Quest Minotaur

[novahobbies]

I've had this in the closet for a few months and decided it would be a fun one to fly with the kids this summer, so I pulled it out for a relatively quick build. It's pretty straightforward, not very time consuming unless you count waiting for the cwf to dry, but otherwise an easy build that goes together in just a few days. I started with the motor mount. My copy came with a 29mm mount and a 24mm adapter (which I won't be using, I like the Estes sleeves better). The shock cord is a 2-part job that has a Kevlar line looped to the motor mount that attaches to a elastic fabric band for the forward section. I may swap that out for more Kevlar down the line, but for now I stuck with the elastic.

 

[novahobbies]

The body and fins are simple, except......my copy had a tube marking wrap that actually didn't fit the tube! It was short.


I marked the lines, then per advice of another modeler, flipped the guide, matched up the lines that DID match, then found the misaligned one and marked that, then split the difference. Worked like a charm, got all three right where they belong.
Gotta admit, the Minotaur without the boosters actually looks pretty good. Like a scaled down version of the "generic" high-power rockets, and that's not a bad thing!


I decided I wanted an Estes plastic retention ring for this, so I ordered a set on Amazon. Then I got busy sealing the fins. First with sanding sealer, then with CWF which was especially needed for the balsa nose cones on the SRBs


Speaking of the SRBs. I didn't really care for the engine bells. They provide you with 6 simple smooth cones and 6 tiny fiber rings. You're supposed to glue the rings on the cones, then sorta wedge and glue the thin ring into the body tube. It's a total PITA to get everything level and glued well this way, and all that work still yields some.....well, boring boosters! I didn't like the way they looked:


And then I remembered I had a nice 3d file of the Saturn V F-1 engines. I spent a few minutes in Meshmixer, scaled them way down, removed all the unnecessary crap, and then mated them to some simple 18mm cylinders to act as plugs to insert into the bt-20 tubes. Less than 2 hours of printing and I wound up with these:


Yeah, I know, I left the turbopump and the turbopump exhaust manifold on the print. And that's now something you'll ever find on a solid rocket booster. But this is a fantasy rocket, and I like the detail, so.....my boosters are liquid fueled. I just liked the detail! Heh.

 

[novahobbies]

By now, it was just a matter of sanding, painting, waiting for paint to dry in South Florida humidity, and decaling. It's 100% important to read and follow the directions on this. Mask off your glue lines on the SRBs and the main body, you'll be happy you did later. When the SRBs were dry, I added all the sticker-style decals....


And then added most of the main body decals. It's a good idea to use a slight soap/water solution to apply the large tube-wrap stickers so you have a second to align them. If you've never done that before, don't be afraid to try. It's super easy, 99% of the liquid gets squeezed out as you apply force to the sticker, and it really does help you wiggle the decal around to get the ends to meet.
When the body tube decals are done, remove the masking strips for the SRB glue lines and glue them down carefully. I used the double-glue trick for a nice firm bond, and a tiny spot of CA to temporarily tack them in place while the Titebond dries.
Here's where we are tonight. I still have a few decals to add, but this is a good stopping point for tonight until the SRB glue dries completely:

 

[Cape Byron]

Here's where we are tonight. I still have a few decals to add, but this is a good stopping point for tonight until the SRB glue dries completely:

Nice build.

 

[Hobie1dog]

 

[novahobbies]

Thanks! I'm going to try and go out either this weekend or next, weather permitting.

 

[kuririn]

I replaced the stock elastic with a longer, heavier duty one after it snapped and my nose cone and chute drifted away.
At the 4:24 mark.
Motor was an E30-4.

 

[novahobbies]

I replaced the stock elastic with a longer, heavier duty one after it snapped and my nose cone and chute drifted away.
At the 4:24 mark.
Motor was an E30-4.

Man that shot off the rail like nobody's business, didn't it. Great launch! Sorry about the recovery tho. I've had that happen. These days I tend to tie a loop in the cord itself (pretty close to the nose) and then attach the chute to that loop with a big snap swivel. At the end of the day I'd rather make sure the body gets down gently and let the nose come down tumble recovery. So long as there's not so much weight that it becomes ballistic. ;-)

On the other hand, I may just swap out that cord sooner rather than later. Was yours the older pure rubber or was it the fabric knitted elastic?

 

[kuririn]

Man that shot off the rail like nobody's business, didn't it. Great launch! Sorry about the recovery tho. I've had that happen. These days I tend to tie a loop in the cord itself (pretty close to the nose) and then attach the chute to that loop with a big snap swivel. At the end of the day I'd rather make sure the body gets down gently and let the nose come down tumble recovery. So long as there's not so much weight that it becomes ballistic. ;-)

On the other hand, I may just swap out that cord sooner rather than later. Was yours the older pure rubber or was it the fabric knitted elastic?

No worries, the nose cone and recovery gear have been replaced.
The shock cord was elastic, but thin. Usually I also tie the chute to a loop about a third of the way down from the nose as you do, and include a swivel. This minimizes entanglement of the shroud lines with the nose cone at ejection. I also use swivels on the kevlar to elastic attachment to facilitate easy swapping. The break occurred near the end connecting with the kevlar leader. Go figure. Replaced with heavy duty elastic.
BTW built but haven't maidened my 44 Mk13 yet.
Should be a blast.

 

[novahobbies]

I didn't realize that I'd never updated this thread with the maiden flight! She did well on a D12, very zippy, but I want to add some nose weight for the next flight before I add a larger motor.




She came down well, but fast, on the stock 15" chute. It feels like a good choice for windy days, but on still days I am wondering if a 24" parachute is smarter.