Brief:
I won the Super Sprite at a DARS classic kit contest. I don't remember having the small Estes original, but after seeing Hawk's upscale fly earlier on the day of the contest, I had made my mind up to buy theirs. The flight on an Estes E-9 is a thing of beauty! Naturally, I was one happy guy when I found out I had won the kit! It flies on 24mm motors and recovers by parachute. A spacer is included in the kit to allow the use of either Estes D or E motors. The rocket stands 19" tall and has a fin span of 8.5 inches.

Construction:
A 2.6" body tube, 5" x 24mm engine mount, kraft engine block, three laser-cut wood centering rings, 3.75" engine hook, balsa nose cone, a huge kraft ring fin, screw eye, Kevlar® and 3/8" elastic shock cord combo, high-quality 24" ripstop nylon parachute, 3/16" launch lug, laser cut balsa fin sheets, and water slide decals are provided. The shock cord was super long as I modified the way it is installed. The instructions indicate to wrap the Kevlar® over the motor mount between the middle and forward centering rings, passing the end through a notch in the forward centering ring and then attaching the elastic cord to a loop at the end. I used my standard tri-fold shock cord attachment. I love it when the manufacturers put Kevlar® in their kits!

The instruction sheet isn't numbered but does include helpful illustrations. I left out the forward centering ring and moved the middle centering ring to about 3 1/2" from the rear of the motor tube. I bent the upper end of the engine hook backwards and CAed the top 2" to the motor tube, leaving about a 1/4" hanging over the rear of the tube for motor retention and about 1 1/2" free to flex for motor insertion/removal. I slid the middle centering ring up from the rear of the tube until it caught the hook then epoxied the hook to the centering ring. That allows positive motor retention while not having to worry about the hook getting in the way. I also left out the engine block, so I wouldn't be restricted on motor length. The Estes D and E engines can be friction fit. All the "small parts" are in handy plastic bags that keep all the little things from disappearing. A fin marking guide is supplied to properly align the fins. I had to read the instructions for attaching the fins a few times before I finally "got it." The laser-cut fins were perfectly matched, so minimal sanding was required. The main fins fit perfectly inside the ring fin and then the fin caps fit perfectly over the ring and on top of the main fins. I filled in the seam lines on both the main body tube and ring fin as they were more noticeable than I would like on a finished rocket. I also filled in the fin/ring/fin cap joints and sanded smooth.

As usual on any rocket I build, I installed a length of Kevlar®, which was provided, in a paper shock cord attachment (not provided) with a loop at the end to attach the elastic shock cord. To minimize abrasion from the Kevlar® against the body tube, I soaked in CA around the top 1/2" of the body tube and tied a knot in the Kevlar® to meet the lip of the body tube. Glue on the launch lug, install the screw eye into the nose cone (adding weight first to compensate for the largest motor you plan to fly) and attach the shock cord and you're almost done. The parachute was already assembled and had small grommets holding the shroud lines. It's a very nice parachute.

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

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
My first three flights were on the Estes E9. The first flight was with the wind blowing between 12-15mph, so I opted for the 6 second delay. It left the pad straight as an arrow and only arced slightly into the wind, deploying the chute just past apogee. The E9 sounded great struggling against the wind. It got some serious altitude but not so high that I had to walk too far for recovery on the big chute. The next flight was with almost zero wind, so I chose the 8 second delay. It flew straight up, deploying the parachute right at apogee, and came down gracefully, almost standing up at touchdown. The third flight was with winds between 5-8 mph, but I went with the 8 second delay again. The rocket flew arrow straight again and arched slightly into the wind during coast and deployed the parachute just past apogee. One of the fin caps hit a rock at touchdown and dented the balsa slightly. The fourth flight was on an Aerotech F12 reload. Liftoff was beautiful with lots of black smoke as it took off straight up. Then, boom! The motor catoed and blew the motor mount out the top of the rocket, knocking off the nose cone and deploying the chute about 15 feet off the pad. It came down gently though, with no other damage to the rocket. I've got to get that motor mount reinstalled so I can fly her again! The flights really are impressive.

Recovery:
The parachute provided in this kit is perfect for gentle recovery. Very nice rip-stop nylon with sturdy shroud lines and grommets at the attachment points on the parachute. This chute can take a lot of abuse.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The Super Sprite is a fantastic rocket. The beauty of its flights only increases the nostalgia of the rocket. Although all of Hawks Hobby's upscales of the Estes classics are impressive, in my book the Super Sprite is tops! Now I've got to build that upscale Trident I won on the same day!!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5