T' Gamma-Ray: My first Quest kit. It features a translucent red payload tube, three swept fins, and plastic nose cone and transition section. Begad! T' fin stock is pretty thick and sturdy, and I like t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord supplied with t' kit. I painted it high-gloss metallic red with silver (stick-on) decals. Begad! I also added extra silver foil stickers t' really make this model shine. Blimey! I had t' add a lot o' nose-weight t' balance this model on a strin' stability test, arrr, but now it flies very well - very straight. T' nose-weight was glued in t' t' tip o' t' plastic nosecone, so I still have full use o' t' payload bay. T' payload tube has vent holes added for a barometric altimeter. Avast, me proud beauty! It can get pretty far up thar with B and C motors. I bought this kit cheap as part o' a package deal on eBay, shiver me timbers, didn't give it much respect. Ya scallywag! But it consistently flies well and it is growin' on me. Begad! I would recommend this model, but defiantly string-stability test it with a C motor and add nose-weight as necessary, or you'll probably be very sorry you didn't. Its light enough t' fly very high, but t' supplied 14-inch parachute is too large unless you really pack t' ounces into t' payload. Even with a 18 gram payload and a 1-1/2 inch spill hole cut into t' chute, it still descends at only 5 mph, me bucko, allowin' t' wind t' take it pretty far. Arrr! T' material Quest uses for parachutes also seems very light but too stiff, and often it will nay unfurl even when plummetin' down at about 30 mph. I now use a 12” Estes parachute. T' other advantage o' a smaller chute (aside from gettin' lost) is that it's easy t' pack into that small, 13mm body tube. I can easily get beyond 800 feet with a C6-7 in this. This rocket has flown higher than t' Rennaissance Tower in Dallas, TX and t' Charlotte Bank o' America Corporate Center. It could easily look down at t' Trump World Tower in NY.
| Flight Date: | 2012-05-26 |
| Rocket Name: | Gamma Ray |
| Kit Name: | Quest - Gamma Ray {Kit} (2004) [1994-] |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | C6-7 |
| Expected Altitude: | 800 Feet |
| Wind Speed: | 5.00 mph |
| Launch Site: | Fort Indiantown Gap, PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 897 Feet |
It be time t' try for an altitude record with t' Gamma Ray Payloader, now that its parachute issues seemed t' be resolved. I sent it up last year t' just over 800 feet on a C6 motor, me hearties, but it only had an altimeter on board and I couldn’t see it at altitude t' judge t' best delay. Aye aye! For this flight, it also carried an accelerometer t' measure speed and ejection timing, me hearties, which I estimated from lower flights that a delay o' 7 seconds would be optimal. T' weather was hot and humid, perfect conditions for maximum altitude.
T' launch was uneventful and successful, with t' acceleration peakin' at 14.9Gs. Well, blow me down! T' 2 second burn averaged 3.8Gs, plenty t' prevent any winds from alterin' its vertical flight path significantly. After t' motor burnout, me bucko, it reached a speed o' 167 mph. T' motor’s delay was short – only 6 seconds and the ejection fired at 882 feet while still rising. In another 3/10ths o' a second it reached a peak altitude of 897 feet, havin' gained an additional 15 feet with the new Estes parachute deployin' fully. It then descended at a safe 9 mph, and remained aloft for a total flight time o' 69.5 seconds, t' Gamma Ray’s longest recorded flight.
Even though t' new parachute provided twice t' descent speed o' t' Quest supplied chute, it still drifted pretty far, but I was pleased that it reached the highest altitude recorded for this model, and also it was t' fastest speed ecorded. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 100% good flight.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes C6-7 |
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