Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Estes AMRAAM AIM-120 Downscale, Build Background



This is going to be a slight downscale based on the Estes AMRAAM kit.

Research is often part of a build - 
Here's some scattered specs I found online:

AMRAAM AIM-120 
Boxed kit, #2153. Part of the Estes BETA series 
Scale: 1:5
Produced 1996-2001
Original kit had stickers, not water slide decals.

Skill Level 1
Recommended Engines: B4-2, B6-2, C5-3, C6-3, C6-5
Maximum Estimated Altitude: 400 ft


My build will be a downscale from original kit BT-55 tubes to BT-50H (heavy wall tubing)

Downscale info:
Original kit tubes
#2153 AIM 120 AMRAAM   031191   BT-55   (2)   11.00" 030326   BT-20J   2.75"
Downscale tubes (2)
Two 8.20" long BT-50H tubes or single tube, 16.40" long

To downsize - 
BT-55 is 1.325" diam. / BT-50H (heavy wall) is .990" diam. = Scale Factor of 1.338 or 1.34
Divide the original (two) BT-55 11" length tubes by 1.34  =   (two) 8.20" long BT-50H tubes or one long  BT-50H tube at 16.40"

To see the original kit instructions, from the Rocketry Forum: CLICK HERE
If the PDF image comes up upside down, look for the "square/arrow icon at the top bar. Hovering over it brings up "Rotate counter clockwise" Click on it twice and the image will flip. 

No comments:

Post a Comment