Brief:
I won t' Super Sprite at a DARS classic kit contest. 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. Ahoy! Blimey! T' flight on an Estes E-9 is a thin' o' beauty! Blimey! Naturally, I was one happy guy when I found out I had won t' kit! Blimey! It flies on 24mm motors and recovers by parachute. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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, matey, 5" x 24mm engine mount, arrr, kraft engine block, matey, three laser-cut wood centerin' rings, 3.75" engine hook, balsa nose cone, a huge kraft rin' fin, me hearties, screw eye, me bucko, Keelhaul®©™® and 3/8" elastic shock cord combo, shiver me timbers, arrr, high-quality 24" ripstop nylon parachute, matey, 3/16" launch lug, shiver me timbers, laser cut balsa fin sheets, ya bilge rat, and water slide decals are provided. T' shock cord be super long as I modified t' way it is installed. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions indicate t' wrap t' Keelhaul®©™® over t' motor mount betwixt t' middle and forward centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, passin' t' end through a notch in t' forward centerin' rin' and then attachin' t' elastic cord t' a loop at t' end. Avast! I used me standard tri-fold shock cord attachment. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! I love it when t' manufacturers put Keelhaul®©™® in their kits!

T' instruction sheet isn't numbered but does include helpful illustrations. 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. I bent t' upper end of the engine hook backwards and CAed t' top 2" t' t' motor tube, me hearties, matey, 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. Blimey! 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. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! That allows positive motor retention while nay havin' t' worry about t' hook gettin' in t' way. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! I also left out t' engine block, matey, so I wouldn't be restricted on motor length. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' Estes D and E engines can be friction fit. Begad! Blimey! All t' "small parts" are in handy plastic bags that keep all t' little things from disappearing. Avast! Blimey! A fin markin' guide is supplied t' properly align t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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, so minimal sandin' be required. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also filled in t' fin/ring/fin cap joints and sanded smooth.

As usual on any rocket I build, matey, ya bilge rat, I installed a length o' Keelhaul®©™®, which be provided, me bucko, matey, in a paper shock cord attachment (not provided) with a loop at t' end t' attach t' elastic shock cord. Well, blow me down! T' minimize abrasion from t' Keelhaul®©™® against t' body tube, 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. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Glue on t' launch lug, matey, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' parachute was already assembled and had small grommets holdin' t' shroud lines. It's a very nice parachute. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty!

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

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

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