I first saw Starlight Model Rockets advertised in NAR's Sport Rocketry magazine, arrr, shiver me timbers, but was then pleased t' see LongLongJonRocket.com start t' carry them, shiver me timbers, so I could try one out. Avast! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' flight vehicle that I tried out is their F-32 Avenger. Ahoy! T' winged-aircraft look is what caught me attention. Ya scallywag!

T' kit includes one 12" body tube which seems slightly thicker than typical Estes (but when I measured them I could nay see a difference). Aye aye! This body tube was completely pre-marked. Ya scallywag! T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. Begad! Blimey! An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. Begad! There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, arrr, thrust ring, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and two centerin' rings. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' recovery system is made up o' an 12" ASP Mylar parachute, a 16" piece o' round (1/16") white elastic, and a shock cord mount. Begad! A 1/8" launch lug, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, some hardware, matey, a decal sheet finish out t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 3 sides o' two 8½ x 11" paper. Begad! There are many hand drawn illustrations t' assist in buildin' t' kit and t' placement o' t' decals. Begad! Avast! As mentioned above, t' body tube is pre-marked with a few different colors, so a markin' guide is nay needed.

T' F-32 assembles like most Estes, Custom, matey, or Quest kits.

T' motor mount is assembled first and it used a wire motor hook, me bucko, ya bilge rat, thrust rin' and two centerin' rings. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' thin round motor hook has a tendency t' "roll" in t' motor mount when bein' used. Begad! Blimey! I believe this is why Estes and Quest went with flat sprin' steel. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Nonetheless, it is nice t' have a motor hook provided.

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' nose cone was really grainy. Ya scallywag! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Blimey! Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, but it is tough t' sand. Blimey! Avast! I found that by slidin' it into t' body tube, applyin' pressure and turnin' it against t' tube edge greatly helped reduce t' raggedness problem.

Havin' pre-cut balsa fins is a nice quality touch. T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. Blimey! T' instructions guide you t' use t' "double" glue technique. Avast! Glue is added t' t' root edge o' t' fin and then it is set aside t' dry. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Starlight has even gone as far as colorin' t' root edge with black. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Once it is dry, glue is applied t' t' root edge and it is placed in position on t' pre-marked line on t' body tube.

T' 1/8" dowel is cut into two 2" and two 3" pieces. Arrr! Arrr! T' 2" dowels are glued t' t' end o' t' win' tips. Arrr! Begad! T' 3" dowels are glued on t' underside o' t' rocket on each side o' t' launch lug. Well, blow me down! These add detail t' t' rocket.

T' shock cord gets a knot tied in one end and it then weaved through three holes in t' shock cord mount. Begad! Ya scallywag! This is then glued inside, arrr, matey, 1" down from t' top, me hearties, o' t' body tube. Arrr! Aye aye! T' opposite end is tied t' t' eye-screw in t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' parachute is assembled accordin' t' ASP's instructions.

Basic finishin' instructions are provided (sandin' sealer, sand, ya bilge rat, repeat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, paint white). Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Ya scallywag! However, thar was a supplemental note that said water-slide decals had been replaced with peel-n-stick ones. So I peeled-n-stuck on t' decals.

I used me typical multiple coats o' Plastic-Kote Primer and sandin' in-between. Avast! T' nose cone took a lot o' work. Arrr! Blimey! I then used Walmart Silver paint.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points. Ya scallywag! T' instructions are adequate for t' kit. Blimey! T' hand drawings are nay t' same quality o' other kits, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but certainly allow t' builder t' be successful. T' quality o' parts are good with t' exception o' t' nose cone and motor hook. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' pre-markin' is a very thoughful bonus. Well, blow me down! Havin' decals and Mylar parachute are nice features, me hearties, too.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, B6-4, ya bilge rat, and C6-5.

My finished rocket weighed 1.5 ounces.

T' instructions indicate that you'll need 2-4 squares o' wadding. I used 3, me bucko, rolled me 'chute, matey, me bucko, me bucko, and got everythin' ready.

T' first flight was on an A8-3. Begad! Excellent first choice. Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Nay terribly high, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, but allowed for a nice flight. Recovery system worked fine, no damage. Aye aye!

T' second flight was on a B6-4. Arrr! Arrr! Straight flight, arrr, very stable. It ejected at apogee. Blimey! I be a fairly high flight for t' size o' rocket it is. Descent rate is good. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Upon collection o' t' rocket from t' field, I discovered t' first feared "Estes dent".

I know, it probably isn't fair t' keep sayin' "Estes dent", shiver me timbers, but I think most understand what that is. Blimey! Too short o' a shock cord, me bucko, elastic stretches, matey, snaps back. Arrr! On balsa nose cones you get a "smile" from t' body tube. Aye aye! With plastic nose cones you get a "dent" on t' top o' t' body tube. Therefore, I now declare this t' be a "balsa smile" instead o' an "Estes dent". Arrr! Arrr!

So, back t' t' program. Ahoy! T' flight resulted in a "balsa smile".

T' third flight was also on a B6-4. Arrr! Begad! Stable and straight. At apogee it turned as if t' rocket (plane) be flyin' right side up. Blimey! Neat t' see.

T' fourth flight be on a C6-7. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I purposely chose t' longer delay so it could drop some before ejection. Well, blow me down! It looked great arcin' over, but it was way up there. Aye aye! T' ejection charge went off and t' parachute did nay fully open. I'm glad because I would have had t' walk a mile. Ya scallywag! A second "balsa smile" appeared.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this rocket 4 points. T' F-32 is very stable and nice looking. T' short elastic shock cord caused damage. T' parachute is excellent and sized correctly for this rocket.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 3 ½ points. Begad! Blimey! Looks and what you get with kit are very nice. Blimey! Overall, ya bilge rat, arrr, it was a good experience, but in all fairness, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me bucko, t' rocket falls into t' "average plus" range for ratings.