I first saw Starlight Model Rockets advertised in NAR's Sport Rocketry magazine, matey, me hearties, but be then pleased t' see LongLongJonRocket.com start t' carry them, me bucko, ya bilge rat, so I could try one out. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' flight vehicle that I tried out is their F-32 Avenger. T' winged-aircraft look is what caught me attention. Avast!

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). Blimey! This body tube was completely pre-marked. T' 2 3/4" nose cone and pre-cut fins are balsa. Avast, me proud beauty! There are two 18mm "jet" tubes that are 2 3/4" long. Aye aye! An 1/8" dowel is provided for some detail work. Ahoy! There is an 18mm motor tube with retainin' hook, shiver me timbers, thrust ring, and two centerin' rings. T' recovery system is made up o' an 12" ASP Mylar parachute, a 16" piece o' round (1/16") white elastic, arrr, and a shock cord mount. Ya scallywag! A 1/8" launch lug, matey, ya bilge rat, some hardware, shiver me timbers, a decal sheet finish out t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

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

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

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

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

Basic finishin' instructions are provided (sandin' sealer, sand, matey, repeat, matey, paint white). Ahoy! Blimey! Then t' instructions describe applyin' t' water-slide decals. Ya scallywag! Blimey! However, shiver me timbers, thar be 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. Avast! T' nose cone took a lot o' work. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I then used Walmart Silver paint.

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

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Starlight recommends t' A8-3, B6-4, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and C6-5.

My finished rocket weighed 1.5 ounces.

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

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

T' second flight was on a B6-4. Avast! Blimey! Straight flight, very stable. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It ejected at apogee. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I was a fairly high flight for t' size o' rocket it is. Descent rate is good. Avast! Blimey! Upon collection o' t' rocket from t' field, ya bilge rat, I discovered t' first feared "Estes dent". Avast! Blimey!

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

So, me bucko, me hearties, back t' t' program. Begad! T' flight resulted in a "balsa smile".

T' third flight was also on a B6-4. Begad! Stable and straight. Aye aye! At apogee it turned as if t' rocket (plane) was flyin' right side up. Aye aye! Neat t' see.

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

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

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 3 ½ points. Avast! Looks and what you get with kit are very nice. Arrr! Overall, me bucko, it was a good experience, matey, me bucko, but in all fairness, t' rocket falls into t' "average plus" range for ratings.