RocketReviews.com - Estes - AIM-9 Sidewinder (2125) [1996-2000]

The Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder is a popular scale model kit of a air-to-air missile that has served US and NATO air forces for about 40 years and still running strong.

This rocket is a challenging build, not for the first-timer. It is also a challenger to fly, as it tends to live up to its name and give some "sidewinding" flights.

INSTRUCTIONS:
The instructions are the usual good Estes ones, illustrated, numbered and easy to follow. No special tools were needed.

EASE OF BUILD:
For a challenging kit with a lot of wood, this went rather well. Tricky parts are the fuselage bands and the rear fins, which must be glued together from several pieces. Through-the-wall construction makes this a sturdy kit to fly, even with the large amount of wood that it carries aloft. All parts were provided in my kit, and the fit and alignment were very good.

QUALITY:
This kit is very sturdy and has survived several hard landings. I even had a main chute failure (plastic chutes seem to do that to me) and the main section came out undamaged despite being caught by a tree after a fast descent.

The self-stick decals are very good, although the edges tend to curl after time. Use plenty of clear spray after applying the decals to help keep them on.

This is an excellent looking scale model, even after I've built it. I am no scale competitor, I'm happy if I get the right color paint and all of the decals stick. But if you're a scale model perfectionist, this kit could be a lot of fun (although you would want to change the front fins to make them a bit more authentic)

FLYING:
The first good thing I did to this rocket is to take the 18mm motor mount and chuck it into my parts box. I replaced it with a 24mm motor mount. This rocket does not fly very well on a C6-3, but it flies great with a D12-5.

Unfortunately, I followed up that triumph with a minor mistake. I thought that two chutes were a bit much, so I tried to launch it with the nose cone tied to the body tube with shock cord and only one 18" chute. Big mistake. Use two chutes. If you use only one, the nose cone bangs into the body tube and the forward fins get shredded or snapped off.

Flying this bird can be tricky, due to the large amount of wood. In any amount of wind, it is a bit like Laurel and Hardy with a big sheet of plywood. It will go just about everywhere but straight up. Even in a calm wind, this rocket spins more than my Corkscrew.

Make sure to put in plenty of nose weight if you fly this with a "D" or it may be unstable.

RATING:
I would rate this rocket with 3 ½ points. It has some definite stability problems which Estes should engineer out, and it also is underpowered with the standard 18mm motor mount. But it is a good scale model and interesting to fly.

Thank you for the feedback, it was useful and some was entertaining. Flying this rocket on an A8-3, having it go sideways into a crowd, and having a tree catch it after being launched with a C6-5 were all :^)

I flew this ugly balsa bird for almost two years, then it sailed away in a high wind and buzzards picked it clean.

I am now looking at a Python kit for a larger Sidewinder kit bash and will get back to you all if I ever get it built.

