Quest - Full Moon {Kit}

Quest Full Moon

Quest - Full Moon {Kit}

Contributed by Chan Stevens

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Manufacturer:

Quest

Brief:
A miniaturized version of the Big Betty, this little guy is a quick, easy build and reliable flyer. Quest Full Moon

Construction:
The parts list includes:

Plastic nose cone
BT-60 (equiv.) body tube
3 Laser-cut balsa fins
Centering rings
18mm motor tube
Metal motor hook
Thrust ring
14" plastic chute
Kevlar®/elastic shock cords
1/8" launch lug
Peel n stick decal

This was accurately described as a skill level 1 kit, so the construction is fairly simple and straightforward. The instructions are about 3 pages and clearly written and illustrated.

The motor mount assembly is the typical 18mm tube, thrust ring, and motor hook. It also uses a couple of centering rings to slip into the BT-60 body tube. Given the large body tube, there are obvious possibilities to upscale this to 24mm, and I'm sure a few fliers have already done this.

The Kevlar and elastic shock cord combo is anchored to the motor mount. This is a great feature for a mass market kit, both rugged and durable.

The body tube needs to be marked using a wraparound guide for the standard 3-fin and lug arrangement. It's a good idea to scuff the body tube first with 120 grit sandpaper to provide a better bonding surface for the fins. Once the fins are tacked on, the rather long launch lug is glued on, essentially completing the rocket construction.

Finishing:
The standard color scheme on this is a simple paint job and is decent looking. The fins and body are a gloss red, and the nose cone is a gloss white. This doesn't even require masking, assuming you hold off on attaching the nose cone until after it's painted.

I started off with a couple coats of white primer, then followed up with Krylon red and white. After allowing a day to dry, I then applied the peel-n-stick "Full Moon" decal, which provides a nice break to the monochromatic red.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
The recommended motors for this are the common mid-delay A through C motors. (Quest motors would be A6-4, B6-4, and C6-5. Estes motors would go with A8-3 instead of A6-4).

For the maiden flight, I started low since it would be flying in 10 mph conditions and loaded an A8-3 in it. It flew perfectly straight without any weathercock, but it did drift downwind a bit on the way up. Apogee was right on top.

Recovery:
The 14" chute uses shroud lines attached to holes reinforced with paper rings. This is a pretty flimsy approach and I broke loose one shroud line as a result. I would prefer tape disk retention instead, which is less likely to tear through the chute.

The chute did slow it down enough and recovery was fine.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
PROs: simple build, versatile motor range, and flies well.

CONs: flimsy shroud line attachment.

This is a nice little kit, worth picking up, especially if you can grab one at one of those half-off sales.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews

Quest Full Moon By Bill Eichelberger (April 5, 2015)
Picked up as an afterthought back in the days when Quest products were still available in local retail outlets, the Full Moon languished in my kit storage cabinet for several years before catching my eye one cold winter night when I was in the mood to build something quick. The Full Moon seems to me to be the Quest version of the Baby Bertha, a kit that I've got a long and loving ...
Quest Full Moon By Stan Horowitz
This is a fine sport flier! It has a nice size body tube that lets you load up the parachute with ease! Every thing in the kit was in good condition in the package. The die-cut balsa fins are of good quality and a fine grain. The plastic nose cone is like most Quest/Estes types & takes paint well. I like the Quest way of mounting the shock cord with Kevlar string to the motor mount (better ...
Quest Full Moon By Chan Stevens
For those that have followed the site for a while, you know that I enjoy "stubby" rockets (rockets with 10:1 length:width ration or less). I have built and flown a lot of "stubby" rockets. Here is a comparison of 2.6" versions , and 3" versions , and 4" versions . The Quest Full Moon™ is also a "stubby" rocket standing ...

Flights

Comments:

K.R.E. (June 16, 2003)

This is a wonderful rocket that gives great flights time after time. Cut a spill hole in the chute as this light rocket will drift out of sight in no time on the standard, uncut chute. This kit is well worth double what it costs and can be finished in a wide variety of paint schemes. Try a blue gloss body with a chrome nose-cone...Oh, be sure to reinforce the fins with glue. They do break rather easily.

G.H. (May 21, 2005)

The remark regarding the longer motor hook, and its front bend being *forward* of the thrust ring; deserves mention. This made me do a "double take" when I saw this in the instructions. My kit came with the standard, traditional-length hook. If I had mounted it as per the instructions...as Homer would say: "D'Oh!".

H.A.F. (July 14, 2005)

This is a great flying reliable rocket on a streamer. We use it mostly as a wind tester, or for the local kids to get a push of the button. Mine always diverges from the wind instead of weathercocking into it though. I had trouble with reliable chute openings because the small depth area between engine mount and bottom of nose cone scrunched the chute too much so the streamer was the answer.

R.F. (November 7, 2005)

I think the Quest Full Moon is the perfect rocket for C6-7 motors, as long as your using a streamer. It flies very high, yet you are able to see it & track its entire flight because of its girth & large fins. The streamer recovery will allow you to get it back every time.

D.E. (April 1, 2007)

I just built a recently-purchased Quest 'Full Moon'. It doesn't have the 180-degree bend in the motor retention hook, so something has changed between my kit and the ones reviewed above. I do want to comment that the body tube seemed to be made of a cheaper material than the usual high-quality parts I've found in other Quest kits. This one's surface was particularly susceptible to moisture from my yellow glue, causing the surface to lose it's glossy shine. Whenever I tried to re-position a fin or just wipe off a little excess glue, the white surface underneath was left pasty (like wet cardboard)instead of glossy. It seems the varnish or whatever surface the tube supplier used is much thinner and cheaper than most other rocket body tubes I've worked with, because it did not take much moisture to ruin the snoothness of the body tube... so be extra careful to not allow any excess glue. Consider using 5-minute epoxy instead.

D.C. (April 25, 2008)

The Full Moon kit's wide body makes it especially interesting for bashing. I made one of my Full Moons into a 2x18mm cluster with hand-made centering rings, and I have made two 24mm-powered Full Moons (both of which, incidentally, were lost to the Rocket Gods) again with hand-made CRs. Both required a very small amount of additional nose weight; an estimate would be 0.5 oz. If you decide to go this route, you'll DEFINITELY want to use streamers for recovery. The 2x18mm first flew on two C6-3s, and the ejection was quite early as one can imagine. The streamer was ripped in two, but enough remained to bring it down with no damage. The 24mm FM's performed incredibly well and exhibited no rolling in flight.

J.F.B. (October 27, 2008)

No issues while building the Full Moon. High quality kit that comes with a nice decal. I fly mine mostly with a B6-4, or C6-5. You can track this model easily, and every flight is stable. Nice rocket, easy build.

G.B. (May 9, 2009)

The Full Moon is a nice little flier, especially on C motors and a streamer for recovery. I fly it first on launch days to see how the winds are going. It's very, very stable too.

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