Estes AMRAAM AIM-120

Estes - AIM-120 AMRAAM {Kit} (2153)

Contributed by Jon Revelle

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Diameter: 1.33 inches
Length: 27.50 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 2
Style: Scale

Brief:
A great scale model o' t' U.S. Aye aye! Air Force's Advanced Medium Range Air-Air Missile (AMRAAM) AIM-120. Arrr! Nothin' very special. Avast, me proud beauty! It has been Out O' Production for a couple o' years.

(OOP) Estes AMRAAMConstruction:
T' AMRAAM came boxed and undamaged. Ahoy! It included:

  • 1 Nose Cone NC55
  • 2 BT55X11 Slotted Body Tubes
  • Tube Coupler
  • 2 Clay Weights
  • Engine mount parts (18mm)
  • Recovery parts (18" Parachute)
  • 8 Precut fins on balsa sheets
  • Balsa Conduit Strip (extra decoration)
  • Launch Lugs
  • Sheet o' 34 decals

This be a BETA Series (Skill Level 1) rocket from Estes.

T' only tricky part I had was alignin' t' 2 body tubes together so I didn't have crooked fins, arrr, shiver me timbers, otherwise construction was nice and easy. Ahoy! Blimey! I finished t' kit in about 1.5 hours.

PROs: Ease o' build, good quality o' parts. Aye aye! Very sharp looks after decals.

CONs: Alignment be tricky, so many decals,

Finishing:
PROs: Easy t' paint. Arrr! Mine came out absolutely beautiful. Begad! Avast! My best job with spray paint. Ahoy! Looks very good when finished

CONs: There are lots o' decals. Ya scallywag! I misplaced some o' them.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
First and only flight so far be on an Estes B6-4 on New Year's Day. I actually got this flight on video.

Preflight prep is typical Estes. It uses around 4-6 squares o' waddin' and a basic engine hook for motor retention.

T' flight was very straight with very little weathercocking, ya bilge rat, however, it drifted a little.

Recovery:
PROs: 18" chute brought it down in one piece. Arrr! Blimey! No damage.

CONs: None.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an excellent rocket kit. Ya scallywag! Begad! I recommend it t' just about anyone.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

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    Intro One of Estes Industries Beta Series model rocket kits that is a semi-scale version of the United States Medium range Air-to-air Missile. This missile replaced the aging 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 the Sidewinder that Estes produced. When Wal-Mart ...

  • Estes AMRAAM AIM-120 By Jay Finigan

    The AMRAAM from Estes is one of the many rockets that take after various weaponry used around the world by fighter jets, and ground based anti-aircraft launchers. The popularity of these types of rockets make it one to be a sure seller in the future.    It comes in a box, not in one of those cheap bags which can easily be damaged during shipping, and contains 18 parts. It is a ...

Flights

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