Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Published: | 2010-06-30 |
Length: | 24.00 inches |
Manufacturer: | Quest |
Skill Level: | 3 |
Style: | Cluster, Payload |
Brief:
This is a dual 18mm parallel cluster rocket. It has a large payload bay, capable of holding two
eggs. It recovers with twin parachutes. Quest has deemed is a skill level 3 rocket.
Construction:
Construction of the Magnum Sport Loader went fairly easily.
I had issues with the fit of the half-moons on the cluster mount. This was my first parallel cluster model, so it may have been inexperience. I had difficulty aligning the half-moons perpendicular to the engine tubes. This created fit issues when it came time to glue the cluster mount into the body tube. I was able to correct this with some light sanding.
Also, the instructions don't mention to cut a notch into the thrust ring to allow for the thickness of the Kevlar®. Adding this slight modification made for a cleaner engine mount setup.
As a SPEV kit (Spare Parts Elimination Vehicle) designed to empty out overstocked parts, the fin sheets had a large number of fins not used on the rocket. This is a great bonus, as there were enough small fins for at least three future rockets.
Finishing:
Nothing unique about the finishing of this rocket, although the balsa was crushed at the
edges, making a clean fin-edge difficult to obtain.
I was pleasantly surprised to find waterslide decals which went on beautifully. The instructions recommend separating the large MAGNUM decal into two halves to keep the application easier.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight:
The first flight was on a pair of Estes C6-5 engines. I was very impressed with the
boost. The effect of the cluster engines together was impressive. This was my second cluster kit, the other being a
Deuce's Wild, and thus the first where the thrust from the engines is parallel. To protect the dual parachutes, I used
a significant amount of Estes wadding. I stuffed in maybe 10 sheets, and had no damage on either parachute.
Recovery:
The shock cord is attached via Kevlar®
to the motor mount in typical Quest fashion. It is made from thin elastic and an upgrade to thicker material may be a
good idea.
The twin parachutes are attached separately on the cord- one at the nosecone-eye as usual, one a few inches below with a figure-8 knot.
Because of my laziness, I opted for a pair of pre-constructed Estes chutes over the Quest parachute assemblies. The twin parachutes may be overkill for this design, as I did experience significant drift.
Flight Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary:
I enjoyed the process of building this kit. It's a good sized rocket with eye catching lines.
It has the added bonus of spare parts which can be used on future projects.
The only con was the condition of the balsa, which I found to be difficult to work with. A laser-cut sheet would be preferable, but would defeat the purpose of a SPEV kit.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Sponsored Ads
J.A.L. (August 1, 2010)