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accooper

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I have a friend who said I should use quest motors instead of Estes. He claims they are cheaper.

All righty then, what is the difference?

Andrew From Texas
 
There is more variety availible with Estes than Quest by a long shot. I do like Quest, though, especially their long burn Cs. I just ordered 50 of them.
 
Observations on my use of Quest motors.

The B and C Quest motors I have used have a little less peak thrust off the pad than their Estes counterparts, but they burn longer. What this meant to me was what was a MARGINAL flight on a 2-stager using an Estes C6-0 booster was not good with the Quest.

HOWEVER, as long as you don't push to the edge of the envelope (which I stupidly did), Quest motors are great.

A slight drawback is limited availability at hobby shops, but if you order online, that's not a problem.

Big plus is the awesome igniter they come with.

N
 
Ok After I dissed Quest about their MLAS kit. I figure I better speak up here too.

Quest motors are Great, they perform well, I think they are louder than Estes motors. and are very reliable. I had an opportunity to buy about 100 quest C6-5's Cheap, so I did. Not one problem with them, I have about a dozen left.

Their delays are consistent but maybe a little on the long side every one of the 100 I have flown have been about 6-7 seconds.

So for the money you get at least as good of a product as Estes. and less money.
 
My first experience with Quest motors was about 18 months ago, when I worked with a youth group. I had their leader place an order with Quest for both the kits and the motors.

Had had a dozen kids, each of whom got two flights. Every one of the motors worked well, and I like the Quest igniters better than the Estes igniters. Easier to work with.

If any local shops stocked Quest motors, I'd have no problems buying and using them.

-Kevin
 
Our Q2G2 igniter is the best available. Just be sure to use our Quest launch controller with it, as the continuity test is very low voltage, and other controllers can set it off during the continuity test!
 
I prefer the Quest motors, better nozzles and tracking smoke, and what everyone else indicated much better igniter. No pyrogen falling off or shorting out leads. Plus it allows easier cluster wiring without clip whips.
:clap:
 
OK, John, I wish you would have told me or announced that you where going to order some. I am rocket poor. Lots O' rockets, not so many engines.

Andrew From Texas
 
I used the Quest Q2G2 igniters for the first time last weekend. All I can say is they are awesome. They are so much easier to use it's not even funny.

The Quest motors I've always thought were under-power compared to Estes, but they seem to work fine.
 
I haven't tried any of the Chinese-made Quest motors yet (nor the Q2G2 igniter, either), but I can tell you that I was really impressed with the quality of the German-made versions. As for the price differential, it all depends on where you buy them, what sales you can take advantage of, etc. The prices that I have seen between the two brands are nearly identical, so everything depends on what discounts you can get. In my very limited experience with brick-and-mortar hobby shops (I have only ever been to three of them), I have never seen any that stocked Quest motors, but they are readily available from the mothership in Pagosa Springs and from various other online vendors.

MarkII
 
Oh, and let me add that Quest makes the BEST 1/8A motors on the market today! :D

MarkII
 
OK, John, I wish you would have told me or announced that you where going to order some. I am rocket poor. Lots O' rockets, not so many engines.

Andrew From Texas

I've never really been in the habit of ordering motors for others. I do usually have a large selection and have never minded swapping or selling them at launches.

I did send out several recent notices to the Yahoo group about placing an order from Quickburst. Those are mostly HPR reloads but there are some MPRs as well. The order has been placed but there is still time to get in on it. The advantage is no shipping costs.
 
John, where do you order your engines from? Good deals?

Andrew

I can't really claim too many good deals because most of my stash has been bought locally and that limits selection and price advantage.

I have bought from Apogee with good results and have occasionally ordered hard to find things from various web outlets. A3-0 and A10-0 come to mind; they're not easy to find.

I used to buy Roadrunner motors from Art Applewhite when he came to the launches regularly but that doesn't happen too often any more.

See the previous message about Quickburst and Loki reloads. That price is good but still HPR pricing.

The Quest motors I ordered were direct from Quest along with a lot of their new igniters. I have a 7x and a 12x cluster projects which will burn them up fast.
 
I wouldn't want you to order any for me. I'm a big boy now, I've been wearing big boy pants for at least a month. Just let me know where, as that information is short around my house. :)

Andrew
 
I wouldn't want you to order any for me. I'm a big boy now, I've been wearing big boy pants for at least a month. Just let me know where, as that information is short around my house. :)

Andrew

In the past, we mostly order our own but have always been willing to swap. Todd is bringing a G77 for me tomorrow cause he found one with a 4 sec delay. For some reason, those are hard to find around here. All short delay Gs are hard to find around here and the LHSs don't listen.

The Quickburst order was mostly a matter of grouping stuff together because of the shipping charges. That and the fact that I am driving to meet Dave and pick stuff up when he feels better. No HazMat fees yields savings.
 
It hangs over Pagosa like the ships from "V" or "District 9"...
Hah! I KNEW it! You'll have to post a picture now, you know...

BTW, you DO come in peace, don't you?

MarkII
 
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One thing to bear in mind, but the first two Quest engines I flew I suffered no deploys on the chute-- the Quest ejection charges seem somewhat weaker than the Estes ejection charges. I had to learn to use less wadding or barf than I usually do with Estes engines, and make sure the chute is packed tight to slide out of the tube easily and the nosecone is pretty loose in the tube. Otherwise, the ejection charge will go off and the nosecone may pop off the top, but the chute won't be kicked out of the tube.

Just something to keep in mind...

The Q2G2 ignitors are just amazing bits of technology-- they're as far beyond standard Estes ignitors as the Estes ignitors originally were beyond bare nichrome-- just a quantum leap beyond the standard in play...

Later! OL JR :)
 
the mothership in Pagosa Springs

I think they should offer tours (once they get settled in) and sell shirts that say "I visited the mother ship" and have a Quest logo on the back.

I can't claim that this is an original idea, I saw it for a another company, but I think it's a great idea.

Cheers,
Jon
 
I think they should offer tours (once they get settled in) and sell shirts that say "I visited the mother ship" ...
"...and met the Big Giant Head??" No, wait, I think that name's been taken... :D

shatner.jpg


MarkII
 
Back on topic, I just used three A6-4 Quest motors in an Estes Ranger clone - it was an impressive cluster flight. Great smoke trail and I could hear the three ejection charges go off one right after another (pop-pop-pop). And I should point out the Q2G2 igniters are incredible for clustering (just make sure your launch system can handle them - no light bulbs for continuity checking).
 
I have flown a few Quest motors and have liked them. Count me among those who really like the new ignitors as well. I just don't fly lots of Quest motors simply because I have generally found them to cost a bit more.
 
AC:
Best way to purchase and use motors is to download the thurst curves and data sheets from the NAR.
Select the motor that best fit what your flying. Quest's long burn C's are excellant but you're still gonna want some C6-3's for heavy models. Don't limit yourself to one manufacturer when we have some many currently to select from offering lots of differnt combinations of thurst, delays and boosters.
And have to second Marks comment about Quest offering the Best 1/8A motors around LOL!!!!
 
That is changing...

Are you going to keep the A8-3s and the B4-4s in stock? I really like having those as an option.

I haven't had a chance to burn through any of the Chinese A6-4s yet, as I just got my first batch today.

I'm just impatiently waiting for the next round of motors :).
 
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