8/9/2010

Rocket Dad

Quest X-15

Quest X-15 Sport Scale Rocket:

The Kit: I purchased this kit because I really liked the looks of the rocket and felt it would be a challenge to build with all the fin attachments. The finish of the included parts was in general poor. The nose cone had excess flashing. The body tube has deep spirals and the balsa fins were grainy and ruff. One of the full lengths balsa spars was split. All the parts were present in the package. The instructions were average for Quest but did have an error in them and did lack some information on finishing the model.

The Build: I papered the balsa fins before I attached them. I applied a VERY thin film of ElmerŐs white glue over the surface of fins then attached glossy heavy bond printer paper. When they dried I trimmed the edges off and sealed them with med CA. This fixed the split in the spar and resulted in some very strong smooth fins. I then air foiled the fin edges and sealed them with Tight bond wood glue. While I was test fitting the side spars I noticed that the spars did not run the full length of the body tube. After some quick research on the internet I learned that the Quest design was some what unstable and there had been complaints from other hobbyists about it. It seems Quest decided to add a few inches of body tube length to move the center of gravity forward to increase stability. I removed the extra body tube and added 1/2 ounce of weight to the nose. This would correct the stability issues and improve the appearance of the finished model. There is a paper fin guild provided to mark the body tube for fin placement. The fin guild has the fins markings in the wrong location. The four rear fins should be set 90degs. apart the guide has them at 72 degs apart. This is easy to correct, simply fold the guild into 4 equal parts and problem solved. This kit comes with an angel guide to attach the rear fins. This is a nice plus. I tacked on the fins using med CA then added a bead of CA as a fillet. (I have sense found that if you attach fins with either wood glue or CA, first tacking them on then using the glue to make a strong fillet it is almost impossible to get a clean even finish on the fillet. However if after fully attaching the fin and allowing it to dry you use liquid nail to make a second Ňfinishing filletÓ you end up with a very nice smooth finished product. Do not use the liquid nail to attach or strengthen the fins you will just end up reattaching them later when they come off. This tip is for esthetics only.)

The Finish: Ok here is my bad. To keep this a family acceptable review let me just say donŐt mix paint types unless you love sanding. After cleaning that mess up I used the gray Krylon automotive sandable primer. I love this primer because it is almost impossible to get it to run, you can easily sand it to a smooth glossy finish for your final paint and it dries rock hard. It also goes on nice and thick so it covers any minor imperfections in your glue up and greatly reduces body tube spirals. ItŐs only draw back is it does add extra weight to the finished models. I followed this up with the Krylon gloss black. The kit comes with a lot of water slide decals. The decals are high quality and really make the finished model look great. As for decal placement the instructions refer you to the cover art for there location placement. There are several decals that are not shown on the cover art. You can find some very good information on where they go from on line sources. I was very pleased with the final appearance of this model. It has quite a bit of fun detail and is a real eye catcher. Everyone who has seen mine has had positive comments and has had to hold it.

The Flight: The first two flights were on a B6 engine. The outer package states that the kit flies on A though C engines. There is an inserted flyer that warns to only fly this model on A engines. This was the second step that Quest took to solve the stability issues. After my modifications I felt comfortable flying on a B6 for itŐs first flight. I launched in the morning and there was no wind. They were nice smooth flights with the deployment at or near apogee. The max altitude was lower than expected. Recoveries were both with in 100 feet of the launch pad. I flew the model again later on in the day. This time I flew it on a C6 engine. The first flight was very nice. This almost doubled my max altitude. The recovery was with in 300 feet of the pad (the wind had picked up). The second evening flight was on another C6 engine. This time a wind gust caught it at about 300 feet and caused it to wind cock 90 degs. I must admit it really looked cool as it flew, under power, in level flight. The rocket flew out of the park across the road and crashed landed in a fenced in back yard. The parachute deployed in level flight causing the model to snap around 180 degs then land. The model was recovered undamaged. The parachute (even though strained to the max) was still completely serviceable.

Conclusion: I would have liked for the kit to have had higher quality parts and complete error free instructions. Quest should have corrected the stability issues in a way that did not alter the final appearance of the model. However with a little time and patience you end up with a fantastic looking model that is a real conversation piece. I really enjoyed the flights of this model (especially the land shark) and can not wait to fly it again. I would encourage anyone looking for a more challenging build to invest in this kit.