Brief:
High Altitude Pro is a complete kit for a single stage rin' fin water rocket from Anti-Gravity Research. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! This is one o' a several water rockets available at AntiGravity. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! High Altitude Pro is a very simple, high flyin' water rocket that should prove t' be very safe and easy for children. Avast! Blimey! T' rocket derives its impulse from a bicycle pump and a small amount o' water in a 2-liter water bottle.

Construction:
T' kit comes complete with water bottle, fin assembly, shiver me timbers, arrr, pressure nozzle, launch rod, and launch equipment. Avast, me proud beauty! T' buyer must assemble t' kit and provide a source of pressurized air from a bicycle pump.

When I opened t' box, I was faced with a bewilderin' array o' blue featherweight, matey, pre-molded Styrofoam pieces which at first glance did nay seem to resemble t' picture o' t' complete rocket. Ahoy! On closer inspection after readin' t' instructions, me bucko, it became clear that a very clever mind must have devised a mold from which t' Styrofoam pieces were made and that these pieces when fitted together and secured with rubber bands would make a water rocket. T' kit that I received be complete, me hearties, well packed, and had a few extra rubber bands in case some o' them broke.

T' detailed instruction sheet has both text and color diagrams and drawings t' demonstrate t' step-by-step construction o' t' rocket. Arrr! Begad! T' kit includes 4 sizes o' rubber bands and it be clear from t' instructions which size was needed at each step. T' geometric puzzle o' assemblin' t' pieces left me initially perplexed but then everythin' fell into place. I would recommend t' anyone buyin' t' kit t' assemble t' kit at home one time, me hearties, me bucko, then take it apart and reassemble it before launch. Avast! It took me about 20 minutes to assemble it t' first time and now I can do it in probably less than 5 minutes. T' kit is very simple t' assemble and all o' t' pieces fit as shown in the instructions. Aye aye! Begad! My 9-year old mastered t' construction in half t' time that I required.

T' rubber bands do nay hold t' pieces together in a vice-like grip. Instead, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' pieces are held together just tight enough t' survive takeoff and flight but are meant t' collapse t' some extent on landin' t' protect t' parts from breaking. A nice feature o' t' kit is that it can be disassembled and repacked into t' same box in which it was shipped. T' people at antigravityresearch.com provide a table o' reasons why their rockets are constructed in t' way that they are and what design goals were achieved by so doing. Begad! One important factor is safety. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Since t' rocket essentially self-destructs and includes a padded bumper on t' front, it is unlikely that someone could be seriously injured by one o' these rockets even if it struck them full force durin' lift off. Avast!

We have built a variety o' homemade water rockets before. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' High Altitude Pro was different in t' followin' respects: T' fins are pre-cut, arrr, arrr, me hearties, fit very well, and are held in place by rubber bands rather than with tape or glue. Blimey! Blimey! The bottle uses a bottle cap with a narrow hole in it t' create a pressure nozzle. All water rockets that we have launched t' date have nay used a nozzle other than t' fully open bottle end. Ya scallywag! T' nozzle is specifically designed t' work with t' unique launcher that is supplied with each kit. T' launch tube is a very simple plastic hose with a little balloon-like device on t' end that fits up inside t' nozzle. Begad! Air is pumped into t' bottle through t' balloon which will remain tightly secured in t' nozzle so long as one continues t' pump. Once t' pressure drops on t' supply side o' t' launch tube when you stop pumping, me bucko, t' balloon deflates and falls out o' t' nozzle, shiver me timbers, allowin' the pressure and water t' escape through t' nozzle, matey, providin' thrust for the rocket. Blimey! This simple launch system eliminates t' primary difficulty of launchin' most water rockets: t' need for a release mechanism (typically operated by a pull cord). Begad! Arrr! T' entire launch system with t' exception o' the air source will fit in your pocket and t' nozzle cap could easily be applied to other bottles. Begad! Ahoy!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' instructions suggest usin' a small amount o' water (120 ml I think) and there is a picture in t' instructions showin' approximately how full t' make the bottle. Avast, me proud beauty! I also read somewhere (I believe at t' antigravityresearch.com website) that a small amount o' dish soap in t' bottle will cause foaming, slowin' t' expulsion o' t' water from t' nozzle and thus helpin' t' sustain flight for a longer period o' time and achieve a higher altitude.

We loaded up t' bottle with water accordin' t' instructions and added a drop o' liquid dish soap. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' kit comes with a wooden dowel for a use as a launch rod. T' launch rod provided with t' kit is meant t' be pushed into the dirt and t' rocket slides down on t' rod with one o' t' fin supports acting as a launch lug. Avast! Aye aye! I used a metal launch rod from our model rocket launcher instead. I reasoned that this longer rod would keep t' rocket goin' more straight in t' intended direction. Blimey! Arrr! T' rocket slid more smoothly along the metal rod than it did on t' wooden dowel that came with t' kit.

I pumped t' bottle with a standard bicycle pump that has a gauge that registers up t' 160psi. Aye aye! T' flow o' air into t' bottle is restricted by the balloon on t' end o' t' launch tube. Ya scallywag! T' balloon allows t' air t' slowly enter t' bottle no matter how much pressure t' pump exerts. Arrr! Ya scallywag! It is thus not necessary t' frantically pump. Avast, me proud beauty! A good steady pumpin' action is sufficient and the bottle never released prematurely from t' tube. T' pressure gauge periodically registered 100 psi but then fell t' about 70 psi as t' air passed through t' balloon into t' bottle. Well, blow me down! I never could determine precisely the pressure in t' bottle, which is different from t' way in which we have filled bottle rockets with other launch systems in t' past.

After a couple o' minutes o' steady pumping, shiver me timbers, thar was a steady but small leak o' water past t' balloon on t' end o' t' launch hose. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Eventually I decided t' stop pumping. Ahoy! T' tube soon slipped out o' t' nozzle and t' rocket shot off t' launch rod spewin' sudsy water. Ya scallywag! T' flight was straight and the rocket did nay wobble but it probably only went 50 t' 60 feet in t' air. Subsequent launches provided a bit more altitude but all in all t' performance of t' rocket be nay as excitin' as we had hoped. Aye aye! It seems t' make little difference in flight performance if I do t' pumpin' or if me kids do it. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I believe that t' metal launch rod does nay detract from t' performance and if anythin' helps keeps t' rocket goin' straight up. We attempted one launch without t' launch rod and t' rocket tipped over just as t' hose released causin' t' rocket t' shoot sideways and bounce across t' field. Begad! Avast! I cannot tell if t' soap suds improve performance, since flights with plain water appear to go t' about t' same altitude. Aye aye! Begad! When usin' t' balloon tube launch system, me bucko, it is difficult t' judge when t' stop pumpin' so under-pressurization o' t' bottle might be t' root cause o' lackluster performance. I suspect that we could achieve better performance if we used an air compressor and filled for a longer period o' time.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
T' High Altitude Pro is a simple, ya bilge rat, sturdy water rocket that should be safe for kids o' all ages. Arrr! Arrr! It uses tumble (or more like ballistic) recovery and has a bumper on t' front t' help in preventin' damage or injuries from a falling rocket. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' fin assembly partially collapses upon landing, protectin' the components but requirin' reassembly betwixt launches. Aye aye! T' pre-molded Styrofoam rin' fin and t' launch system are ingenious and merit t' purchase o' this kit.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5