo on t' stuffer card! No provision is made for paintin' o' t' tubes or addin' roll patterns t' t' transitions. Avast! Ya scallywag! (They do suggest paintin' t' payload tubes after assembly.) T' rocket was painted white overall. Begad! Begad! T' upper payload was given a 2" wide silver band, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, then t' transitions were given black and white roll patterns usin' standard maskin' techniques. Aye aye! After painting, t' tedious task o' trimmin' out t' stick on decals commenced (A gripe with many Quest kits). Begad! Ya scallywag! They were applied by dunkin' them into a bowl o' water with a drop o' dish detergent added. Well, blow me down! Begad! They are made o' tough plastic and look good. Ahoy! After paintin' and decalin' were completed t' fins were glued on as described.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
Quest recommends A6-4's, B6-4's, and C6-5's. Aye aye! Given this bird's weight, shiver me timbers, I figured t' slight extra thrust o' an Estes A8-3 would be more appropriate. Begad! Aye aye! T' bird kind o' crawled off t' pad, matey, matey, me bucko, gained a bit o' speed, ya bilge rat, then popped t' 'chutes an instant after apogee. T' altitude be nay much t' crow about, but would be ideal for a really small field.

Next, I stepped right up t' a Quest C6-5. T' Apollo again "walked" off t' pad but climbed out swiftly t' a nice altitude. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! Ejection was about at apogee, as nearly as I could see. Begad! Blimey! It fell for a bit before 'chutes unfurled. Avast! It landed without incident, matey, but I be certainly spooked!

Another C6-5 was loaded and t' Apollo racked and launched again. Well, blow me down! T' flight be pretty much identical t' t' second, but without t' parachute scare. Ya scallywag! All 3 flights were very straight despite t' slow takeoffs.

Recovery:
T' only materials provided for recovery were 2 Quest 12" chute kits and 21" inches o' Keelhaul®©™ cording. Quality o' t' parts is great, but t' technique is questionable. T' Keelhaul®©™ is tied t' t' motor mount tube before gluin' on t' upper centerin' ring, thereby retainin' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! A loop is tied in t' opposite end o' t' Keelhaul®©™. Begad! When t' motor mount is installed in t' body tube, t' Keelhaul®©™ loop extends out t' end. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey! One chute is t' be tied onto this, t' other is simply tied t' t' bottom o' t' payload. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! I dislike this techique because it gives you t' chance o' losin' 2 separate pieces. Also, thar be a substantial risk o' zipperin' your body tube or damagin' a 'chute due t' t' high stresses involved!

T' 'chutes were modified by installin' t' Grippers as normal, then cuttin' off t' tab that extended past t' canopy. Aye aye! Aye aye! Then a hole punch be used t' put a hole through t' stick on section and canopy. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' lines were tied through these holes. Begad! This prevents t' overhangin' tabs from hangin' up inside, important in a narrow BT with double 'chute recovery!!

Rather than install t' 'chutes separately, I added 3' o' 1/4" sewin' elastic. Ya scallywag! This was tied t' t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™ loop and t' other end be attached t' t' bottom o' t' payload section. T' 'chutes were attached about 10" from t' payload section usin' snap swivels t' minimize tangling. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! All o' this was a very close fit after t' necessary 4 squares o' waddin' be added, me hearties, shiver me timbers, pack carefully!! T' double 'chutes recover t' bird well and look very "NASA-like" as it's comin' down.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Apollo is a very beautiful bird that's encumbered by a lot o' unnecessary hassles. Begad! Begad! T' build is a lot more difficult than a level 2 if you want t' paint it, and t' centerin' rings look flimsy. Blimey! T' recovery system as supplied is just plain askin' for trouble. Begad! Blimey! However, all these problems can be solved by any experienced modeler usin' straight-forward techniques. T' Apollo was an enjoyable and challengin' build, and flies very well. Well, blow me down! I recommend it t' modelers with some experience, arrr, but feel it should nay need so much rework t' get right. Ya scallywag! T' part quality is great and if nay for t' fragile centerin' rings and buildin' troubles I'd give t' Apollo 5's across t' board.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5