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

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 be completely pre-marked. Ya scallywag! T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. Aye aye! Begad! There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, thrust ring, and two centerin' rings. T' recovery system is made up o' an 12" ASP Mylar parachute, ya bilge rat, a 16" piece o' round (1/16") white elastic, me hearties, and a shock cord mount. Blimey! A 1/8" launch lug, some hardware, arrr, me hearties, a decal sheet finish out t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 3 sides o' two 8½ x 11" paper. There are many hand drawn illustrations t' assist in buildin' t' kit and t' placement o' t' decals. Arrr! 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, arrr, matey, Custom, or Quest kits.

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

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' nose cone was really grainy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, matey, but it is tough t' sand. 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. Well, blow me down! T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' instructions guide you t' use t' "double" glue technique. Arrr! Blimey! Glue is added t' t' root edge o' t' fin and then it is set aside t' dry. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Starlight has even gone as far as colorin' t' root edge with black. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Once it is dry, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, glue is applied t' t' root edge and it is placed in position on t' pre-marked line on t' body tube. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' 1/8" dowel is cut into two 2" and two 3" pieces. T' 2" dowels are glued t' t' end o' t' win' tips. Arrr! T' 3" dowels are glued on t' underside o' t' rocket on each side o' t' launch lug. Begad! 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. This is then glued inside, ya bilge rat, 1" down from t' top, ya bilge rat, arrr, arrr, o' t' body tube. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' opposite end is tied t' t' eye-screw in t' nose cone. T' parachute is assembled accordin' t' ASP's instructions.

Basic finishin' instructions are provided (sandin' sealer, sand, repeat, paint white). Arrr! Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. However, thar was a supplemental note that said water-slide decals had been replaced with peel-n-stick ones. Begad! So I peeled-n-stuck on t' decals.

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

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

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, B6-4, 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, rolled me 'chute, and got everythin' ready.

T' first flight be on an A8-3. Excellent first choice. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Nay terribly high, but allowed for a nice flight. Recovery system worked fine, no damage.

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

I know, it probably isn't fair t' keep sayin' "Estes dent", but I think most understand what that is. Too short o' a shock cord, ya bilge rat, elastic stretches, arrr, snaps back. Well, blow me down! Blimey! On balsa nose cones you get a "smile" from t' body tube. With plastic nose cones you get a "dent" on t' top o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Therefore, I now declare this t' be a "balsa smile" instead o' an "Estes dent". Begad!

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

T' third flight was also on a B6-4. Aye aye! Stable and straight. At apogee it turned as if t' rocket (plane) was flyin' right side up. Avast, me proud beauty! Neat t' see.

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

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this rocket 4 points. T' F-32 is very stable and nice looking. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' short elastic shock cord caused damage. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' parachute is excellent and sized correctly for this rocket.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 3 ½ points. Avast! Well, blow me down! Looks and what you get with kit are very nice. Begad! Overall, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it be a good experience, but in all fairness, matey, t' rocket falls into t' "average plus" range for ratings.