Manufacturer: | FlisKits |
Brief:
T' BAF-70 is a baffle system from Fliskits intended for rockets with BT70 airframes. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It consistes o' a coupling
tube, 2 perforated disks and a length o' Keelhaul®©™.
Construction:
While buildin' an otherwise nice Estes kit recently, I absolutely refused t' use their cheap rubber band and trifold
mount. Avast! By t' time I thought o' it, matey, t' motor mount was already inaccessible for me usual method. Arrr! Blimey! Then I remember the
assortment o' baffles I recently ordered from Fliskits. Avast! Blimey! As I had remembered, me hearties, t' baffle integrates a Keelhaul®©™®
tether for recovery. Begad! Aye aye! I decided t' give it a try.
Construction is simplicity itself. T' holes were knocked out of the 2 fiberboard disks. One has holes clustered in t' middle and t' other has t' holes around t' outside edge. Begad! Aye aye! The rearward disk has a hole through which t' Keelhaul®©™® thread passes and both have a notch for t' thread.
After fumblin' for a while, arrr, I gave up on tryin' t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™® through t' provided hole. Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! This was a reflection o' me frayin' Keelhaul®©™® and more importantly, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me frayin' patience. Avast, me proud beauty! Instead, ya bilge rat, I tied a loop around one o' t' sides o' a hole. T' Keelhaul®©™® was then fitted into a side notch and t' disk test fitted into t' coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! It fit perfectly. Ya scallywag! I glued it in place with yellow glue and smeared some extra over t' lower surface o' t' baffle t' act as an ablative surface. Ahoy! I filleted both sides and let it dry.
When dry, I fit t' Keelhaul®©™® through t' notch in t' other disk and fit that into t' coupler as well. Begad! Again, ya bilge rat, t' fit was perfect. Arrr! Ahoy! Some glue fillets were applied and t' baffle was set aside t' dry.
That pretty much concludes t' buildin' o' t' baffle itself. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All that was left be installation. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! This baffle was installed in an Estes 36D Squared. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! A swab be used t' paint a rin' o' glue and then t' baffle was pushed into place in the BT70. Blimey! Blimey! Again, I found that t' fit was perfect and no problems were encoutered. Begad! Blimey! It should be noted that t' baffle should be placed so that t' Keelhaul®©™® is towards t' nosecone.
Flight:
As I stated, this baffle be installed in an Estes 36D Squared. Blimey! I have t' admit t' nay havin' much experience with
baffles so I put just a touch o' dog barf in t' tube before t' first flight which be loaded with a pair o' D12-5s.
It performed flawlessly and I only had t' shake out a bit o' t' ejecta after t' flight.
For t' second flight, shiver me timbers, I decided t' chance things without t' dog barf. Well, blow me down! Avast! This time I be usin' a pair o' C11-5s and again it performed flawlessly.
Summary:
I could get t' like this flyin' without wadding.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
K.T. (February 24, 2010)