Why does Summer, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and even Fall, always run out o' time? I guess so we'll have t' opportunity t' sled, build snowmen and throw snowballs! But, ya bilge rat, here in Vermont it simply halts all rocket finishin' activity! Still, matey, I was interested in gettin' me 2nd kit built from t' t' newest kit manufacturer, FlisKits (opened in September 2002). Arrr! Ya scallywag! As with me FlisKits Tumble Weed I be impressed with t' packaging. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' kits look just like they were mass-produced in some factory somewhere. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' packagin' includes a "hanger" section with a nice FlisKits logo and age recommendation on t' front and, matey, me bucko, on t' back, t' sayin' "FlisKits are t' Best kits"™, address and a warnin' about plastic bags bein' dangerous. Begad! Arrr! Inside t' bag you will find a Full One-Year Warranty with a Limited Liability Statement and t' NARRRRR flyin' code all neatly placed in a separate quarter-folded insert. Ahoy! T' Praetor™ kit even has a plastic parachute with FlisKits' name and logo on it. Ahoy! Very professional.

T' Praetor™ kit (SP001) seems t' have a history accordin' t' FlisKits' website: "T' Praetor also has a very important and unique history. Avast! T' Praetor was t' anniversary kit, designed by Jim Flis and presented t' attendees o' t' 1990 Pearl River Model Rocketry Convention in Pearl River, NY, me hearties, founded and hosted by teacher Dick Nelson. "

T' Praetor's™ most distinctive feature be t' length o' t' 4 fins. Aye aye! Avast! T' rocket stands about 23 1/2" tall but has 4-fin span o' 14". Arrr! Arrr! Very, arrr, long fins! It also transitions from a BT-60 (1.6") t' a BT-55 (1.3") and has an upper payload section.

T' kit includes body tubes that are each 8 1/2" long, me bucko, a 1" balsa transition, and a 5 3/8" long balsa nose cone. Ahoy! T' motor mount included fiber centerin' rings, arrr, an 18mm motor tube, ya bilge rat, a thrust rin' and motor hook. Begad! T' recovery system is made up o' a 18" length o' 1/8" elastic (white) shockcord, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, an eye-hook and a 3-fold paper template, arrr, matey, and a 16" plastic parachute with shroud lines. Arrr! Begad! There are two launch lugs t' complete t' kit components. Begad! Begad! There are also instructions, a fin template and fin markin' guide.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on both sides o' a single sheet o' paper. Avast, me proud beauty! They include 14 steps o' assembly instruction with an illustration for nearly every step. Ahoy! On t' back o' t' packagin' card you will find t' parts list and pre-flight checklist. You will need a sharp hobby knife, me bucko, white glue, fine and medium grit sand paper, arrr, a pencil and scissors.

FlisKits rates this a skill level 2 kit and I would agree. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! It is nay a difficult kit t' build. I did use two techniques that are nay described in t' instructions that I will describe below.

T' build is typical, startin' with t' motor mount. Begad! I did find one minor issue here. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' lower centerin' rin' is described as have a cutout for t' engine hook in it, however, it did not. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I used me hobby knife and smartly remedied that. Aye aye!

T' motor hook is secured in place with maskin' tape. Begad! Blimey! T' instructions indicate t' use "a length o' maskin' tape around t' engine tube, matey, securin' t' engine hook in place." I used enough tape t' wrap 3 times around t' motor (engine) tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Next comes body tube markin' and fin cutting. Blimey! T' templates were correct and thar be clear instructions on t' placement o' t' templates on t' 1/8" balsa sheets (2) provided. Ahoy! T' instructions outline t' shapin' o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Here is where I used a technique that I have yet t' use. Arrr! I took maskin' tape and ran it t' length o' t' fin t' form t' shapin' edge. Begad! I then sanded t' fin with a block and paper. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! With t' maskin' tape in place, it provided a clean, straight edge that looks very nice (hard t' tell from t' picture).

T' motor mount is installed in t' body tube and is recessed so that even t' motor hook is flush with t' bottom o' t' main body tube.

T' balsa transition is glued in place on t' bottom o' t' upper tube. T' instructions then say t' glue t' nose cone in place. Ya scallywag! Begad! I did this, ya bilge rat, however, me hearties, thar probably should be a note that indicates nay t' use glue if you want that section t' be a payload area. Blimey! I didn't and potentially someone that did would realize this.

T' next step is attachin' t' fins t' t' body tube. Here is where I went outside o' t' instructions and used a T-Pin t' poke holes every 1/8" on t' line that t' fin would be glued on. Begad! Blimey! T' glue is then placed over these holes and t' fin is pressed on. Blimey! T' idea is that t' glue seeps into t' pin holes t' increase t' strength o' t' attachment . Avast! . Ya scallywag! Begad! . Arrr! mini-rivets if you will. Another technique that could be used here be t' double-glue technique. Arrr! Well, blow me down! With this technique you would glue t' parts, press them together and immediately separate them. Let that glue dry. Reglue t' parts and attach them together. It, too, me bucko, is said t' be a stronger joint. Avast! Once t' fins are attached, FlisKits recommends fillets.

There is one thin' I didn't understand: why t' two launch lugs are on stand-offs. Ya scallywag! Begad! It doesn't appear t' be by necessity, however, me hearties, ya bilge rat, it does add and interestin' look as they are angled t' match t' stand-offs. Begad! Avast! FlisKits confirmed that reason . Ahoy! Avast! . Avast! . Avast! "they looked cool".

