Brief:

• Single-stage 3FNC with cool bat wings. Aye aye!
• 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, so we're just goin' t' cover t' areas that were different for us. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

Construction:

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

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

T' engine mount uses t' same L-screw engine hook that Sunward uses on all their kits. Blimey! Blimey! It is strong enough t' hold t' engine firmly in place during ejection, but easily pivots out o' t' way when replacin' engines.

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

Assembly: T' directions are very straight-forward and a beginner should have little problems. 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. We also used 5-minute epoxy t' install the engine mount in t' body. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It worked very well. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey!

I have seen plain rubber shock cords crumble t' dust as they age, shiver me timbers, so instead we used 1/4" elastic, twice as wide as standard Estes cord. 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.

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. Begad! Begad! I was afraid that enlargin' t' hole enough t' fit all that would make t' surrounding material too weak, matey, ya bilge rat, so I tied a loop in t' shock cord and attached the parachute with a large snap swivel. Begad! Aye aye! This also gives t' nose some shock protection when t' chute snaps open, ya bilge rat, and reduces t' chance o' separation.

Finishing:

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

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

Fins were painted with two coats o' Zynolyte Spray-Mate brand gloss black paint. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! It looks fine, matey, but the smell is awful. Well, me hearties, blow me down! We painted t' fins outdoors and brought them inside after they were dry, me hearties, but they still stunk several days later. Begad!

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

Decals are peel-and-press, ya bilge rat, and are o' good quality. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' glarin' deadlights on the nose cone combine with t' bat wings t' give a menacin' look. Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

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

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), me hearties, arrr, so she was very paranoid about losin' another one. T' Moondance is far bigger and heavier than those others and t' nearest trees were at least 3 blocks away, but she still wouldn't let me load anythin' bigger than a B.

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

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

I couldn't talk her into flyin' it any more that day. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! What a chicken!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

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

After seein' this kit, I am eager t' try one o' Sunward's more challenging fighter-style kits. Blimey! Ahoy!

Pros: Distinctive appearance with bat-win' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

Cons: Fins snag and break easily.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5