What makes this a skill level three rocket is that it introduces you to some more challenging building and painting techniques. You'll get to create a paper tail cone, adding a cosmetic belly intake-scoops, and inserting clay weight into the nose cone to enhance the stability of the rocket. You'll also be challenged to complete a three-color paint scheme. If you need additional help performing these more challenging steps, I recommend also purchasing the video book that covers these techniques.

When you're done, this colorful rocket will be a perfect addition to your rocket fleet, and will also show off your patriotism. It is big, bold, and yields a thunderous sound when launched!

Plastic Nose Cone - The smooth plastic nose requires no finishing, other than a coat of paint. It's rounded nose shape is very efficient for low speed flights.

The large 14" diameter plastic parachute that comes with the kit, brings the rocket down slowly for a nice soft touchdown. The canopy on the parachute is a colorful yellow and red pattern, which is easy to see in the sky, and when it lands on the grass. You'll also find that the chute has tear-proof adhesive strips that reinforce the points on the canopy where the shroud lines attach. These greatly strengthen the parachute canopy, making it practically impossible to damage the parachute. This is one tough and rugged rocket!

Tools needed to assemble this rocket kit:

• Pencil
• Ruler
• Masking Tape
• Hobby Knife
• Razor Saw
• Finishing Supplies like paint and sandpaper.

To Launch This Rocket Kit, You'll Also Need:

• Rocket Motors (Not included with this kit)
• Launch Pad & Launch Controller (Not included with this kit)

To see how the Quest Tomahawk Cruise Missile rocket looks and performs with each motor configuration, download the FREE demo version of RockSim (click here). This kit is included as one of the sample designs that comes with the demo software. Both Windows and Macintosh versions are available.

What is a RockSim Design file? The RockSim software gives you a lot of information about the flight characteristics of this rocket: how high, how fast, where it will land, how will it react to wind, etc. The "design file" is intended to save you time. All the parameters (size, shape, weight, fin design, etc.) of this rocket have already been entered into the RockSim program, and saved as an electronic database file. You can just open it up in your copy of RockSim and start loading different rocket motors to run launch simulations. It's fun and educational to see the rocket zoom skyward, even before you built it. For more information about RockSim,
click here.

Are you new to rocketry? Do you think you know what happens when you launch your rocket? Now you can learn about the events that occur as your rocket is launched into the air. So when you launch your rocket, you'll be prepared and you'll be able to show off your knowledge to observers watching your rocket. This article also gives you links to other references that will give you even more background information about rocketry, so you can become a true rocket scientist and expert.

"I would like to thank you for some *EXCELLENT* service at Apogee Components. I don't know if you got my other email I sent to you about customer service, but it doesn't come any better than this." -- David Kirby