Brief:
This is a 1/3 scale model o' Air Force AIM-9P-3 Sidewinder Air-to-Air missile that uses D or E engines. Begad! Arrr! T' AIM-P differed from t' current AIM-9L/M in that t' P had a longer, me hearties, arrr, more tapered nose and "double-delta" canards. Avast, me proud beauty! Also, shiver me timbers, t' warhead was directly behind t' guidance unit, me bucko, me bucko, followed by t' target detector and rocket motor. Avast, me proud beauty! T' AIM-9L/M have t' warhead and target detector in t' opposite order. Begad! Begad! Also, arrr, t' aft end o' t' wings were flush with aft end o' t' rocket motor. Begad! T' AIM 9P was painted gloss white overall, me hearties, and did nay have a bare aluminum rin' at t' base o' t' seeker window. Avast! Aye aye! T' wings were one-piece aluminum, unlike t' composite wings on t' 9L/M.

Construction:
I used 2 BT-60 tubes and 1 BT-60 coupler. All wings, fins, and hangers are constructed from basswood. Ahoy! Begad! T' rolleron frames on t' wings are posterboard with paper overlay. Begad! Rollerons are .03 mil aluminum tape over t' basswood wing, with t' rolleron wheels made with aluminum tape over posterboard. T' slightly larger diameter aft end o' t' rocket motor was created with 2 layers o' plain copy paper and white glue. Arrr! T' nose cone is from an Estes Python kit. Ya scallywag! All markings were created as TIF files and printed on clear labels with an inkjet printer.

I have copies o' old Air Force manuals showin' t' dimensions and markings o' t' AIM-9P, arrr, me hearties, so assembly be fairly easy once I figured out what I wanted t' do.

• Markin' - Decals
• Hanger Templates
• Forward Fin and Rolleron Templates
• Rear Fin Template
• Main Body Diagram

Construction was pretty basic, startin' with a standard engine mount includin' a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord assembly, and t' two BT-60 tubes coupled together. Ya scallywag! Blimey! At this point, I gave t' body a light coat o' spray Kilz filler/primer and let it dry. Ya scallywag! Avast! Blimey! Then I sanded it down, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and repeated this until t' spiral lines were all filled. Begad! Two sheets o' copy paper were glued together with white glue and wrapped around t' aft end o' t' tube and then trimmed t' meet. Begad! That joint served as a base for t' fin and win' alignment. Wings, shiver me timbers, win' ribs, and fins were cut from 1/8" basswood usin' a Dremel tool. Avast! Blimey! These were then filled and sanded with Kilz. Ahoy! Blimey! Hanger parts were cut from 3/16" basswood then filled and sanded.

At this point, matey, matey, t' body, me hearties, arrr, nose, fins, arrr, and win' ribs were painted gloss white. T' wings were painted gloss white except for a 1/2" strip along t' root edge, which was painted aluminum t' simulate bare metal plus t' rollerons. T' wings were attached one at t' time and each was allowed t' cure overnight. T' win' ribs were then attached t' each side o' t' win' roots. T' fins were attached, ya bilge rat, again each was allowed t' cure overnight. Avast! Ahoy! T' hanger bases were cut from 3/16" basswood and sanded t' match t' contour o' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' hanger sides and top rails were glued on. Begad! T' completed rocket was painted with Testors Glosscoat and allowed t' dry overnight. Avast, me proud beauty! T' markings and stripes were applied, ya bilge rat, along with t' aluminum tape on t' top surfaces o' t' hanger rails. Aye aye! Then another coat o' Glosscoat applied.

Nose Weight: Check your balance! You may need t' add 1-2 oz o' nose weight. Michael indicates that t' CG is 24.5" from t' nose cone.

Flight:
First flight be with a D12-3 and flew with no problems. Ahoy! Subsequent flight were made with D12-5s. Ahoy! Florida has a lot o' trees and open water. Well, blow me down! T' less canopy time, t' shorter t' drift.

Recovery:
Standard chute recovery, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, usin' a 2ft Keelhaul®©™ cord attached with a swivel t' a 5ft elastic cord. All landings so far have been soft, ya bilge rat, no damage yet.

Summary:
I like t' build scale models o' missile systems I've worked on. T' PROs are mostly t' satisfaction I get when it turns out right. Ahoy! Arrr! T' CONs are tryin' t' locate t' correct markings and dimensions for projects like this.