As an ex-Prentice owner I stumbled late into this thread, and then like Henry Crun read the story of a Prentice managing to heave a banner into the air as well as itself with astounded disbelief.
I bought mine at Sywell, in very dubious condition with 1600 hours since its last overhaul, almost exactly 20 times my hours at the time. The salesman assured me, as he counted the £700 after showing me quickly how a variable pitch prop worked, that flying it was a doddle to someone who learned in an Auster.
The wheels clipped the hedge at the end of the take-off run and I didn't stop shaking in the 5 minutes it took to gain 1,000ft.