Brief:
I won t' Super Sprite at a DARS classic kit contest. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I don't remember havin' t' small Estes original, but after seein' Hawk's upscale fly earlier on t' day o' t' contest, ya bilge rat, I had made me mind up t' buy theirs. Arrr! Blimey! T' flight on an Estes E-9 is a thin' o' beauty! Blimey! Naturally, me hearties, me hearties, I be one happy guy when I found out I had won t' kit! Blimey! It flies on 24mm motors and recovers by parachute. A spacer is included in t' kit t' allow t' use o' either Estes D or E motors. Arrr! Blimey! The rocket stands 19" tall and has a fin span o' 8.5 inches.

Construction:
A 2.6" body tube, matey, 5" x 24mm engine mount, matey, me hearties, kraft engine block, matey, arrr, shiver me timbers, three laser-cut wood centerin' rings, 3.75" engine hook, matey, balsa nose cone, a huge kraft rin' fin, screw eye, me hearties, Keelhaul®©™® and 3/8" elastic shock cord combo, matey, high-quality 24" ripstop nylon parachute, me hearties, 3/16" launch lug, arrr, laser cut balsa fin sheets, and water slide decals are provided. Arrr! Aye aye! T' shock cord be super long as I modified t' way it is installed. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' instructions indicate t' wrap t' Keelhaul®©™® over t' motor mount betwixt t' middle and forward centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, passin' t' end through a notch in t' forward centerin' rin' and then attachin' t' elastic cord t' a loop at t' end. I used me standard tri-fold shock cord attachment. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I love it when t' manufacturers put Keelhaul®©™® in their kits!

T' instruction sheet isn't numbered but does include helpful illustrations. Aye aye! I left out t' forward centering rin' and moved t' middle centerin' rin' t' about 3 1/2" from t' aft o' t' motor tube. Ya scallywag! I bent t' upper end of the engine hook backwards and CAed t' top 2" t' t' motor tube, me bucko, me hearties, matey, leavin' about a 1/4" hangin' over t' rear of t' tube for motor retention and about 1 1/2" free t' flex for motor insertion/removal. Well, blow me down! I slid t' middle centerin' rin' up from t' aft o' t' tube until it caught t' hook then epoxied t' hook t' t' centerin' ring. Blimey! That allows positive motor retention while nay havin' t' worry about t' hook gettin' in t' way. I also left out t' engine block, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, so I wouldn't be restricted on motor length. T' Estes D and E engines can be friction fit. All t' "small parts" are in handy plastic bags that keep all t' little things from disappearing. A fin markin' guide is supplied t' properly align t' fins. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I had t' read t' instructions for attachin' t' fins a few times before I finally "got it." T' laser-cut fins were perfectly matched, so minimal sandin' was required. Begad! T' main fins fit perfectly inside t' rin' fin and then t' fin caps fit perfectly over t' rin' and on top o' t' main fins. Arrr! I filled in t' seam lines on both t' main body tube and rin' fin as they were more noticeable than I would like on a finished rocket. Blimey! I also filled in t' fin/ring/fin cap joints and sanded smooth.

As usual on any rocket I build, me hearties, I installed a length o' Keelhaul®©™®, which was provided, in a paper shock cord attachment (not provided) with a loop at t' end t' attach t' elastic shock cord. T' minimize abrasion from t' Keelhaul®©™® against t' body tube, ya bilge rat, I soaked in CA around t' top 1/2" o' t' body tube and tied a knot in t' Keelhaul®©™® to meet t' lip o' t' body tube. Glue on t' launch lug, install t' screw eye into t' nose cone (addin' weight first to compensate for t' largest motor you plan t' fly) and attach t' shock cord and you're almost done. T' parachute was already assembled and had small grommets holdin' t' shroud lines. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It's a very nice parachute. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

Finishing:
T' balsa nose cone and fins require standard finishing. Begad! Blimey! I used Elmer's Light Fill 'n' Finish, but any balsa filler will work fine. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! I wanted t' follow t' paint scheme on t' original Estes Sprite, shown on t' back o' their 1966 catalog but didn't want t' use Krylon's pumpkin orange. I didn't want t' hear anyone saying, "Hey, shiver me timbers, me bucko, did t' Great Pumpkin finally come!" Sheesh! Blimey! Geoffrey Kerbel came t' me rescue though, shiver me timbers, and suggested Ace Hardware's Premium orange enamel. It's perfect! Blimey! Geoffrey suggested I provide sunglasses at t' launch, arrr, though. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! I used white trim Monokote at t' top o' t' body tube and on t' rin' fin betwixt t' main fins. A black spot decal is used t' represent t' hole in t' original Sprite. Begad! Blimey! Once complete, ya bilge rat, I put on a thick coat o' Future floor finish on all t' painted surfaces to protect everything. Arrr! It looks fantastic, me hearties, if I do say so myself!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My first three flights were on t' Estes E9. Avast, me proud beauty! T' first flight was with t' wind blowin' betwixt 12-15mph, matey, so I opted for t' 6 second delay. Ahoy! Arrr! It left t' pad straight as an arrow and only arced slightly into t' wind, matey, deployin' t' chute just past apogee. Well, blow me down! T' E9 sounded great strugglin' against t' wind. Begad! It got some serious altitude but nay so high that I had t' walk too far for recovery on t' big chute. Avast! T' next flight be with almost zero wind, so I chose t' 8 second delay. Begad! It flew straight up, deployin' t' parachute right at apogee, and came down gracefully, almost standin' up at touchdown. Begad! T' third flight be with winds betwixt 5-8 mph, shiver me timbers, but I went with t' 8 second delay again. Arrr! T' rocket flew arrow straight again and arched slightly into t' wind durin' coast and deployed t' parachute just past apogee. Blimey! Well, blow me down! One of the fin caps hit a rock at touchdown and dented t' balsa slightly. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fourth flight was on an Aerotech F12 reload. Liftoff be beautiful with lots o' black smoke as it took off straight up. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Then, matey, boom! T' motor catoed and blew the motor mount out t' top o' t' rocket, arrr, knockin' off t' nose cone and deployin' t' chute about 15 feet off t' pad. Arrr! It came down gently though, arrr, shiver me timbers, with no other damage t' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! I've got t' get that motor mount reinstalled so I can fly her again! T' flights really are impressive.

Recovery:
T' parachute provided in this kit is perfect for gentle recovery. Very nice rip-stop nylon with sturdy shroud lines and grommets at t' attachment points on t' parachute. This chute can take a lot o' abuse.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Super Sprite is a fantastic rocket. Begad! Blimey! T' beauty o' its flights only increases t' nostalgia o' t' rocket. Although all o' Hawks Hobby's upscales o' t' Estes classics are impressive, me hearties, in me book t' Super Sprite is tops! Blimey! Now I've got t' build that upscale Trident I won on t' same day!!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5