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

CONSTRUCTION:

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

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

I built it in under one hour with t' exception o' the fin fillets. Ahoy! I did everythin' with yellow glue, matey, arrr, except t' nose cone to shoulder joint. Well, blow me down! 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 be used t' tie one end o' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord to. T' other end o' t' shock cord is attached at t' thrust ring. T' streamer is made from yellow "Caution" plastic tape. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It is attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® with tape.

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

For finishin' I hit it with some primer and smoothed out t' fins. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! I then painted t' whole rocket with fluorescent green. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I have come t' dislike workin' with fluorescent paint. Blimey! Blimey! Too thick and rubbery! Blimey! 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. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, she was finished and looked mostly black.

T' Polaris kit does nay come with any decals.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4.5 points. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! Good quality materials even includin' Nomex® and Keelhaul®©™® in the recovery system, good instructions, 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). Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' motors are retained with friction fit.

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

T' damage recovery unit (me) accessed t' model and determined that she would fly again. Arrr! Indeed with 2" sliced off t' top a new nose cone (this time balsa). Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! 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 was just a spur o' t' moment launch in my front yard. I flew it on an Apogee 1/4A. Well, shiver me timbers, she cleared t' pad by about 20 feet, ya bilge rat, popped t' ejection and t' streamer just finished unrollin' as it hit the ground. Begad! Blimey! Successful flight but nay one t' repeat.

T' next flights were for t' sole purpose o' this review. Ya scallywag! So I went out t' t' field at 6:30am alone and put t' Polaris in the air. Arrr! T' first time on an A8-3. Begad! Begad! Very nice flight with ejection bein' just before apogee. Ya scallywag! With t' streamer fluttering, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' Polaris actually fails pretty quick. Avast! 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. Arrr! This too was a nice flight, me hearties, maybe t' 800 feet. Avast! Well, blow me down! 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. Ya scallywag! I never saw them split in t' air. Well, blow me down!

So, ya bilge rat, that wrapped up t' flights o' t' Polaris. Ya scallywag! I wrapped up me launcher and put me camera (yes I had two nice shots o' t' Polaris) in my small field box. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I then walked out t' try t' recover another rocket. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! When I returned thar be no longer a Polaris, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, hmmmmm?! Oh, me hearties, shiver me timbers, yes, me hearties, I did recover t' rocket I went after . . Begad! . Ahoy! Blimey! but at what cost! So, shiver me timbers, that is why you don't see any pictures (of mine) for this review. When it rains, me bucko, it pours! O' course I was t' one that left them thar . . Aye aye! .

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

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