Brief:
Another absolutely wild futuristic design by t' mad scientist/evil genius Jim Flis, ya bilge rat, featurin' primarily rin' fin stability and ducted ejection plus a nose cone sure t' draw a strong like/hate opinion...

Construction:
While you might be a little scared off by t' $28.95 retail price on this, ya bilge rat, when you open up t' kit and start t' look over t' amount and quality o' parts, ya bilge rat, you'll find it's really a decent value, me hearties, me bucko, especially factorin' in t' eye appeal o' t' finished kit. T' parts list includes:

• 3 BT-101 rin' fins
• BT-55 upper body tube
• BT-60 lower body ring/support
• 2 BT-20 lower body tubes, one o' which serves as motor mount
• BT-5 body tube, serves as central support t' BT-101
• BT-2 transition body tubes (3)
• Balsa nose cone
• Laser cut fiber fins, arrr, jigs
• 16" plastic chute kit
• Keelhaul®©™/elastic shock cord
• Decorative toothpicks
• Peel and stick vinyl decals

T' instructions are very good, clearly illustrated, matey, shiver me timbers, and span 35 basic steps over 6 pages. Ahoy! It's rated a skill level 3.5 on a 5 scale, ya bilge rat, though that strikes me as slightly high. Avast! Begad! While it certainly looks like a complex build, I found it much easier than expected, shiver me timbers, and t' design and fit on this is outstanding. Arrr! I'd expect 5-8 hours o' construction time plus some potentially time consumin' finishing.

There are a couple o' "gotchas" and tips I'll get out up front on this. Blimey! Early releases o' t' kit had an incorrect laser cut fiber fin sheet. Avast! I think this has generally been handled via replacements bein' made available almost immediately after t' kit's release at NARCON in March 2007, but if you pick one up from a retailer, me hearties, you might want t' email t' folks at FlisKits t' confirm you have a good set o' fins. Ya scallywag! I got a hold o' an early one (#55) at NARCON, arrr, and t' corrected fins made it t' me home practically before I made it back.

T' other warnin' is t' really think through how you want t' paint this before you go too deep in t' construction. If you want t' use sharply contrastin' colors, me hearties, arrr, you'll find it easier t' paint parts before bondin' (maskin' off bond lines). This thin' would be a real menace t' try t' mask once built, forcin' you t' hand paint many details.

Construction begins with t' funky motor mount. Ahoy! Ahoy! You start off with a standard 2.75 inch BT-20 tube, but t' forward end is a 20/5 centerin' rin' with a BT-5 stuck t' t' end o' it. Aye aye! On t' other end o' t' BT-5 is another centerin' rin' holdin' another BT-20. This gives you a pair o' BT-20s connected with 1.125" o' exposed BT-5. Begad! That gap is critical, shiver me timbers, me hearties, as t' instruction note that t' BT-101s go thar and can be used t' test t' fit/alignment.

Next, arrr, arrr, you get t' work on t' BT-101 rings. Well, blow me down! Because t' tubes are only 1.125" tall, they are pretty pliable and don't retain their circular shape very well. Ya scallywag! This makes markin' them tricky. Ahoy! Each tube gets a set o' fiber fin braces tacked t' it at 12, arrr, 3 and 9 o'clock position with one o' t' braces trailin' down below t' tube at t' 6 o'clock position. This trailin' end eventually attaches t' t' lower BT-20 for support.

T' transition from t' lower BT-20 t' t' upper BT-55 is accomplished via a trio o' BT-2 tubes. T' alignment o' these is somewhat challenging. Aye aye! Begad! At t' forward end, they are spaced via two laser-cut/drilled fiber centerin' disks spaced about an inch apart, me hearties, which also serves as t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord anchor point. Ahoy! At t' aft end, arrr, thar's another pair o' centerin' disks with tighter spacin' basically forcin' t' tubes together. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' aft disks slide into t' upper BT-20, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, and t' forward disks slide into t' BT-55. Ya scallywag! T' make sure you get everythin' perfectly aligned, thar's even a little jig made from various laser cut fiber pieces and a template printed on t' back o' t' header card. You'll want t' make sure you get good solid glue joints around t' disks, as they take a lot o' ejection gas force.

With t' basic frame o' t' BT-20s, trio o' BT-2s, shiver me timbers, and upper BT-55 in place, you can now bond t' BT-101 rings on place. Arrr! Well, blow me down! As previously noted, me bucko, these slip perfectly in t' 1.125" gap betwixt t' BT-20s, arrr, arrr, restin' flush against t' BT-5. Avast! T' trailin' fiber rib/fin/supports are bonded t' t' lower BT-20, and a little BT-60 rin' slides over them t' secure them in place. Ya scallywag! If you've got everythin' right, me hearties, you'll wind up with BT-101s touchin' each other on tangents and touchin' t' BT-5 on a tangent as well. Ya scallywag! Again, it sounds and looks complex but is remarkably easy and hard t' goof with t' instructions and supportin' jigs/alignment techniques.

