Brief:
The Praetor-II booster is an aftermarket design for the popular Praetor rocket kit from FlisKits. The booster like the rocket has a unique look with long thin fins that extend out from the body tube further than what you might expect. The Praetor-II boost complements the original rocket perfectly. With the booster attached to the rocket, it reminds me of some sort of satellite. I had received the Praetor-II with the Praetor as a random drawing prize during FlisKits 6th anniversary celebration but would gladly spend the money for these two kits.

Construction:
Since this is a booster add-on to an existing FlisKits rocket, there are just few parts included in the package. Included are:

• 1 BT-60 body tube
• 1 BT-20 motor tube
• 1 BT60 tube coupler
• 2 Centering rings
• 1 Engine hook
• 1 Engine trust ring
• 1 Sheet of balsa fin stock
• 1 Fin patterns on cardstock
• 1 Detailed instructions

All material in the kit is high in quality as usual with FlisKits.

As the previous reviewer commented, this is a quick and straightforward build. If you follow the instructions on the fin pattern sheet, you should be able to get an additional fin from the material supplied with the kit. The booster uses gap staging to ignite the sustainer engine in the Praetor. Because of this the instructions have you cut two small vent holes at the top of the booster with a hobby knife. What I have found to work better is to use a paper hole punch for these types of venting holes. To complete the construction, I attached fins using a bead of yellow glue on the root of the fins with a small amount of CA at both ends to hold it place while the glue dried.

Finishing:
The Praetor-II booster comes with no decals just like the Praetor so the paint job needs to help the rocket stand out. Of course the fin design really help the rocket and booster stand out all by itself. Since I had the advantage of painting the rocket and booster at the same time, I decided to us a color scheme on the booster that would make it easy to spot in a field and hopefully compliment the upper rocket. That is why I went with orange fins for the booster.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I loaded the Praetor-II booster with a C6-0 and the Praetor with B6-6 for the first flight. There was a slight wind at launch time. The rocket and booster lifted up off the pad and weather cocked into the wind slightly. The booster ignited the sustainer without any problems. The flight was near perfect from my point of view.

Recovery:
The booster uses tumble recovery after it ignites the sustainer. My booster came down within 2 feet of the launch rod and seemed to hit pretty hard. The ground was really hard at this launch field and as a result one of the fins partially separated from the body tube. It is an easy fix so the booster will fly again but at a softer field.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
The Praetor-II booster is a great add-on design to the Praetor. It makes an already cool looking rocket even cooler in my opinion. With the addition of the booster, I have no doubt that you can put the Praetor way up in the sky.

PRO: Looks cool, great add-on design, gives the Praetor more flying options

CON: Tumble recovery for such long fins might be an issue.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5