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

T' F-32 assembles like most Estes, Custom, shiver me timbers, or Quest kits.

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

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. Well, blow me down! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Well, blow me down! Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, shiver me timbers, but it is tough t' sand. Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! 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. Begad! Starlight has even gone as far as colorin' t' root edge with black. Begad! Well, blow me down! Once it is dry, matey, 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. Begad! Begad! T' 2" dowels are glued t' t' end o' t' win' tips. 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. Aye aye! This is then glued inside, 1" down from t' top, matey, o' t' body tube. Ahoy! T' opposite end is tied t' t' eye-screw in t' nose cone. Ahoy! T' parachute is assembled accordin' t' ASP's instructions.

Basic finishin' instructions are provided (sandin' sealer, matey, me bucko, sand, shiver me timbers, arrr, repeat, paint white). Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! However, ya bilge rat, thar was a supplemental note that said water-slide decals had been replaced with peel-n-stick ones. Well, matey, blow me down! 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. Arrr! I then used Walmart Silver paint.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points. Well, blow me down! 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 bucko, but certainly allow t' builder t' be successful. Avast! T' quality o' parts are good with t' exception o' t' nose cone and motor hook. T' pre-markin' is a very thoughful bonus. Ahoy! Havin' decals and Mylar parachute are nice features, ya bilge rat, too.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

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

T' first flight be on an A8-3. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Excellent first choice. Nay terribly high, me bucko, but allowed for a nice flight. Ahoy! Recovery system worked fine, me hearties, no damage. Ahoy!

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

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

So, arrr, back t' t' program. Well, blow me down! T' flight resulted in a "balsa smile".

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

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

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

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