Brief:
The Penetrator is a Quest "Quick Kit" that is designed to be easy and fun to build and fly. It has both a large and small Payload bay and even sports a dual recovery system! It also looks good on the pad.

Construction:
The kit contains:

• Nose Cone - 20308
• Small Payload Tube - 11416
• Plastic Transition - 21071
• Transition Base - 20216
• Large Payload Tube - 11514
• Plastic Coupler - 21084
• Body Tube - 11513
• Plastic Motor Housing - 20706/20707
• 4 Plastic Fins - 20876
• Gray Motor Mount Tube - 10301
• Plastic Fin Locking Ring - 20026
• Plastic Motor Locking Ring - 20027
• 2 14" Parachutes - 28107
• White Elastic Shock Cord - 50012
• Yellow Kevlar® Shock Cord - 50053
• 2 26" Shroud Lines - 50100
• 2 sheets Gripper Tabs - 00500
• Decal Sheet - 3-01618-1030
• Plastic Display Stand - 24308/24209

This is another one of Quests' "Quick Kits" designed for fast and easy construction. My son loves these kits because they are easy for him to build and he does not have to wait so long for the glue and paint to dry. You start off by tying the Kevlar® shock cord to the elastic shock cord. I really like the fact the Quest includes Kevlar® to protect the all too easy to burn elastic cords. Once this is complete, you place the gray paper motor tube inside one half of the plastic motor housing with fin can and lower launch lug and use plastic cement to glue the two halves of the motor housing together then add cement to the inside of the large body tube and insert the motor housing. The four fins are then cemented in place, plus they actually slide lock into place and are self-aligning, fitting perfectly. The fin assembly is completed by gluing in a fin locking ring.

Next comes the assembly of the dual payload tubes. The first payload tube is the same diameter as the body tube so a plastic coupler is used to connect the body tube to the large payload tube. The coupler also has the upper launch lug molded into it. Then the transition base is glued onto the transition. The base serves as a connection point for the payload bay parachute. The smaller end of the transition is glued to the small payload tube. The large end of the transition friction fits into the large payload tube and is the separation point for the two halves of the rocket. The plastic nose cone it friction fitted into the forward end of the small payload tube. My nose cone was a bit loose, but a little masking tape solved that problem.

The last part of the build is the parachute assembly, which is one of my complaints about the kit. It took us longer to assemble the parachutes then it did for the entire build of the rocket! First you pull off gripper tabs and place them over the holes on the plastic parachutes, then tie all twelve ends, since there are two parachutes, to the holes. It is hard to make small knots with big fingers. I think Quest should have included pre-strung parachutes. Once the chutes are complete, you tie one to the base of the transition and connect the other to the elastic shock cord. That's it!

Finishing:
The tubes are pre-colored a bright orange and all plastic parts are black, so no painting is needed. All of the decals are a good quality peel and stick type. Unfortunately, all of the decals for the small payload tube are about 1/16" short of fully wrapping around. We tried stretching them (they are tough and did not break), but that did not help. Also, the picture included with the kit shows decals on the fins but these were not included. The decals stuck so well and were of such good quality, we decided not clear coat. After 6 flights, they still look as good as new.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
We had perfect weather on launch day, with a slight wind. We prepped the rocket with 5 sheets of Estes wadding in the large body tube, inserted the first motor and slipped on the motor lock ring to hold the engine in place. We then rolled up both parachutes and placed them in as well. This rocket is slightly over 3' tall and looks great on the launch pad. One thing to note. The kit picture says to use B6-4, C6-3 and C6-5. However, the instructions say to use A6-4 for the first flight. Do not do this! According to RockSim, that will cause a crash landing and I believe it. So our first flight was on the B6-4 and it lifted off slowly from the pad, a real treat to watch. It flew straight to about 260 feet. Both parachutes opened up and both sections were recovered with no damage. Second flight on the C6-5 was a straight shot to almost 500 feet, ejection right after apogee. This bird is easy to spot on the way down with its bright orange color. The third flight on a C6-5 carried a payload of M&M's (plain and peanut), so it only got to about 400 feet, but no M&M's were harmed during the flight and remained tasty afterwards. We launched three more times during the day and the rocket is still ready for more.

Recovery:
The parachutes are a bit large and even with the light wind, both halves traveled about 1500 feet downrange on the second flight. I put a spill hole in the lower half parachute which made a big difference on the second flight and it landed much closer to the pad, about 300 feet. For our last flight on the C6-5 (with candy), the payload bay came down nice and quick, so I think I will leave that chute alone. If you are not going to fly payloads, you will either want a smaller chute or add a spill hole. After six flights, you cannot even tell this rocket has even had a launch yet. It is quite sturdy.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This rocket cost $8.99 from E-hobbies and I think it was worth every cent. It is a great starter rocket for kids, as it's fun, fast, and easy to build. It looks good, flies great, and it evens comes with a display stand so your can show it off to your friends when you are not flying it.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5