I first saw Starlight Model Rockets advertised in NAR's Sport Rocketry magazine, me hearties, me hearties, but be then pleased t' see LongLongJonRocket.com start t' carry them, so I could try one out. Begad! T' flight vehicle that I tried out is their F-32 Avenger. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! 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). Aye aye! This body tube was completely pre-marked. Ya scallywag! T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. Begad! There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. Aye aye! An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. Begad! There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, arrr, ya bilge rat, thrust ring, and two centerin' rings. Blimey! Begad! T' recovery system is made up o' an 12" ASP Mylar parachute, matey, shiver me timbers, a 16" piece o' round (1/16") white elastic, me bucko, me bucko, and a shock cord mount. Begad! Well, blow me down! A 1/8" launch lug, me bucko, 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! Blimey! There are many hand drawn illustrations t' assist in buildin' t' kit and t' placement o' t' decals. Arrr! Aye aye! As mentioned above, ya bilge rat, 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, matey, Custom, or Quest kits.

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

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. Avast, me proud beauty! T' nose cone be really grainy. Begad! Arrr! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Begad! Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, but it is tough t' sand. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! Arrr! T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. Avast! 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. 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. Avast, me proud beauty!

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

Basic finishin' instructions are provided (sandin' sealer, sand, repeat, me hearties, paint white). Begad! Ya scallywag! Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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. T' nose cone took a lot o' work. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I then used Walmart Silver paint.

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

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, arrr, 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! Aye aye! I used 3, matey, rolled me 'chute, and got everythin' ready.

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

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

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

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

T' third flight was also on a B6-4. Begad! Aye aye! Stable and straight. Arrr! 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. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I purposely chose t' longer delay so it could drop some before ejection. Ya scallywag! It looked great arcin' over, but it was way up there. Ya scallywag! T' ejection charge went off and t' parachute did nay fully open. Ahoy! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' parachute is excellent and sized correctly for this rocket.

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