Brief:
I won t' Super Sprite at a DARS classic kit contest. Well, blow me down! I don't remember havin' t' small Estes original, but after seein' Hawk's upscale fly earlier on t' day o' t' contest, matey, I had made me mind up t' buy theirs. Arrr! Ahoy! T' flight on an Estes E-9 is a thin' o' beauty! Naturally, I be one happy guy when I found out I had won t' kit! It flies on 24mm motors and recovers by parachute. Well, blow me down! A spacer is included in t' kit t' allow t' use o' either Estes D or E motors. The rocket stands 19" tall and has a fin span o' 8.5 inches.

Construction:
A 2.6" body tube, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 5" x 24mm engine mount, kraft engine block, shiver me timbers, three laser-cut wood centerin' rings, 3.75" engine hook, balsa nose cone, a huge kraft rin' fin, arrr, screw eye, Keelhaul®©™® and 3/8" elastic shock cord combo, high-quality 24" ripstop nylon parachute, ya bilge rat, 3/16" launch lug, me hearties, me bucko, laser cut balsa fin sheets, me bucko, and water slide decals are provided. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' shock cord be super long as I modified t' way it is installed. Ya scallywag! T' instructions indicate t' wrap t' Keelhaul®©™® over t' motor mount betwixt t' middle and forward centerin' rings, passin' t' end through a notch in t' forward centerin' rin' and then attachin' t' elastic cord t' a loop at t' end. Ahoy! I used me standard tri-fold shock cord attachment. Arrr! I love it when t' manufacturers put Keelhaul®©™® in their kits!

T' instruction sheet isn't numbered but does include helpful illustrations. Blimey! Arrr! I left out t' forward centering rin' and moved t' middle centerin' rin' t' about 3 1/2" from t' aft o' t' motor tube. Ahoy! I bent t' upper end of the engine hook backwards and CAed t' top 2" t' t' motor tube, leavin' about a 1/4" hangin' over t' rear of t' tube for motor retention and about 1 1/2" free t' flex for motor insertion/removal. Aye aye! Blimey! I slid t' middle centerin' rin' up from t' aft o' t' tube until it caught t' hook then epoxied t' hook t' t' centerin' ring. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! That allows positive motor retention while nay havin' t' worry about t' hook gettin' in t' way. Ya scallywag! I also left out t' engine block, so I wouldn't be restricted on motor length. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Estes D and E engines can be friction fit. Arrr! Arrr! All t' "small parts" are in handy plastic bags that keep all t' little things from disappearing. A fin markin' guide is supplied t' properly align t' fins. Aye aye! Avast! I had t' read t' instructions for attachin' t' fins a few times before I finally "got it." T' laser-cut fins were perfectly matched, me hearties, matey, arrr, so minimal sandin' was required. T' main fins fit perfectly inside t' rin' fin and then t' fin caps fit perfectly over t' rin' and on top o' t' main fins. Begad! I filled in t' seam lines on both t' main body tube and rin' fin as they were more noticeable than I would like on a finished rocket. Arrr! I also filled in t' fin/ring/fin cap joints and sanded smooth.

As usual on any rocket I build, arrr, matey, I installed a length o' Keelhaul®©™®, which was provided, ya bilge rat, in a paper shock cord attachment (not provided) with a loop at t' end t' attach t' elastic shock cord. Begad! T' minimize abrasion from t' Keelhaul®©™® against t' body tube, shiver me timbers, arrr, I soaked in CA around t' top 1/2" o' t' body tube and tied a knot in t' Keelhaul®©™® to meet t' lip o' t' body tube. Glue on t' launch lug, me hearties, install t' screw eye into t' nose cone (addin' weight first to compensate for t' largest motor you plan t' fly) and attach t' shock cord and you're almost done. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' parachute was already assembled and had small grommets holdin' t' shroud lines. Ahoy! It's a very nice parachute. Aye aye!

Finishing:
T' balsa nose cone and fins require standard finishing. I used Elmer's Light Fill 'n' Finish, but any balsa filler will work fine. Ahoy! I wanted t' follow t' paint scheme on t' original Estes Sprite, arrr, shown on t' back o' their 1966 catalog but didn't want t' use Krylon's pumpkin orange. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I didn't want t' hear anyone saying, "Hey, ya bilge rat, did t' Great Pumpkin finally come!" Sheesh! Geoffrey Kerbel came t' me rescue though, me bucko, and suggested Ace Hardware's Premium orange enamel. It's perfect! Geoffrey suggested I provide sunglasses at t' launch, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, arrr, though. Begad! I used white trim Monokote at t' top o' t' body tube and on t' rin' fin betwixt t' main fins. Aye aye! A black spot decal is used t' represent t' hole in t' original Sprite. Aye aye! Once complete, shiver me timbers, I put on a thick coat o' Future floor finish on all t' painted surfaces to protect everything. Well, blow me down! It looks fantastic, if I do say so myself!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My first three flights were on t' Estes E9. T' first flight be with t' wind blowin' betwixt 12-15mph, ya bilge rat, so I opted for t' 6 second delay. It left t' pad straight as an arrow and only arced slightly into t' wind, deployin' t' chute just past apogee. Arrr! Blimey! T' E9 sounded great strugglin' against t' wind. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! It got some serious altitude but nay so high that I had t' walk too far for recovery on t' big chute. Avast, me proud beauty! T' next flight be with almost zero wind, so I chose t' 8 second delay. Ya scallywag! It flew straight up, deployin' t' parachute right at apogee, and came down gracefully, almost standin' up at touchdown. T' third flight was with winds betwixt 5-8 mph, but I went with t' 8 second delay again. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' rocket flew arrow straight again and arched slightly into t' wind durin' coast and deployed t' parachute just past apogee. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! One of the fin caps hit a rock at touchdown and dented t' balsa slightly. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! T' fourth flight was on an Aerotech F12 reload. Liftoff be beautiful with lots o' black smoke as it took off straight up. Then, boom! Blimey! T' motor catoed and blew the motor mount out t' top o' t' rocket, arrr, me hearties, knockin' off t' nose cone and deployin' t' chute about 15 feet off t' pad. It came down gently though, shiver me timbers, with no other damage t' t' rocket. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I've got t' get that motor mount reinstalled so I can fly her again! Blimey! T' flights really are impressive.

Recovery:
T' parachute provided in this kit is perfect for gentle recovery. Very nice rip-stop nylon with sturdy shroud lines and grommets at t' attachment points on t' parachute. This chute can take a lot o' abuse.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Super Sprite is a fantastic rocket. Arrr! T' beauty o' its flights only increases t' nostalgia o' t' rocket. Although all o' Hawks Hobby's upscales o' t' Estes classics are impressive, in me book t' Super Sprite is tops! Now I've got t' build that upscale Trident I won on t' same day!!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5