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

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). Begad! Ahoy! This body tube be completely pre-marked. T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. Ahoy! There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, thrust ring, arrr, and two centerin' rings. Aye aye! Aye aye! 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. Blimey! A 1/8" launch lug, arrr, some hardware, me hearties, a decal sheet finish out t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 3 sides o' two 8½ x 11" paper. Avast! Aye aye! There are many hand drawn illustrations t' assist in buildin' t' kit and t' placement o' t' decals. Begad! Avast! As mentioned above, t' body tube is pre-marked with a few different colors, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! T' thin round motor hook has a tendency t' "roll" in t' motor mount when bein' used. Arrr! I believe this is why Estes and Quest went with flat sprin' steel. Begad! Nonetheless, it is nice t' have a motor hook provided.

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. T' nose cone be really grainy. 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, but it is tough t' sand. Ahoy! Begad! 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. Arrr! T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. Blimey! Ahoy! T' instructions guide you t' use t' "double" glue technique. Blimey! Begad! 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. Begad! Once it is dry, arrr, glue is applied t' t' root edge and it is placed in position on t' pre-marked line on t' body tube. Aye aye!

T' 1/8" dowel is cut into two 2" and two 3" pieces. Avast! Arrr! T' 2" dowels are glued t' t' end o' t' win' tips. Aye aye! T' 3" dowels are glued on t' underside o' t' rocket on each side o' t' launch lug. Ahoy! 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, me bucko, matey, 1" down from t' top, o' t' body tube. Ahoy! Blimey! 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). Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Begad! However, me bucko, thar be a supplemental note that said water-slide decals had been replaced with peel-n-stick ones. Blimey! Begad! So I peeled-n-stuck on t' decals.

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

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

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

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

My finished rocket weighed 1.5 ounces.

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

T' first flight was on an A8-3. Avast! Excellent first choice. Begad! Nay terribly high, matey, matey, but allowed for a nice flight. Ya scallywag! Recovery system worked fine, no damage. Begad! Avast!

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

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

So, shiver me timbers, matey, back t' t' program. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' flight resulted in a "balsa smile".

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

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

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

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