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

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 3 sides o' two 8½ x 11" paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! There are many hand drawn illustrations t' assist in buildin' t' kit and t' placement o' t' decals. Ahoy! 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, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, 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. Arrr! T' thin round motor hook has a tendency t' "roll" in t' motor mount when bein' used. Avast! I believe this is why Estes and Quest went with flat sprin' steel. Nonetheless, 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. Begad! T' nose cone was really grainy. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, ya bilge rat, me hearties, arrr, but it is tough t' sand. Aye aye! I found that by slidin' it into t' body tube, matey, 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. Aye aye! Begad! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Glue is added t' t' root edge o' t' fin and then it is set aside t' dry. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Starlight has even gone as far as colorin' t' root edge with black. Begad! 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. Arrr!

T' 1/8" dowel is cut into two 2" and two 3" pieces. Arrr! T' 2" dowels are glued t' t' end o' t' win' tips. Begad! T' 3" dowels are glued on t' underside o' t' rocket on each side o' t' launch lug. Blimey! Aye aye! 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! This is then glued inside, 1" down from t' top, o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! 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, arrr, sand, shiver me timbers, repeat, paint white). Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Avast! However, me hearties, 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. Avast! Blimey! I then used Walmart Silver paint.

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

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, shiver me timbers, B6-4, and C6-5.

My finished rocket weighed 1.5 ounces.

T' instructions indicate that you'll need 2-4 squares o' wadding. Avast! Ahoy! I used 3, matey, rolled me 'chute, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and got everythin' ready.

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

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

I know, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, it probably isn't fair t' keep sayin' "Estes dent", shiver me timbers, but I think most understand what that is. Ya scallywag! Begad! Too short o' a shock cord, ya bilge rat, elastic stretches, snaps back. Arrr! Well, blow me down! 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, shiver me timbers, matey, I now declare this t' be a "balsa smile" instead o' an "Estes dent".

So, me bucko, shiver me timbers, back t' t' program. Arrr! T' flight resulted in a "balsa smile".

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

T' fourth flight was on a C6-7. I purposely chose t' longer delay so it could drop some before ejection. Avast, me proud beauty! It looked great arcin' over, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but it be way up there. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! T' ejection charge went off and t' parachute did nay fully open. Avast, me proud beauty! I'm glad because I would have had t' walk a mile. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! T' short elastic shock cord caused damage. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' parachute is excellent and sized correctly for this rocket.

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