Brief:
Another absolutely wild futuristic design by t' mad scientist/evil genius Jim Flis, 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, 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 bucko, especially factorin' in t' eye appeal o' t' finished kit. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! 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, matey, serves as central support t' BT-101
• BT-2 transition body tubes (3)
• Balsa nose cone
• Laser cut fiber fins, shiver me timbers, jigs
• 16" plastic chute kit
• Keelhaul®©™/elastic shock cord
• Decorative toothpicks
• Peel and stick vinyl decals

T' instructions are very good, clearly illustrated, matey, and span 35 basic steps over 6 pages. Well, blow me down! It's rated a skill level 3.5 on a 5 scale, though that strikes me as slightly high. Arrr! While it certainly looks like a complex build, arrr, I found it much easier than expected, ya bilge rat, and t' design and fit on this is outstanding. Well, blow me down! 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. Avast! Early releases o' t' kit had an incorrect laser cut fiber fin sheet. Ya scallywag! 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, shiver me timbers, you might want t' email t' folks at FlisKits t' confirm you have a good set o' fins. I got a hold o' an early one (#55) at NARCON, 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. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! If you want t' use sharply contrastin' colors, you'll find it easier t' paint parts before bondin' (maskin' off bond lines). Begad! Ahoy! 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. 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! On t' other end o' t' BT-5 is another centerin' rin' holdin' another BT-20. Avast! This gives you a pair o' BT-20s connected with 1.125" o' exposed BT-5. Blimey! That gap is critical, as t' instruction note that t' BT-101s go thar and can be used t' test t' fit/alignment.

Next, you get t' work on t' BT-101 rings. Ahoy! Ahoy! Because t' tubes are only 1.125" tall, they are pretty pliable and don't retain their circular shape very well. Arrr! This makes markin' them tricky. Ya scallywag! Each tube gets a set o' fiber fin braces tacked t' it at 12, 3 and 9 o'clock position with one o' t' braces trailin' down below t' tube at t' 6 o'clock position. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! Arrr! T' alignment o' these is somewhat challenging. At t' forward end, they are spaced via two laser-cut/drilled fiber centerin' disks spaced about an inch apart, me hearties, ya bilge rat, which also serves as t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord anchor point. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! At t' aft end, thar's another pair o' centerin' disks with tighter spacin' basically forcin' t' tubes together. Blimey! T' aft disks slide into t' upper BT-20, and t' forward disks slide into t' BT-55. Ahoy! 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. Blimey! You'll want t' make sure you get good solid glue joints around t' disks, me hearties, as they take a lot o' ejection gas force.

With t' basic frame o' t' BT-20s, trio o' BT-2s, and upper BT-55 in place, me bucko, you can now bond t' BT-101 rings on place. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! As previously noted, me hearties, matey, these slip perfectly in t' 1.125" gap betwixt t' BT-20s, matey, restin' flush against t' BT-5. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Blimey! Blimey! If you've got everythin' right, matey, you'll wind up with BT-101s touchin' each other on tangents and touchin' t' BT-5 on a tangent as well. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Again, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, another t' t' BT-20 with a standoff). I cheated a little bit by trimmin' down t' launch lug t' match t' width o' t' BT-60, ya bilge rat, me bucko, avoidin' an ugly hangin' tube.

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

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

I wound up paintin' me Borealis in modules. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' lower BT-20s (masked off t' BT-5 for a naked bondin' surface) got primer followed by three coats o' Rustoleum blue metallic. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' BT-2 trio got t' same treatment but with silver metallic, matey, as did t' upper BT-55 and nose cone. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' BT-101 rings got gold metallic before bondin' t' fiber fins. T' fiber fins got gloss black, me hearties, and I followed up by hand paintin' t' edges a bright red. T' lower BT-60 got silver metallic, arrr, again before bonding. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Begad! Aye aye! In general, shiver me timbers, FlisKits's kits rarely use decals and when they do they're either excellent quality waterslides (ex. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! U.S.S. Ya scallywag! Grissom) or t' peel and sticks that so many o' us absolutely hate (ex. Arrr! Cheetah, Flea). Ahoy! Recognizin' that many a FlisKits's kit would be greatly improved with decorative decals, Jim's been doin' a lot o' R & D in this area. T' resultin' process was introduced shortly before NARCON 2007 in t' form o' range box stickers printed on vinyl stock. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' quality o' t' artwork and reproduction is superb, shiver me timbers, t' decals are fairly thin/flexible, and therefore are easy t' work with. T' adhesive is also top quality (once cured out, 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). Arrr! Even better--these are also pre-cut, arrr, me hearties, so you don't need t' waste time trimmin' t' t' edge lines with scissors. Avast, me proud beauty! I just wish I'd paid attention t' that little note in t' instructions, shiver me timbers, 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, I hooked up with Jim Flis at t' National Sport Launch 2007 in Muncie, Indiana. Blimey! Holdin' t' Borealis in me hands, it felt incredibly fragile, arrr, so I figured what better place t' destroy it than in front o' t' designer, where I might score a free replacement. Ya scallywag! Jim commented that he'd flown a number o' prototypes without problem, 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. Well, arrr, blow me down! I figured with t' big rings and long body, it would be high drag, but it tore off t' pad and climbed at a fast clip. Apogee was nose up, though very slowly climbin' at that point. Begad! With all t' doodads and trimmings on this, like t' Night Whisperer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me hearties, you definitely want an early deployment rather than a nose-down deployment or you will break off trimmings, me hearties, matey, so stick with t' B6-2 or C6-3.

Recovery:
T' 16" chute brought it safely back t' earth. 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. Blimey! It be a wonderful flight, me hearties, me bucko, 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, flies beautifully, and really nice decals.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5