Brief:
Following in the footsteps of the Corona 2, this is a retrofit booster module designed to complement the standard single stage FlisKits classic Praetor. The booster shares in the same design standards as the Praetor, featuring rather large span fins.

Construction:
Components are of good quality. The kit includes:

• balsa fin stock
• BT-60 body tube
• BT-20 motor tube
• 20/60 centering rings (fiber)
• motor block, metal hook
• TC-60 coupler

This is a very quick and easy build. The motor mount is the usual tube/centering ring/motor block assembly. It mounts inside the BT-60, and a coupler is mounted through the other end of the BT-60.

The fins are old-school--you get to cut them from the balsa sheet, which has just enough extra for one spare fin. Given the huge span to root ratio on these, a spare is probably a good idea.

Fins were tacked on with CA and with wood glue but only after sanding down the classic Praetor bevels on leading and trailing edges on them.

That's it! You're ready to paint it and fly (with the Praetor).

Finishing:
My original Praetor had Krylon gray fins and blue body so I went with same theme for the booster module.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
With the hit list deadline looming, I was in a hurry to get in a test flight on this, and flew a very ill-advised maiden flight. Our field was plagued by constant wind never under 10 mph, gusting to about 16. I elected to fly anyway.

The booster motor lit immediately, but the 1/8" rod was prone to a little whip and the high winds hit the huge fin span, tipping the rocket over to a horizontal flight path. Once it cleared our flight line, it seemed to have eyes for a friend's truck. The booster motor burned out just as it went under his truck, at which point the sustainer lit. The rejuvenated beast headed back up for another crack at altitude. Unfortunately, with the sustainer fins being stripped off while under the truck, the rest of the sustainer didn't fare too well either.

The end result is that the booster was very likely good/standard, but potentially unstable in higher winds.

Recovery:
Without a true flight and recovery test, I can't say for sure, but think the tumble recovery on this is fine.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
PROs: cool retrofit that adheres to the design of the original.

CON: has trouble in high winds?

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5