Intro
One o' Estes Industries Beta Series model rocket kits that is a semi-scale version o' t' United States Medium range Air-to-air Missile. Begad! This missile replaced t' agin' Sparrow radar guided missile, and it is also used in a surface-to-air mode by some NATO nations.

I had seen this kit and I wondered if it flew any better than t' Sidewinder that Estes produced. Aye aye! When Wal-Mart clearanced t' Kit for $7.50 I had t' pick up t' model and give it a try. Since t' reviews o' this kit are highly favorable, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I decided t' modify t' kit t' include a Centuri style ejection Baffle. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! In me mind this serves two purposes, me bucko, ya bilge rat, One is t' reduce or eliminate t' use o' ejection Wadding. T' second is providin' a "stop" t' keep t' parachute from bein' pressed too far into t' body tube.

Construction
T' assembly o' this kit follows t' well known and highly illustrated Estes instructions. Blimey! Aye aye! This kit is rated a skill level 1, shiver me timbers, matey, but is nay a first kit.

T' only modification t' t' assembly was t' add t' Centuri Style Baffle t' t' tube coupler in t' middle o' t' rocket. Avast! I got t' idea from t' Modified Prowler here on this site. One could use this coupler as an anchor for a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord as well, but I did nay have a suitable length o' Keelhaul®©™ on hand when this went together.

T' rest o' t' kit went together in t' usual uneventful way.

Flight
T' first flight was on a C6-3 Estes motor. Begad! Since I be nay completely convinced o' t' operation o' t' ejection baffle, me hearties, I included two sheets o' ejection waddin' t' make sure that t' parachute is nay scorched in any way. Avast, me proud beauty! Since it be slightly windy, I tilted t' launch rod about 10 degrees into t' wind, and reefed in t' parachute half way down t' shroud lines with a piece o' maskin' tape. Blimey! Avast! T' launch be great, me hearties, startin' out slow and pickin' up speed rapidly. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' AMRAAM then weathercocked into t' wind and nosed over and ejected t' parachute after apogee. T' force o' t' parachute openin' slightly zippered t' body tube, me bucko, which should nay be too hard t' fix.

Summary
I must say that I am impressed with t' function o' t' baffle. Avast, me proud beauty! There were no scorch marks on t' parachute with t' small amount o' waddin' used. With t' obvious advantages o' this method I wonder why it is nay used more often. Aye aye! I also wonder why, me bucko, since Estes is owned by Centuri, that they don't implement this into their kits. Ahoy! Arrr! After all they are usin' other Centuri components in their releases now.