Starlight Rockets Queez-Bee

Starlight Rockets - Queez-Bee {Kit}

Contributed by John Arthur

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Starlight Rockets
Style: Spin-Fin
Starlight Queeze-Bee

Brief:
This is a 4 fins and a nose cone (with a twist) rocket kit rated skill level 1 by Starlight Rockets from Walkerton, Indiana. The twist is each fin has another little fin attached to it that makes it spin, thus the name "Queeze", as in "dizzy" Bee.

Construction:
The kit included 1 body tube, a balsa nose cone, shock cord, 2 sets of fins, a screw eye, motor mount assembly, a mylar parachute kit, and a waterslide decal. All of the parts were of average or better quality except for the shroud lines on the parachute, which are plain thread and I'm sure won't last long.

The instructions are presented in a logical order and there were no problems putting the kit together. There were pictures (drawings) to help explain each step and they looked like they were drawn by my seven year old. Not very fancy but they were accurate. Could definitely use some improvement.

One bonus: the body tube is premarked where the fins are to be mounted, thus eliminating the "draw a straight line in the door frame" step.

The kit went together nicely. No problems at all.

Finishing:
I finished the kit with the same paint scheme on the package. The decal was a little thin but looked great when it was done. Sorry, no photo of the finished model, and it's too late to photograph now--more on that later.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
First flight got up there on an A8-3. Really pretty cool. The extra fins are glued on the bottom of the regular fins causing the rocket to spin the entire way up. Second flight was on a C6-7. It really got up there, but you could still see the spin. I really enjoyed flying this rocket. 3rd flight was a week later, in a park surrounded by rocket eating trees. Sent it up on an A8-3 due to the HOUNDING of a bunch of kids that wanted to see the "little yellow one". (I had been flying UFO's.) Nice flight. Does anyone have a ladder with a 75ft extension?

Recovery:
Recovery was fine. In the future, I would replace the parachute due to the weak shroud lines. If flying on C's I would suggest a streamer. Shock cord was long piece of elastic and was attached by the weaving the cord through a couple holes in a piece of paper. I had never done this before but it worked fine.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Nice rocket. It only cost $8.50 from an online dealer, so I'm getting another since I lost this one.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Flights

Comments:

avatar
M.M. (February 18, 2006)
Something a little different. I agree with John's assessment on the kit. Mine was bought at an eBay auction, and missing a couple of parts, most importantly the spin fins which attach at the bottom of the main fin. I contacted the vendor who got the dimensions of the spin fins for me and I made up my own. First and only flight was on a B6-6. Visible spin on the way up, good height. Drifted too far on the chute and was lost to a roof, tree, yard.

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