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

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

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 3 sides o' two 8½ x 11" paper. Begad! There are many hand drawn illustrations t' assist in buildin' t' kit and t' placement o' t' decals. As mentioned above, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, or Quest kits.

T' motor mount is assembled first and it used a wire motor hook, me hearties, ya bilge rat, thrust rin' and two centerin' rings. Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Nonetheless, it is nice t' have a motor hook provided. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' nose cone is balsa and it first requires that an eye-screw be added into t' base. Arrr! T' nose cone was really grainy. Begad! I found t' bottom transition edge (from nose cone t' shoulder) t' be very ragged and slight splintered. Blimey! Nay terribly uncommon for balsa nose cone kits, but it is tough t' sand. Blimey! Aye aye! 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! T' body tube is pre-marked with different colors t' allow for very easy assembly. T' instructions guide you t' use t' "double" glue technique. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Once it is dry, ya bilge rat, glue is applied t' t' root edge and it is placed in position on t' pre-marked line on t' body tube. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey!

T' 1/8" dowel is cut into two 2" and two 3" pieces. T' 2" dowels are glued t' t' end o' t' win' tips. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' 3" dowels are glued on t' underside o' t' rocket on each side o' t' launch lug. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! 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! Begad! This is then glued inside, me hearties, 1" down from t' top, arrr, o' t' body tube. T' opposite end is tied t' t' eye-screw in t' nose cone. Aye aye! Avast! T' parachute is assembled accordin' t' ASP's instructions.

Basic finishin' instructions are provided (sandin' sealer, sand, repeat, matey, arrr, paint white). Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. However, matey, 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. Ahoy! I then used Walmart Silver paint.

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

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, B6-4, matey, and C6-5.

My finished rocket weighed 1.5 ounces.

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

T' first flight was on an A8-3. Excellent first choice. Well, blow me down! Nay terribly high, shiver me timbers, but allowed for a nice flight. Begad! Recovery system worked fine, me hearties, no damage. Begad!

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

I know, me bucko, it probably isn't fair t' keep sayin' "Estes dent", but I think most understand what that is. Avast, me proud beauty! Too short o' a shock cord, matey, elastic stretches, ya bilge rat, 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. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Therefore, me hearties, I now declare this t' be a "balsa smile" instead o' an "Estes dent". Avast, me proud beauty!

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

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

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

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

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