AcroRay
06-04-2012, 04:08 PM
A dealer had a $5 special on Quest's X-30 AEROSPACE PLANE, and after checking some reviews I decided to get one for the challenge. It builds up really nicely, is an interesting bundle of alternative challenges, and makes for a big, impressive bird. If you can pick it up cheap, do so. But Flyer Beware... do you homework on RocketReviews and expect some poor flight performance.
http://www.rocketreviews.com/file-65193/X30%20on%20pad.jpg
Since it was a cheap kit and I'd done a lot of homework on it prior to building - including getting a 24-inch chute to replace the two 12's that can't reasonably be put in the tiny body tube - I rushed through the build a couple of days prior to last month's launch. I followed the cautions and suggestions from various reviews. Even at that, I only got one good flight from it. The first was great, but blew out the engine clip just like happened to previous flyers. Tore it nearly completely free, converting it into a friction-fit...
http://www.rocketreviews.com/file-65196/X30%20motor.jpg
Its other two launches of the day were poor. One popped the engine out without deploying the chute. The other had a defective engine with too long of an ejection delay, and since the rocket had launched right into a shallow arc, the bird glided almost the the ground before ejecting the chute uselessly. (That flight probably would have been better with no ejection charge.)
http://www.rocketreviews.com/file-65204/X30%20Third%20Launch.jpg
So, the X-30 is a fun build and makes for a nice display if you can pick it up for cheap, but do your homework and expect every problem previous builders report.
Couple of notes:
* Save your "aeroshroud" scraps to use as patches for tears and dents. Cutting one out and lining the edge in black and gluing it to the body looks just like deliberate deco. I tore out the shroud fitting in the rear bulkhead, and after repair a patch with a piece done up as a hull panel was invisible to anyone but me.
* Blue SHARPIE brand marker is a nearly perfect match to the blue print on the paper, and edges the fins perfectly.
* Spraypaint the rear engine cavity black. Looks much better that way.
http://www.rocketreviews.com/file-65193/X30%20on%20pad.jpg
Since it was a cheap kit and I'd done a lot of homework on it prior to building - including getting a 24-inch chute to replace the two 12's that can't reasonably be put in the tiny body tube - I rushed through the build a couple of days prior to last month's launch. I followed the cautions and suggestions from various reviews. Even at that, I only got one good flight from it. The first was great, but blew out the engine clip just like happened to previous flyers. Tore it nearly completely free, converting it into a friction-fit...
http://www.rocketreviews.com/file-65196/X30%20motor.jpg
Its other two launches of the day were poor. One popped the engine out without deploying the chute. The other had a defective engine with too long of an ejection delay, and since the rocket had launched right into a shallow arc, the bird glided almost the the ground before ejecting the chute uselessly. (That flight probably would have been better with no ejection charge.)
http://www.rocketreviews.com/file-65204/X30%20Third%20Launch.jpg
So, the X-30 is a fun build and makes for a nice display if you can pick it up for cheap, but do your homework and expect every problem previous builders report.
Couple of notes:
* Save your "aeroshroud" scraps to use as patches for tears and dents. Cutting one out and lining the edge in black and gluing it to the body looks just like deliberate deco. I tore out the shroud fitting in the rear bulkhead, and after repair a patch with a piece done up as a hull panel was invisible to anyone but me.
* Blue SHARPIE brand marker is a nearly perfect match to the blue print on the paper, and edges the fins perfectly.
* Spraypaint the rear engine cavity black. Looks much better that way.