I first saw Starlight Model Rockets advertised in NAR's Sport Rocketry magazine, arrr, but was then pleased t' see LongLongJonRocket.com start t' carry them, arrr, shiver me timbers, so I could try one out. T' flight vehicle that I tried out is their F-32 Avenger. Avast, me proud beauty! T' winged-aircraft look is what caught me attention. 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). This body tube was completely pre-marked. Well, blow me down! T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. Avast! Arrr! There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. Arrr! An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. Blimey! Begad! There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, me hearties, ya bilge rat, thrust ring, and two centerin' rings. Blimey! 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, me hearties, arrr, some hardware, ya bilge rat, 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. As mentioned above, t' body tube is pre-marked with a few different colors, ya bilge rat, so a markin' guide is nay needed.

T' F-32 assembles like most Estes, ya bilge rat, Custom, or Quest kits.

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

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. T' nose cone was really grainy. Avast, me proud beauty! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Begad! Begad! Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, but it is tough t' sand. Arrr! I found that by slidin' it into t' body tube, me bucko, 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. Begad! T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. 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! Blimey! Starlight has even gone as far as colorin' t' root edge with black. Once it is dry, me bucko, me hearties, glue is applied t' t' root edge and it is placed in position on t' pre-marked line on t' body tube. Aye aye! Begad!

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

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

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

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points. T' instructions are adequate for t' kit. Ahoy! Blimey! T' hand drawings are nay t' same quality o' other kits, 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. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' pre-markin' is a very thoughful bonus. Havin' decals and Mylar parachute are nice features, me bucko, shiver me timbers, too.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, B6-4, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, 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 hearties, rolled me 'chute, shiver me timbers, and got everythin' ready.

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

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

I know, me hearties, it probably isn't fair t' keep sayin' "Estes dent", ya bilge rat, me hearties, but I think most understand what that is. Aye aye! Too short o' a shock cord, ya bilge rat, me bucko, elastic stretches, snaps back. Avast! Blimey! On balsa nose cones you get a "smile" from t' body tube. Begad! 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". Aye aye!

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

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

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

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

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