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

CONSTRUCTION:

T' Polaris is an entry level kit with very easy construction. It is made up o' a single, me hearties, me hearties, 24" long, ya bilge rat, slightly-larger than 18mm diameter body tub. 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). Arrr! Its motor mount includes a thrust rin' and is just t' right size t' slide into t' body tube without centering rings. Arrr! One launch lug which is cut into two. Avast! T' recovery system is a piece of Keelhaul®©™®, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 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. They have a few photos and a fin markin' guide. Begad! Outside o' t' photo o' t' streamer, me bucko, they are not included t' help clarify t' build, therefore, arrr, one needs t' read t' text thoroughly. 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I did everythin' with yellow glue, except t' nose cone to shoulder joint. Blimey! Blimey! 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. Avast! T' streamer is made from yellow "Caution" plastic tape. Aye aye! It is attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® with tape.

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

For finishin' I hit it with some primer and smoothed out t' fins. Begad! I then painted t' whole rocket with fluorescent green. I have come t' dislike workin' with fluorescent paint. 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! Well, me bucko, shiver me timbers, she was finished and looked mostly black.

T' Polaris kit does nay come with any decals.

Overall, arrr, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4.5 points. 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). Well, matey, blow me down! T' motors are retained with friction fit.

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

T' damage recovery unit (me) accessed t' model and determined that she would fly again. Begad! Avast! Indeed with 2" sliced off t' top a new nose cone (this time balsa). 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. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I flew it on an Apogee 1/4A. Blimey! Blimey! Well, shiver me timbers, she cleared t' pad by about 20 feet, matey, popped t' ejection and t' streamer just finished unrollin' as it hit the ground. Successful flight but nay one t' repeat.

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

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

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

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