Quest - Courier {Kit} (2011)

Quest Courier

Quest - Courier {Kit} (2011)

Contributed by Andy Hobbs

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Diameter:	1.31 inches
Length:	20.25 inches
Manufacturer:	Quest
Skill Level:	2
Style:	Payload

Brief:
The Quest Courier kit is a single stage egg-lofter with the egg housing/nose cone as a slip together unit. Overall, a good looking and effective egg-lofting rocket.

Construction:
The kit comes with a 18mm motor mount assembly that's glued into a Quest-T-35 (1.378 diameter) tube, a set of pre-cut fins, and two 14" 'chutes. The 'chutes were pre-cut and very brightly colored. A piece of 18" Kevlar thread was included with the recovery parts. Nothing out of the ordinary.

No part of this kit's construction was any different from an Estes or Custom (brand) model rocket kit.

I used yellow glue on everything except where I wicked ca to the upper part of the sustainer tube.The upper half of the egg cone is sealed with black electricle tape to the lower half after the egg is installed.

My test egg weighed 2oz. Don't forget nose weight if you launch this rocket without any payload!

Rocket Pic Finishing:
Finishing the kit is a no brainer if you want a sharp looking rocket like the one depicted on the card insert. Decals for the fins and sustainer. An extra Quest sticker in blue, black, and light blue are included. The finished rocket is an eye-catcher at any launch.

Construction Rating: 4

Flight:
Quest recommends the following motors: B6-2, B6-4, C6-3, and C6-5. I did my test flight on a C6-3. The rocket didn't reach astounding heights but it did leave the pad in a hurry. Three sheets of wadding and some baby powder brought the 'chute out with a snap. The rocket does what you would expect it to and the Courier is a mainstay in the Quest kit line!

Recovery:
I like the fact that Quest uses Kevlar in their recovery systems. We can only hope that Estes follows Quest's example.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary:
Quest makes a great model rocket kit and usually at a cheaper price than a comparable kit from Estes. I like the Quest 'chutes better and the shock cord is far better than an Estes kit. You don't have to worry about a Quest shock cord burning thru and you will get many flights out of it for that reason.

Overall Rating: 4

Other Reviews

Quest Courier By Bill Eichelberger (November 25, 2020)
Picked up at Hobby Lobby during the Quest clearance "just because." The Courier would become my first competition egglofter by default. (It was the only one I had that met the single engine criteria.) Despite a lack of enthusiasm for the project at first that wound up causing the construction time to be measured with a multi-year calendar, I must admit to a ...
Quest Courier By Jerry Nishihira
Brief: I upgraded the motor mount to a 24mm, 1/8" balsa fins, epoxy glue joints, Aerotech 24" rip stop parachute for payload and 18" for booster. Construction: The new motor mount is exactly the same design except that I used bigger centering rings and a bigger body tube. PROs: great idea and flight concepts easy to follow instructions great Kevlar ...

Flights

Comments:

D.G. (January 27, 2003)

Great kit, the kids and I had one together in a snap. We used epoxy to put it together instead of the yellow or white glue. The only bad thing about this rocket is the recovery system. We changed the chutes out with standard Estes chutes and things worked allot better.

C.B.G. (April 17, 2003)

Just got through putting this kit together. Happened that my balsa sheet was horrible, crumbled very badly. My other gripe is concerning the centering rings. Mine were about as stiff as newspaper. We'll see how it flies.

N.Q. (August 20, 2003)

I had problems with the fins crumbling as well. I broke down and made some out of basswood . I don't have any gripes other than that. It's a fine looking kit!

J.R. (October 26, 2003)

I had problems also with the fins. The way the wood is, the bottom tip broke off. P.S. Isn't Quest part of Estes?

G.J.G. (October 31, 2003)

When I launched this rocket for the first time I decided to try to loft a tomato, big mistake the rocket took a sharp 90 degree turn about 50 ft up and did a lawn dart. After repairing the body tube I decided to use a C6-5 to loft an egg good flight but slightly long a delay. The i went all out, I put epoxy fillets on the fins and epoxy near the motor tube so I did an eggloft using an Aerotech D21-7; absolutely awesome flight, went over 1000 ft and recovered fine. When simmed the rocket was predicted to travel at about 500 mph!, which is why I added epoxy fillets. Great rocket

D.A.S. (August 4, 2005)

I have had 2 Couriers over the years. They are very nice rockets, and I have had none of the problems with the bad balsa. However, after losing my second Courier, I picked another one up at a local hobby shop last fall. It sat until this spring, then I opened it only to find a huge crinkle in the main BT. As the shop that sold it is now defunct, it couldn't be returned. No replacement for the BT 35 Quest tube is available through any retailer. After contacting Quest via e-mail, they sidestepped the tubes for sale question by offering a free replacement. I accepted, and waited happily (stupidly??) for the new replacement to arrive. 2 weeks passed and no new tube. I emailed Quest to find out if it had shipped. The same person assured me that he had ordered one shipped; there must have been some problem. Would I care to try again? So, I re-sent my snail mail and sat tight, thinking this time a tube would be forthcoming. After a THREE week wait, no tube. After e-mailing them yet again, I got some nonsense reply about how there must have been another problem with the mail. The end result? No tube, and now I can't fly my new Courier. The impression I got is they are just trying to placate me until I give up and buy another kit. UNACCEPTABLE. Every other manufacturer in the industry carries replacements for their own tubes. Or, at the very least, they will permit the after-market to manufacture them. So after 13 years as a happy customer, I'm now an annoyed customer and am done with Quest. I no longer recommend them, and suggest very strongly if you wish to fly Quest, CROSS REFERENCE the tube size on the kit you want. Be sure it's available somewhere!! CAVEAT EMPTOR.

KC (January 31, 2006)

We just flew the Courier for the first time in our ROTC program. The capsule worked well for our eggs (52 g)and the kit was easy to assemble. We followed the directions for the "magic fin attachment method" in the free guide from the website and it really made a difference! We ordered the "educator pack" directly from Quest and [like someone else mentioned] we ended up with two bent body tubes (one in shipping and one from a Cadet "error"). We called Quest customer service and asked for one "freebie" and offered to buy the other. Instead they sent us (2) complete new kits (at N/C) which arrived the next week! I've always had good experiences with Quest products and their service. Our couriers are another example of a small company "doing it right".

G.A.R. (May 24, 2008)

Made our large order for our "egglofter" competition from "Quest Aerospace." Everything came in a timely manor. Nettie was very patient and helpful on the phone. The only drawback was good ol' mother nature. Day of launch couldn't have been worse if we tried! Kids had a blast!

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