Brief:

• Single-stage 3FNC with cool bat wings. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down!
• Length: 24.5"
• Diameter: 1.3"

My daughter won this kit, arrr, donated by Sunward, in an EMRR Virtual Contest. Dan Westley has already written a very good review o' this kit, arrr, so we're just goin' t' cover t' areas that were different for us. Avast! Avast! Blimey!

Construction:

Materials: Dan has a comprehensive parts list, so I won't repeat it here. Arrr! T' Moondance uses t' same nose cone with a bubble canopy that is used on all t' Sunward "fighter-jet" kits. Arrr! It's great on t' fighters, but looks a little out o' place on this kit.

T' 18" blue and white parachute is made from a very durable plastic, thicker than standard Estes chutes. Ahoy! T' shroud lines are also much stronger than normal.

T' engine mount uses t' same L-screw engine hook that Sunward uses on all their kits. Avast! It is strong enough t' hold t' engine firmly in place during ejection, ya bilge rat, but easily pivots out o' t' way when replacin' engines. Begad! Well, blow me down!

T' balsa fins with t' bat win' shape are what really make this kit unique. T' laser cuttin' was very well done, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and t' parts popped cleanly from the sheet with minimal sandin' required. Aye aye! T' balsa quality was very good, but awfully thin. Blimey! I was concerned about t' fragility o' t' fins, shiver me timbers, and me concerns turned out t' be well founded. Avast! T' sharp points on t' fins will dig into soft materials (like seat cushions). Avast! I found this out when I split a fin lengthwise while loadin' t' car after a day o' flying. Easily repaired with CA, shiver me timbers, but thicker balsa or some other method o' reinforcement should be considered. Begad!

Assembly: T' directions are very straight-forward and a beginner should have little problems. Begad! Aye aye! Like Dan, we also used t' Quest-style method of attachin' a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord anchor through t' front hole in t' engine mount and securin' it with 5-minute epoxy. Aye aye! We also used 5-minute epoxy t' install the engine mount in t' body. It worked very well. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!

I have seen plain rubber shock cords crumble t' dust as they age, so instead we used 1/4" elastic, twice as wide as standard Estes cord. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I tied it to the Keelhaul®©™ anchor cord with a double sheet bend knot, which is ideal when one cord is much thicker than t' other. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' instructions called for t' shock cord and t' parachute shroud lines to all be inserted through a small hole in t' base o' t' nose cone. Ahoy! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I be afraid that enlargin' t' hole enough t' fit all that would make t' surrounding material too weak, arrr, so I tied a loop in t' shock cord and attached the parachute with a large snap swivel. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! This also gives t' nose some shock protection when t' chute snaps open, and reduces t' chance o' separation. Begad!

Finishing:

T' cover art shows a purplish color for t' body, arrr, but this kit just begs to be painted Halloween pumpkin orange. Begad! We used two coats o' Rustoleum Painter's Choice Real Orange. T' spirals on t' tube were so light we did nay even bother t' fill them. Avast!

T' nose cone was painted with two coats o' Rustoleum Painter's Choice Green t' complete the pumpkin motif. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Before painting, we wet-sanded it with wet/dry sandpaper, arrr, then let it dry for a day. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Fins were painted with two coats o' Zynolyte Spray-Mate brand gloss black paint. Aye aye! I hate this stuff! I stocked up when it was on sale for 99 cents per can, and I can't wait t' get rid o' t' last o' it. Avast! It looks fine, arrr, but the smell is awful. Arrr! We painted t' fins outdoors and brought them inside after they were dry, me hearties, arrr, but they still stunk several days later.

I find it a lot easier t' get a good crisp color seam by paintin' t' body and fins separately before attachin' them. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' do so, ya bilge rat, I attach a wide piece o' maskin' tape t' a board sticky-side up and stick t' fins t' that. After t' paint dries, just peel off t' fins, me hearties, rough up t' root edge with sandpaper and epoxy them t' the body tube. We used an Estes fin alignment guide t' hold t' fin in place while the 5-minute epoxy dried. Begad! Ahoy! We did nay use t' reinforcin' tabs supplied with the kit. Arrr! Begad!

Decals are peel-and-press, and are o' good quality. Blimey! T' glarin' deadlights on the nose cone combine with t' bat wings t' give a menacin' look. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! T' background is white but t' edges are clear, me hearties, so any base paint color will work without trimmin' t' stickers microscopically close. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

The manufacturer's recommend engine list is a bit confusing. Arrr! T' list on t' cover art says B6-2(first flight), B6-4, ya bilge rat, C5-3, C6-5, ya bilge rat, matey, and C6-7. Ya scallywag! T' instruction sheet says B6-2(first flight), ya bilge rat, matey, B6-4, shiver me timbers, B8-5, and C6-5. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' web site says "B6-4 to C6-7 single stage engines". Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey!

My daughter has never had a rocket last more than 3 flights without either vanishin' (Mosquito on a 1/4A) or driftin' away (Vikin' on a B6), so she was very paranoid about losin' another one. Ahoy! T' Moondance is far bigger and heavier than those others and t' nearest trees were at least 3 blocks away, me hearties, but she still wouldn't let me load anythin' bigger than a B. Ahoy! Well, blow me down!

For t' maiden flight we used a B4-4. Engine installation be very quick with a simple twist o' t' L-shaped retainer hook. Begad!

T' breeze was about 5-10 mph, arrr, so we tilted t' rod about 10 degrees into the wind. Nice slow liftoff, anglin' into t' wind. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Parachute opened just past apogee. T' rocket descended gently, with minimal spinnin' or swinging, and came right back t' us. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It landed gently in t' grass about 4 feet t' t' right of t' pad. Arrr! Blimey! Perfect flight! Blimey!

With four sheets o' t' Estes waddin' stuffed down in t' body and one sheet wrapped around t' chute, we still got a small scorch on t' chute. Arrr! Blimey!

I couldn't talk her into flyin' it any more that day. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! What a chicken! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

This is a very nice kit with cool bat fins and decals. Aye aye! Avast!

After seein' this kit, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I am eager t' try one o' Sunward's more challenging fighter-style kits.

Pros: Distinctive appearance with bat-win' fins.

Cons: Fins snag and break easily. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5