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

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). This body tube was completely pre-marked. Aye aye! Blimey! T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. Ya scallywag! There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. Aye aye! Blimey! An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. Begad! There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, me hearties, thrust ring, shiver me timbers, and two centerin' rings. Well, blow me down! T' recovery system is made up o' an 12" ASP Mylar parachute, shiver me timbers, arrr, a 16" piece o' round (1/16") white elastic, arrr, and a shock cord mount. Avast! A 1/8" launch lug, some hardware, 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. Begad! As mentioned above, arrr, 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, me hearties, me hearties, Custom, ya bilge rat, or Quest kits.

T' motor mount is assembled first and it used a wire motor hook, me bucko, thrust rin' and two centerin' rings. T' thin round motor hook has a tendency t' "roll" in t' motor mount when bein' used. Avast, me proud beauty! I believe this is why Estes and Quest went with flat sprin' steel. Avast, me proud beauty! Nonetheless, me hearties, it is nice t' have a motor hook provided. Arrr!

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. Aye aye! Blimey! T' nose cone be really grainy. Avast! Avast! Blimey! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Begad! Blimey! Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, but it is tough t' sand. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I found that by slidin' it into t' body tube, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. Begad! T' instructions guide you t' use t' "double" glue technique. Glue is added t' t' root edge o' t' fin and then it is set aside t' dry. Ahoy! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Starlight has even gone as far as colorin' t' root edge with black. 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. Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, 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. Begad! Blimey! T' 3" dowels are glued on t' underside o' t' rocket on each side o' t' launch lug. Blimey! 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. Aye aye! This is then glued inside, me hearties, matey, 1" down from t' top, ya bilge rat, o' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! 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, matey, sand, arrr, repeat, ya bilge rat, paint white). Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Begad! Blimey! However, arrr, matey, thar was a supplemental note that said water-slide decals had been replaced with peel-n-stick ones. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! So I peeled-n-stuck on t' decals.

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

Overall, me bucko, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points. Avast! Blimey! T' instructions are adequate for t' kit. T' hand drawings are nay t' same quality o' other kits, but certainly allow t' builder t' be successful. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' quality o' parts are good with t' exception o' t' nose cone and motor hook. T' pre-markin' is a very thoughful bonus. Havin' decals and Mylar parachute are nice features, shiver me timbers, arrr, 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. Aye aye! Begad! I used 3, rolled me 'chute, me hearties, and got everythin' ready.

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

T' second flight be on a B6-4. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Straight flight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, very stable. Avast! Aye aye! It ejected at apogee. Aye aye! I was a fairly high flight for t' size o' rocket it is. Avast, me proud beauty! Descent rate is good. Upon collection o' t' rocket from t' field, matey, I discovered t' first feared "Estes dent". Avast!

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

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

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

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

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

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