Using Common Software to Scale Real Rockets and Missiles

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By Brian Ray

This tip is for those who would like to scale down real rockets and missiles but don’t have access to CAD software. It can also be used to scale any other rocket for which you have only a picture. While this method may seem pedestrian to those with CAD expertise, it is nonetheless serviceable for the rest of us. In creating this tip I used MS Publisher but it could be done with Word, PowerPoint, or a host of other similar programs.

The first step is to insert into your document the picture of the rocket you intend to scale:

After having inserted the picture (in this case a Fairey Green Cheese anti-aircraft missile) I draw a box. This box will be the benchmark for rocket diameter:

Double-clicking on the box allows me to change the shape. I am going to set the height of the box to the diameter of the body tube I intend to use, in this case a BT-60:

Once I have the box set to the height I desire, I scale up the rocket picture until the box height and the rocket diameter are the same:

I then draw a line the length of the rocket:

Double-clicking on the line, I can get the length of the body tube and nose cone together. This rocket, built using a BT-60, will be 10.665 inches tall:

I now will get the fin dimensions using the same process. I draw a line to determine the length of the root edge:

The root edge of the fin will be 3.562":

The same process is used to get the length of the tip edge:

The tip edge will be 2.75" long:

Determining the width of the fin can be tricky because not every picture will give you the fin span; often the only view you’ll get is like the one on the right of this one. I’m fortunate with this picture to have a top view from which to measure the fin span. On this one I will draw a triangle to measure the fin:

Double-clicking the triangle gives me the dimensions. Using the Pythagorean Theorem (a²+b²=c²) I get the fin width measurement of .6194":

I can now draw my fin using the measurements I’ve taken. One thing I like about Publisher is that you can "snap" objects to the margins thereby ensuring that the lines I’ve drawn for the fins are even:

GUEST's OPINION:
"" (X.X.)

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2. General
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