(07/01/99) I purchased t' Pratt Polaris, along with some Keelhaul®©™® cord, just t' give one o' their kits a try. 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, 24" long, me hearties, slightly-larger than 18mm diameter body tub. Well, blow me down! It has a hollow, matey, thin plastic nose cone and a paper nose cone shoulder. Avast! There are three laser cut balsa fins (dense and less porous than what typically comes with other kits). Well, blow me down! 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®©™®, arrr, 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. Blimey! Aye aye! Outside o' t' photo o' t' streamer, they are not included t' help clarify t' build, arrr, therefore, matey, matey, one needs t' read t' text thoroughly. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Fortunately t' text is clear and if you have built a couple of Level 1 or Level 2 kits, me bucko, this rocket will still be an easy build.

I built it in under one hour with t' exception o' the fin fillets. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I did everythin' with yellow glue, me hearties, ya bilge rat, except t' nose cone to shoulder joint. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I use Quick Grab on that.

T' paper tube nose cone shoulder be 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. Ya scallywag! T' streamer is made from yellow "Caution" plastic tape. It is attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® with tape.

And that's about it. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Like I said, me hearties, matey, shiver me timbers, it is a very easy rocket t' assemble.

For finishin' I hit it with some primer and smoothed out t' fins. Arrr! I then painted t' whole rocket with fluorescent green. Begad! I have come t' dislike workin' with fluorescent paint. Ahoy! 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. Ya scallywag! Well, matey, she be finished and looked mostly black.

T' Polaris kit does nay come with any decals.

Overall, arrr, ya bilge rat, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4.5 points. Begad! Begad! 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). Arrr! Blimey! T' motors are retained with friction fit.

I took it out for its first flight at a NOVAAR launch. Arrr! Avast! I used an adaptor and loaded an Apogee B2 into t' Polaris. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! It be a wonderful boost, arrr, 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! Ahoy! At apogee we all waited and watched as thar be no ejection and t' Polaris flew just a majestically back into t' ground.

T' damage recovery unit (me) accessed t' model and determined that she would fly again. Indeed with 2" sliced off t' top a new nose cone (this time balsa). Well, blow me down! Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I flew it on an Apogee 1/4A. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! So I went out t' t' field at 6:30am alone and put t' Polaris in the air. Begad! T' first time on an A8-3. Arrr! Very nice flight with ejection bein' just before apogee. Ahoy! With t' streamer fluttering, t' Polaris actually fails pretty quick. Blimey! Begad! 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 was with a B6-6. Blimey! Avast! This too was a nice flight, ya bilge rat, maybe t' 800 feet. 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! I never saw them split in t' air. Aye aye! Blimey!

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

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

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