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

T' packagin' includes a "hanger" section with a nice FlisKits logo and age recommendation on t' front and, me hearties, me hearties, on t' back, me bucko, me bucko, t' sayin' "FlisKits are t' Best kits"™, arrr, address and a warnin' about plastic bags bein' dangerous. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' Praetor™ kit even has a plastic parachute with FlisKits' name and logo on it. Begad! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Praetor was t' anniversary kit, shiver me timbers, designed by Jim Flis and presented t' attendees o' t' 1990 Pearl River Model Rocketry Convention in Pearl River, me hearties, NY, founded and hosted by teacher Dick Nelson. "

T' Praetor's™ most distinctive feature be t' length o' t' 4 fins. Begad! T' rocket stands about 23 1/2" tall but has 4-fin span o' 14". Avast, me proud beauty! Very, matey, me bucko, 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, arrr, a 1" balsa transition, matey, and a 5 3/8" long balsa nose cone. Avast! T' motor mount included fiber centerin' rings, an 18mm motor tube, a thrust rin' and motor hook. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' recovery system is made up o' a 18" length o' 1/8" elastic (white) shockcord, matey, an eye-hook and a 3-fold paper template, arrr, me bucko, matey, and a 16" plastic parachute with shroud lines. There are two launch lugs t' complete t' kit components. Begad! There are also instructions, matey, a fin template and fin markin' guide.

CONSTRUCTION:

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

FlisKits rates this a skill level 2 kit and I would agree. 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, ya bilge rat, startin' with t' motor mount. Arrr! I did find one minor issue here. Ya scallywag! T' lower centerin' rin' is described as have a cutout for t' engine hook in it, however, me hearties, arrr, it did not. Aye aye! I used me hobby knife and smartly remedied that. Arrr! Begad!

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

Next comes body tube markin' and fin cutting. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' templates were correct and thar was clear instructions on t' placement o' t' templates on t' 1/8" balsa sheets (2) provided. Avast! T' instructions outline t' shapin' o' t' fins. Ahoy! Here is where I used a technique that I have yet t' use. I took maskin' tape and ran it t' length o' t' fin t' form t' shapin' edge. I then sanded t' fin with a block and paper. Ya scallywag! Arrr! With t' maskin' tape in place, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, it provided a clean, ya bilge rat, 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. Ya scallywag! T' instructions then say t' glue t' nose cone in place. Avast, me proud beauty! I did this, ya bilge rat, however, matey, thar probably should be a note that indicates nay t' use glue if you want that section t' be a payload area. Well, blow me down! 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' glue is then placed over these holes and t' fin is pressed on. Arrr! Aye aye! T' idea is that t' glue seeps into t' pin holes t' increase t' strength o' t' attachment . Ya scallywag! . Aye aye! . Avast! Begad! mini-rivets if you will. Well, blow me down! Another technique that could be used here be t' double-glue technique. With this technique you would glue t' parts, press them together and immediately separate them. Aye aye! Let that glue dry. Ya scallywag! Reglue t' parts and attach them together. It, too, shiver me timbers, is said t' be a stronger joint. Well, blow me down! Once t' fins are attached, arrr, FlisKits recommends fillets.

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

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

I weighed me kit and found it t' be 2.3 ounces (unfinished and exactly what FlisKits said it should weigh). 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. Ahoy! I grabbed an extra Estes 12" chute and used it for now.

T' parachute assembly (if used) is typical. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! You use t' provided shroud lines and tape disks t' secure them.

As you can see, shiver me timbers, I didn't beat t' cold o' winter for gettin' t' Praetor™ painted, me hearties, ya bilge rat, so when I do finish it, I will update t' review. Sadly, arrr, t' kit does nay come with any decals.

Overall, matey, arrr, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' instructions are well done and t' kit is nay complicated. Aye aye! T' parts are from good quality material. I like t' fiber centerin' rings and like havin' a transition t' add t' t' looks o' t' rocket. Begad! Begad! T' centerin' rin' findin' and t' parachute size will no doubt be corrected in future kits (my kit number was #49). Arrr! Aye aye! Havin' t' cut out t' balsa fins be nay a problem with such a simple fin design. Well, blow me down! 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™. Begad! I flew it for t' first time on a B6-4. Avast, me proud beauty! (Yes, I'm sorry, it was flown naked).

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

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

I decided t' lengthen t' shockcord and added an additional 16" o' elastic. I flew it again on a B6-4. 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. After 3 flights thar be no sign o' burning. If you catch a picture it puts t' flame comin' right out from t' bottom o' t' rocket. Well, matey, blow me down! 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. Begad! Are you tired o' loosin' sight o' your model rockets on C motors? Consider t' Praetor. Blimey! I lookin' forward t' paintin' this rocket with some bright colored fins t' even improve t' visibility. Begad! FlisKits needs t' ensure that they do nay skimp on t' shockcord which was t' only detractor from this kit's Flight/Recovery rating. Avast! Good news, ya bilge rat, arrr, FlisKits wrote me this, me hearties, we're "...includin' with our already-packaged-kits longer cords. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! For t' Praetor we're goin' with 30". Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This is t' correct just t' problem you've mentioned."

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