Quest Zenith II

Quest - Zenith II {Kit} (3005) [1994-]

Contributed by Kris Henderson

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 0.98 inches
Length: 22.80 inches
Manufacturer: Quest
Skill Level: 3
Style: Multi-Stage

Brief:
Two stage rocket with 14" parachute recovery. 22" tall with the payload section and booster section on. The package says it's a level three (advanced) rocket but really it's more like a level 2. The only reason I can see that it's considered a level three is because you have to line up the fins on the body tube along with the booster's fins.

Construction:
The kit package states the entire kit without motors or payload weight 66.1g, and sustainer alone weighs in at 47g. The package includes one body tube, blue plastic nose cone, transparent red payload section, small tube for booster, Kevlar® string in conjunction with the tubular elastic shock cord, three balsa fins for each of the main body tube and lower booster sections, two motor retention clips, self adhesive decals, and a 14" parachute.

Instructions were plenty easy to follow along with good illustrations allowed for an easy build. Minus the booster section, it's as simple to build as a run of the mill Estes Alpha. Three fins, body tube, recovery system, nose cone. This is my first Quest kit and the first time I've ever mounted a shock cord through the motor mount. I really thought this was a very cool build feature. The Kevlar® cord comes through the body tube after being mounted through the centering rings in the motor mount, and then ties to the elastic shock cord that actually connects to the nose cone and parachute. This definitely extends the life of your shock cord considering the Kevlar® is fire proof. With the fin alignments on the booster I coupled the booster tube on the main fuselage and aligned the fins with the body tube fins. I'm not very patient when it comes to fin alignment so the booster only aligns itself with the fin I lined them up with. No big deal for me. I also tapered the fins along the leading edge on the body tube fins and only half way on the booster stage. I tried to keep the edges that touch between the booster and the body squared off to reduce drag.

Finishing:
The finish I used was the stock scheme on the package, which is yellow tubes and fins with a red nose cone. The decals were placed on the rocket where they appear on the package too. Pretty cool looking rocket. I used this one yesterday for my NARTREK Bronze achievement on the parachute recovery, streamer recovery, and two-stage flight. I used size 10 hook swivel connectors from the fishing section in Wal-Mart to swap out the parachute and the 20" streamer. This was a quick and easy kit to build.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I flew it on a Estes B6-6 and it easily shot up to over 500'. Also used B6s for the booster stage. Make sure you use a lot of glue on the booster so it survives the fall back to earth. A had a fin come off at the fillet, but was easily fixed. All three flights were right where I aimed it.

Recovery:
Parachute was more than adequate. I used a streamer on a B6-6 flight, giving it a total flight time of just over 31 seconds. My parachute flight was 1:02. I couldn't imagine the drift of a parachute with a C6 motor. Use a streamer over B impulse or be prepared to say goodbye to the rocket in windy conditions.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Excellent rocket for multiple flights and anyone starting into staged flights. Cheap kit at only $12.00 If by some chance it broke or got lost, I would definitely consider replacing it with another Zenith II.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • Quest Zenith II By Alan Tiessen (October 28, 2012)

    A nice looking two-stage payload rocket. /h2 I modified it by skipping the see-through plastic payload bay and just going with a standard tube payload bay of the same size.  Easy to build.  Finishing Construction Score: 4 Flight Recovery Like most everyone else, I recommend streamer recovery if you're going for altitude.  I used a ...

  • Quest Zenith II By Glenn Roth (April 19, 2009)

    Brief: This is a two-staged payload rocket. I highly recommend streamer recovery in 2-stage configuration. Flies on A-C engines. Construction: The parts include: 1 bodytube, 1 red plastic payload section. 3 fins per stage, 18mm engine mounts, with hook. Kevlar ® shock cord attaches to engine mount up through the body and is attached to an elastic shock cord then to the ...

  • Quest Zenith II By Paul Gray

    This is a two-stage payload rocket. Kit says dual parachute in some advertising but is only a single chute recovery. Flies on A through C engines. One (1) body tube, One (1) plastic payload section which is red. Three (3) fins per stage both stages use a 18mm engine mount with a hook. Kevlar shock cord attaches to engine mount and pulls up through the body which then attaches to an elastic ...

Flights

Comments:

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T.E.W. (September 18, 2001)
This rocket took off successfully from my pad on its first and deployed the parachute bang on cue after a C6-0/B6-4 flight. All was well until I got it back...with no nose cone. Don't get me wrong, its a good rocket but if you get it my advice is glue the nose cone on.
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T.B. (July 7, 2003)
This kit would be really nice if it used the old fashioned friction fit method for staging. The body tube isn't large enough to have the sustainer's motor mount recessed into it. The motor retaining clip has to be pressed out against the body tube to insert or remove a motor. This deforms the body tube each time. The deformation cracked and flaked the paint off the rear of my sustainer. If I had it to do over again, I'd chunk the motor clips and just build it the old fashioned way. I give it a 2.5 out of 5 because of this, but would give it at least a 4.5 out of 5 if it used the old motor mount method.
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A.K.S. (December 10, 2005)
On a whim I built a new 1st stage for my well used Z-II. I made it large enough to take a D12-0 and handle a homemade E9-0. Have made two flights each on these motors. 1400' on the D12 and Rocksim says 2700' on the E9-0/C6-7 combo. I use a streamer for recovery. Engine modification is a no-no but I fly it lone ranger style in a very open field with no one around. I use a twist drill rotating by hand to clean out the plug on a E9-P to the black powder. Am told they don't make an E9-0 as people would try to use it in models that are too heavy. The Z-II is light enough to fly on it and really goes!

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