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
1969-12-31	Mike Goss's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Rocket did large corkscrew ending up with a long unpoweredhorizontal glide, ejection was when it...
1969-12-31	Mike Goss's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Rocket did same as before, only shorter glide.
1969-12-31	Mike Goss's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-4	-	Rocket keeled over and flew horizontal, recovery OK
1999-04-21	Eric Miller's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-2	-	Windy day, nice straight flight, no weather cocking, ejected parachute floated over house and...
1999-04-27	Mike Goss's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Too much tilt for such a heavy nose. Almost went ballistic, ejection 40 feet off ground, rocket OK
1999-05-22	Eric Miller's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-4	-	I like military styling, my rocket retriever was losing interest now since they had a yard sale...
1999-06-19	Eric Miller's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-5	-	Interesting flight, parachute did not deploy it looked like a real Sidewinder, people were calling...
1999-08-28	David Fergus's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C5-3	-	good straight flight to about 100ft, not much spin in spite of the angled rear fins. had added...
1999-09-25	David Fergus's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C5-3	-	good slow straight flight, not much spin.
1999-10-22	Mike Goss's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Rocket tilted slightly just after clearing rod, then flew straight. Parachute tangled, but no...
1999-10-23	David Fergus's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	good straight med speed flight to about 800ft. moderate spin, nc came down faster on a 12 chute...
1999-10-26	Scott Smith's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Straight launch, drifted a bit during the descend. Solid rocket.
1999-10-26	Scott Smith's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B4-2	-	Great first flight, straight up, and perfect dual parachute landing.
1999-10-26	Scott Smith's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	2nd flight was perfect, great straight launch - no problems with the recovery.
2000-04-22	David Fergus's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	GOOD STRAIGHT FLIGHT, A LITTLE BIT OF CORKSCREW, BUT NOT MUCH.
2000-04-24	Ron Cooke's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Perfect first flight!
2000-04-26	Mike Goss's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Good Flight
2000-04-29	David Kneble's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Another good flight.
2000-05-21	David Fergus's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-
2000-07-08	Eric Miller's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-5	-	This rocket was upgraded to D engine power and hasn't flown in a while. The Sidewinder lives up to...
2000-07-16	David Stubbs's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	G80-10	-	Modified AIM-9 to fly G80-10T engine, It got to 1500-2000 and had a slight wobble then straighten...
2000-07-22	David Fergus's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-5	-	After the loss of engine hook, I friction fit the engine into mount. ejection charge blew out two...
2000-11-05	Randy Powell's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	angled launch rod about 5* into wind. Boosted straight up and going a little downwind, 3 nice big...
2001-01-27	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-4	-	Underpowered flight with B6-4. Will try a C5-3 next time.
2001-02-24	Jim Zamecnik's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Chittenden Reservoir. Straight boost to about 300', plastic chute didn't open, rocket fell...
2001-03-11	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C5-3	-	Finally got around to using this motor, What a combo! Nice straight flight. Both pieces recovered.
2001-04-02	Casey Smith's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Another great flight for this old kit. It looks great every time. It goes up with a little...
2001-04-03	Dan Hahn's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	E16-4	-	18mm E16-4 RMS WOW! Perfect flight & recovery -15min epoxy, 4 coats sealer on fins, 4 ft by 1/4...
2001-04-13	Casey Smith's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-7	-	Nice boost got the cobwebs out. The delay is a little long, one line came off the chute.
2001-04-14	Casey Smith's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Good flight, tried streamers for recovery, very close recovery of each piece
2001-04-22	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D9-4	-	Got about 2 seconds of bonus delay. Model recovered fine, no damage.
2001-04-29	Randy Powell's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-
2001-05-21	Daniel Cutteridge's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Flew great. Very stable when motor is burning. Straight flight. Had a long walk to recover it. To...
2001-05-21	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Drag raced another Sidewinder. Took off late due to my crappy launch controller. Finally won a...
2001-07-08	Mark Patoka's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Another perfect flight. Caught some wind and drifted after chute deployed.
2001-07-10	Les Bradshaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-4	-	Nice launch. Parachute only opened about 20' above ground, but no damage.
2001-07-14	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Good flight with quite a bit of wobble. Good recovery.
2001-09-18	Alex Shim's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-6	-	Very good flight but lots of spinning. perfect ejection and nice 2 part recovery.
2001-12-30	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Must have homed in on an invisible target. Went horizontal at about 100 feet. No damage.
2002-01-05	Jason Vennard's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Good flight and recovery, 5 second delay too long.
2002-01-11	Jason Vennard's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Great flight and recovery, rocket is flying great.
2002-02-24	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Great flight. Long walk for recovery. No damage.
2002-03-16	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D9-4	-	Wandered around a bit during boost trying to get a target lock, I guess. May need to use D15's to...
2002-04-17	Jason Vennard's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C5-3	-	Great motor for this rocket, great flight and recovery.
2002-10-20	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C11-5	-	Well, THAT'S not the right motor!! Model recovered without Damage.
2002-11-24	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D9-4	-	Lots of bouns delay again. Model recovered without damage.
2003-04-26	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D9-4	-	Another bonus delay motor.
2003-06-07	Donald Besaw's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C5-3	-	Very nice flight. Very short walk for recovery. No damage.
2003-06-23	MikeyR's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Not too straight, but not bad.
2003-06-24	MikeyR's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-
2003-07-13	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Best flight to date for the Sidewinder.
2003-11-15	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight!
2004-02-21	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight.
2004-05-16	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Another good flight.
2004-12-18	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight!
2005-02-19	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight.
2005-03-20	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-
2005-12-17	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-	Model got up in a hurry!
2006-02-25	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-	Model wandered about the sky, looking for a target lock, I guess. Good thing it happened at...
2006-04-08	Eldred Pickett's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-
2006-04-29	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-	Good motor for this model.
2006-05-26	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	First flight ... a slight spin on flight , both pieces landed within 20 feet of each other
2006-06-04	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	nice flight
2006-06-18	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	motor seemed underpowered with a very long delay but no damage
2006-06-18	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	B6-4	-	underpowered , ejected 20 feet from ground , no damage
2006-06-18	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Finally a perfect flight
2006-06-26	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Slight spin, good flight
2006-06-27	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Great flight
2006-07-23	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Slight spin , perfect recovery
2006-09-10	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Perfect flight
2006-10-02	Richie Brunjes's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Another nice flight
2006-12-17	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-	Nice high boost and safe recovery.
2007-01-21	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-
2007-04-14	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-
2007-05-06	Matt Gillard's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Good flight with a fair bit of roll. Ejection stripped the shock cord mount and the body tube did...
2007-06-09	Edward Chess's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-3	-	Arrow straight flight with a little wiggle at the end. A good motor/delay combo for this rocket.
2007-07-21	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight.
2007-07-22	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-	Model took off with the wind. Had a bit of a walk to retrieve it.
2007-11-18	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	E11-3	-	Model wandered about the sky, but still gained a fair bit of altitude. Pretty cool flight.
2007-11-18	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight. Very stable on boost.
2007-12-22	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight.
2008-02-17	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight.
2008-03-22	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Good flight.
2009-01-25	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D15-4	-	Good flight.
2009-04-19	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Great flight.
2009-08-22	Edward Chess's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Arrow straight boost, delay a bit too long.
2009-08-22	Edward Chess's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	C6-5	-	Squirrely take off this time, but recovered safely. Did not get all the altitude due to odd...
2009-11-21	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Good flight
2010-01-16	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-
2010-02-20	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Good flight.
2010-05-08	Bob Bernatchez's Estes AIM-9 Sidewinder	D12-3	-	Model veered off to the south, into the barley field. Nose section was lost. Will have to...

Estes - AIM-9 Sidewinder (2125) [1996-2000]

Flight Log

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