At this point, construction is basically done save for some decorative touches (toothpicks stuck in various nooks and crannies) and attachin' t' launch lugs (one piece flush t' t' BT-60, me bucko, ya bilge rat, another t' t' BT-20 with a standoff). Avast! Begad! I cheated a little bit by trimmin' down t' launch lug t' match t' width o' t' BT-60, avoidin' an ugly hangin' tube.

Finishing:
OK, ya bilge rat, if you really want a beautiful finish on this, me hearties, be prepared for some serious work/effort. Well, blow me down! If you want t' fly it within a day or two o' construction, me bucko, shiver me timbers, you can certainly whip through t' finish and hand paint a few pieces, and it will look fine.

First off, arrr, I wound up fillin' tube spirals before construction, shiver me timbers, me bucko, matey, knowin' thar was no way I'd be able t' sand this with any force once built. Avast! Note that this includes t' BT-2s and t' insides o' t' BT-101s, ya bilge rat, which I forgot t' do, shiver me timbers, and t' BT-60 ring, shiver me timbers, arrr, which have some downright nasty grooves in them.

I wound up paintin' me Borealis in modules. Avast! T' lower BT-20s (masked off t' BT-5 for a naked bondin' surface) got primer followed by three coats o' Rustoleum blue metallic. T' BT-2 trio got t' same treatment but with silver metallic, as did t' upper BT-55 and nose cone. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' BT-101 rings got gold metallic before bondin' t' fiber fins. T' fiber fins got gloss black, matey, arrr, and I followed up by hand paintin' t' edges a bright red. T' lower BT-60 got silver metallic, matey, again before bonding. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I hand painted t' assorted toothpick details red before bondin' and tacked in place usin' a tiny dot o' CA t' avoid paint runs.

I've got t' toss in a comment or two about t' decals on this. Arrr! Blimey! In general, FlisKits's kits rarely use decals and when they do they're either excellent quality waterslides (ex. Begad! Blimey! U.S.S. Arrr! Blimey! Grissom) or t' peel and sticks that so many o' us absolutely hate (ex. Avast! Blimey! Cheetah, Flea). Begad! Blimey! Recognizin' that many a FlisKits's kit would be greatly improved with decorative decals, arrr, Jim's been doin' a lot o' R & D in this area. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' resultin' process was introduced shortly before NARCON 2007 in t' form o' range box stickers printed on vinyl stock. Avast! Blimey! T' quality o' t' artwork and reproduction is superb, shiver me timbers, t' decals are fairly thin/flexible, me hearties, and therefore are easy t' work with. Avast! Blimey! T' adhesive is also top quality (once cured out, me bucko, you'll never get 'em off).

I'm generally anti-stickers, but think these vinyl decals are a great addition t' a sport design (too thick for scale). Begad! Even better--these are also pre-cut, so you don't need t' waste time trimmin' t' t' edge lines with scissors. I just wish I'd paid attention t' that little note in t' instructions, matey, as I wound up cuttin' mine first and then wonderin' why little wispy edges were peelin' off...

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' maiden flight, me hearties, I hooked up with Jim Flis at t' National Sport Launch 2007 in Muncie, Indiana. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Holdin' t' Borealis in me hands, it felt incredibly fragile, so I figured what better place t' destroy it than in front o' t' designer, arrr, ya bilge rat, where I might score a free replacement. Blimey! Blimey! Jim commented that he'd flown a number o' prototypes without problem, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but mine would be t' first he'd ever seen o' someone else flyin' one.

I went aggressive for t' first flight, me bucko, choosin' a C6-3. Arrr! Arrr! I figured with t' big rings and long body, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it would be high drag, ya bilge rat, but it tore off t' pad and climbed at a fast clip. Begad! Apogee was nose up, though very slowly climbin' at that point. Aye aye! With all t' doodads and trimmings on this, arrr, like t' Night Whisperer, me hearties, you definitely want an early deployment rather than a nose-down deployment or you will break off trimmings, so stick with t' B6-2 or C6-3.

Recovery:
T' 16" chute brought it safely back t' earth. Begad! Arrr! Despite a number o' unfortunate flights and damage on just about everythin' that hit t' dry/hard ground that weekend, t' Borealis suffered no damage whatsoever and wound up spendin' t' rest o' t' weekend on display at t' FlisKits booth. Begad! Ahoy! It was a wonderful flight, ya bilge rat, and I look forward t' another shot at flyin' it.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great rocket with nothin' but pros--cool design, nay too tough t' build, me bucko, flies beautifully, and really nice decals.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5