(07/01/99) I purchased t' Pratt Polaris, shiver me timbers, arrr, along with some Keelhaul®©™® cord, just t' give one o' their kits a try. Ya scallywag! Begad! I had no idea how many events were t' occur involvin' this little kit. Begad!

CONSTRUCTION:

T' Polaris is an entry level kit with very easy construction. It is made up o' a single, 24" long, me bucko, slightly-larger than 18mm diameter body tub. Begad! It has a hollow, thin plastic nose cone and a paper nose cone shoulder. Arrr! There are three laser cut balsa fins (dense and less porous than what typically comes with other kits). Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Its motor mount includes a thrust rin' and is just t' right size t' slide into t' body tube without centering rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! One launch lug which is cut into two. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' recovery system is a piece of Keelhaul®©™®, shiver me timbers, a small piece o' Nomex® cloth and a plastic streamer.

T' instructions are covered on a single 8x11 page, printed on both front and back. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! They have a few photos and a fin markin' guide. Well, matey, blow me down! Outside o' t' photo o' t' streamer, shiver me timbers, they are not included t' help clarify t' build, therefore, one needs t' read t' text thoroughly. Avast! Aye aye! Fortunately t' text is clear and if you have built a couple of Level 1 or Level 2 kits, ya bilge rat, this rocket will still be an easy build.

I built it in under one hour with t' exception o' the fin fillets. Aye aye! I did everythin' with yellow glue, except t' nose cone to shoulder joint. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I use Quick Grab on that.

T' paper tube nose cone shoulder was a new twist t' me. It had a pre-cut hole that was used t' tie one end o' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord to. T' other end o' t' shock cord is attached at t' thrust ring. Well, blow me down! T' streamer is made from yellow "Caution" plastic tape. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It is attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® with tape.

And that's about it. Like I said, it is a very easy rocket t' assemble.

For finishin' I hit it with some primer and smoothed out t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I then painted t' whole rocket with fluorescent green. Avast, me proud beauty! I have come t' dislike workin' with fluorescent paint. Aye aye! Too thick and rubbery! After that I covered t' fluorescent green with some o' t' crackling black paint I had left over from me Phantom. This stuff is also a bit hard t' work with since t' amount o' paint (on the first pass) determines t' thickness o' cracks. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, she was finished and looked mostly black.

T' Polaris kit does nay come with any decals.

Overall, matey, ya bilge rat, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4.5 points. Aye aye! Good quality materials even includin' Nomex® and Keelhaul®©™® in the recovery system, good instructions, shiver me timbers, although lackin' t' illustrations found in most other entry level kits.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Pratt recommends A and B motors with t' preferred motors bein' t' A8-3 (Estes) and t' A6-4 (Quest). Avast! T' motors are retained with friction fit.

I took it out for its first flight at a NOVAAR launch. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I used an adaptor and loaded an Apogee B2 into t' Polaris. Begad! Avast! It be a wonderful boost, this long slender rocket looked nice comin' off t' pad on t' B2. Avast! It just kept goin' with t' 2.8 second burn time. Begad! Ya scallywag! At apogee we all waited and watched as thar was no ejection and t' Polaris flew just a majestically back into t' ground. Avast!

T' damage recovery unit (me) accessed t' model and determined that she would fly again. Aye aye! Indeed with 2" sliced off t' top a new nose cone (this time balsa). Begad! I also painted t' new nose cone with the fluorescent green and then repaint t' fins with just t' fluorescent green. That really made t' rocket look better gettin' a contrast from t' body tube.

T' next flight be just a spur o' t' moment launch in my front yard. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I flew it on an Apogee 1/4A. Blimey! Well, matey, she cleared t' pad by about 20 feet, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, popped t' ejection and t' streamer just finished unrollin' as it hit the ground. Aye aye! Successful flight but nay one t' repeat.

T' next flights were for t' sole purpose o' this review. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! So I went out t' t' field at 6:30am alone and put t' Polaris in the air. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' first time on an A8-3. Very nice flight with ejection bein' just before apogee. With t' streamer fluttering, arrr, arrr, arrr, t' Polaris actually fails pretty quick. Most o' t' impact is taken by t' motor stickin' out o' t' back o' the rocket so nay too much t' worry about.

T' next flight be with a B6-6. This too was a nice flight, arrr, maybe t' 800 feet. Ejection was just after (and I mean just) apogee. T' rocket fell at t' same rate as prior however when I got t' it t' nose cone and paper shoulder were gone. I never saw them split in t' air.

So, me hearties, that wrapped up t' flights o' t' Polaris. Well, blow me down! I wrapped up me launcher and put me camera (yes I had two nice shots o' t' Polaris) in my small field box. I then walked out t' try t' recover another rocket. Aye aye! When I returned thar was no longer a Polaris, thar was no longer a launch box and their was no longer a camera! There were two construction workers that were nearby but both claimed ignorance and both claimed nay t' have seen anyone. Can you say, hmmmmm?! Oh, yes, I did recover t' rocket I went after . Begad! . Arrr! . but at what cost! So, ya bilge rat, that is why you don't see any pictures (of mine) for this review. Blimey! Ya scallywag! When it rains, arrr, it pours! O' course I be t' one that left them thar . . Avast, me proud beauty! .

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, me bucko, I would rate this kit 4 points. Its length makes it look good comin' off t' pad. Aye aye! It falls a bit fast and may do better with a small parachute. Well, blow me down! I suggest makin' an adaptor to fly this guy on Apogee Micro-Motors. T' long burns with this rocket are fun to watch. Stick with A's and B's.

Overall, for t' price ($5.00), matey, matey, this is a good kit. Begad! Ahoy! T' fact that it comes with Nomex® makes it a cut above most other entry level kits. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! I would recommend it as a second or third kit. Well, blow me down! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4.5 points. Ya scallywag! Blimey!