January 1, first day of the New Year -
Why not launch a few?
It was 7:00 a.m. and the sun was just coming up, it wasn't full daylight yet.
In lower light these Chinese made engines throw out a lot of sparks!
Enlarge the picture to see the flame "bending" around the ceramic "Blast" deflector.
The 4 second delay was one second too long! It was nosing in after apogee.
New Year's Resolution - use an A8-3 in this heavier, plastic based model.
The Quest COBALT flew with the recommended Quest A6-4. Estimated altitude was 300'.
It had the typical "louder than Estes engine" boost.
The model did veer to the North, which was my experience with my older Cobalt clone.
New Year's Resolution - I'm going to add some nose weight, maybe .25 oz.
There wasn't much drift, the air was calm. Still, it landed hard on the asphalt.
I was expecting the worst, that streamer is about 1" wide by 24" long. I'd feel better with a small parachute, but there just isn't enough room to pack it in the short body tube.
Luckily, no real damage, just a scuffed up fin! Stubby models seem to resist damage better.
With a B6 engine, this is a great small field rocket.
Boost to an estimated 375' was perfect, ejection - not as good.
The Quest ejection charges aren't as strong as in the Estes engines.
The nose cone and some shock cord was pushed out, but not the parachute and wadding!
I caught it on landing with no damage.
New Year's Resolution - Don't use Quest engines on tall rockets or with body tubes wider than one inch! The ejection charges can't pressurize the larger body tubes.
You can't beat the old reliables.My FRANKEN GOBLIN did well with an Estes A8-3.
The trash bag parachute ejected at an estimated apogee of 275'.
Also flown:
Hot Rod Rockets BELL BOTTOM with an A10-3t to 450'.
Fast off the pad, I couldn't even get a picture. Indestructible and always stable with with the conical base end.
New Year's Resolution - Always bring a few reliable models for (at least) a few successful launches.
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