T' parachute. An interestin' item indeed. Avast, me proud beauty! T' parachute is printed in such a way that 3 different sizes can be cut out o' it. Arrr! Blimey! T' problem I had was which size t' cut. Well, blow me down! Step 12 tells us t' assemble t' parachute per t' instructions included with t' parachute (they are actually printed on t' unused sections o' t' plastic sheet). Ya scallywag! Which o' t' 3 sizes do I use? T' instructions do nay say, however, shiver me timbers, thar be a clue. Arrr! Blimey! In t' parts list is says, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, Parachute, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 16". So, then I measured t' 3 patterns on t' sheet. Avast! If measured from t' points o' t' hexagons, t' patterns measure 17", 12 3/4", me hearties, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and an 8 1/2". Blimey! If measured from t' edges o' t' hexagons, me bucko, t' patterns measure 14 3/4", 11" and 7 1/4". What t' do, arrr, what t' do?

I weighed me kit and found it t' be 2.3 ounces (unfinished and exactly what FlisKits said it should weigh). Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! I used t' parachute calculator and came up with t' followin' range: 28.1 cm (11.1 in) t' 36.2 cm (14.3 in) diameter parachute. I grabbed an extra Estes 12" chute and used it for now.

T' parachute assembly (if used) is typical. Ahoy! You use t' provided shroud lines and tape disks t' secure them.

As you can see, ya bilge rat, I didn't beat t' cold o' winter for gettin' t' Praetor™ painted, so when I do finish it, ya bilge rat, I will update t' review. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Sadly, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, t' kit does nay come with any decals.

Overall, shiver me timbers, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points. Well, blow me down! T' instructions are well done and t' kit is nay complicated. Ahoy! T' parts are from good quality material. Avast! I like t' fiber centerin' rings and like havin' a transition t' add t' t' looks o' t' rocket. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' centerin' rin' findin' and t' parachute size will no doubt be corrected in future kits (my kit number was #49). Avast! Havin' t' cut out t' balsa fins be nay a problem with such a simple fin design. Begad! With all t' other professional features, this kit deserved decals and thar were none.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

FlisKits recommends t' A8-3, B6-4 or C6-5 for flyin' t' Praetor™. Avast! Avast! Blimey! I flew it for t' first time on a B6-4. (Yes, I'm sorry, me bucko, ya bilge rat, it be flown naked).

Flight preparation included usin' waddin' in t' lower body tube, arrr, t' placin' t' parachute in place and then slidin' t' transition in place (the transition has an eye-screw that t' elastic shock cord is attached t' and t' other end o' t' elastic is attached by t' 3-fold paper method t' t' inside o' t' lower body tube).

T' first flight was nice. Arrr! These large fins make it really easy t' see in t' air. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Ejection was perfectly at apogee and descent on t' 12" 'chute was fine. It might be a little fast, arrr, but nay for me field since it is smaller and has soft ground. Avast, me proud beauty! Upon inspection, I found an "Estes-dent". Begad! Yes, me bucko, t' short shock cord caused t' upper section t' kick back and hit t' top o' t' lower body tube. Blimey! Aye aye! No real damage but a slice pattern in t' transition balsa.

T' second flight be on a C6-5. Begad! Again, a very nice match. Aye aye! This combination would be fine on a small (football sized) field. Aye aye! It was straight and stable and easy t' see due t' those large fins. Ejection was again at apogee. Well, blow me down! This time t' snap-back o' t' elastic sliced off a small piece o' t' balsa transition when it hit t' lower body tube. Blimey! Blimey! Enough o' that.

I decided t' lengthen t' shockcord and added an additional 16" o' elastic. Avast! I flew it again on a B6-4. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! This time I caught it on camera. Good flight and no damage caused by t' shock cord.

I figured I'd have some burnin' around t' bottom o' t' rocket's body since t' motor mount is pushed in so that t' motor hook is flush with t' bottom. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! After 3 flights thar be no sign o' burning. Blimey! If you catch a picture it puts t' flame comin' right out from t' bottom o' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Just noteworthy t' me.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 4 ½ points. T' Praetor™ is an interestin' lookin' rocket with t' large fins and these same fins make it extremely easy t' see in flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Are you tired o' loosin' sight o' your model rockets on C motors? Consider t' Praetor. I lookin' forward t' paintin' this rocket with some bright colored fins t' even improve t' visibility. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! FlisKits needs t' ensure that they do nay skimp on t' shockcord which be t' only detractor from this kit's Flight/Recovery rating. Arrr! Good news, FlisKits wrote me this, me hearties, we're "...includin' with our already-packaged-kits longer cords. For t' Praetor we're goin' with 30". Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! This is t' correct just t' problem you've mentioned."

I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 ½ points. Arrr! Blimey! FlisKits appears t' be workin' through their initial kit "bugs", matey, me hearties, like very minor instruction issues and t' short shockcord on this kit. Arrr! Blimey! They are responsive t' t' input and that can only help produce even better kits. T' build and flight characteristics o' t' Praetor™ make it a solid kit. I'd recommend it for those that don't have a very large field flying. Also for those that may fly alone since it is very trackable. T' transition and large fin allows you t' have some interestin' finishes (see me RockSim 3D Model t' t' right), arrr, so I look forward t' finishin' mine in spring.