Has anyone purchased the AMRAAM AIM 120 kit from The Launch Pad?
I recently purchased this kit, after having great luck with my first The Launch Pad kit, the HARM AGM 88A (excellent rocket).
When I opened the AMRAAM AIM kit I noticed that the nose cone had a bunch of pock marks in it and it was actually flexible due to extremely poor quality. The hook that you tie the shock cord to actually broke off because it was so thin. I fixed that using epoxy. I actually had to build a layer of epoxy on the bottom of the cone because the plastic was so thin there.
The next thing I noticed is that the mylar chute for the kit is only a small purple mylar 18 inch chute. More suited to a 19 inch Estes Big Daddy than a 54 inch mid power kit.
This kit is over 54 inches tall, and a chute that small just won't cut it. I actually flew the rocket this weekend and used the chute from my first The Launch Pad kit. That chute is bigger, 18 x 30 oblong, not round. I still cracked a fin on landing on a grassy soccer field... (The rocket itself flew great).
Now I am going to have to purchase a bigger chute for the rocket, maybe two, one for the nose cone and one for the body...
Anyway I am surprised at the poor quality of the cone and the sub sized chute and was wondering what others have experienced with this vendor...
Thanks.
I recently purchased this kit, after having great luck with my first The Launch Pad kit, the HARM AGM 88A (excellent rocket).
When I opened the AMRAAM AIM kit I noticed that the nose cone had a bunch of pock marks in it and it was actually flexible due to extremely poor quality. The hook that you tie the shock cord to actually broke off because it was so thin. I fixed that using epoxy. I actually had to build a layer of epoxy on the bottom of the cone because the plastic was so thin there.
The next thing I noticed is that the mylar chute for the kit is only a small purple mylar 18 inch chute. More suited to a 19 inch Estes Big Daddy than a 54 inch mid power kit.
This kit is over 54 inches tall, and a chute that small just won't cut it. I actually flew the rocket this weekend and used the chute from my first The Launch Pad kit. That chute is bigger, 18 x 30 oblong, not round. I still cracked a fin on landing on a grassy soccer field... (The rocket itself flew great).
Now I am going to have to purchase a bigger chute for the rocket, maybe two, one for the nose cone and one for the body...
Anyway I am surprised at the poor quality of the cone and the sub sized chute and was wondering what others have experienced with this vendor...
Thanks.
