Aerotech Strong Arm Rocket

The Strong Arm is a near-scale but sleeker interpretation of the Navy AGM-78 Standard ARM. Developed for the U.S. Navy during the late 1960s, the AGM-78 replaced the AGM-45 Shrike with a larger warhead, longer range and a better guidance system. General Dynamics built this air-launched ARM by modifying the RIM-66 SM-1 surface-to-air missile. The use of "off the shelf" design reduced development costs, and trials began in 1967 after only a year of development. The first operational missiles were issued in early 1968.

The AGM-78 was nicknamed the "starm", an abbreviation of Standard ARM. The first version of the missile was an air-launched RIM-66 with the Shrike's anti radar seeker head attached to the front. A dual-thrust solid rocket motor powered the missile, which was fitted with a blast-fragmentation warhead. The new missile was carried by the F-105F/G and the A-6B/E.

If you want a sturdy mid to high-power rocket, the Aerotech Strong Arm is a great way to add to your arsenal. It is a big, rugged rocket kit that has a lot of features you'd typically find in beginner-level starter sets. Because of this, the basics go together very quickly and easily. At the same time, it has some scale-like details that give it a tremendously satisfying realistic quality.

Don't tell anyone, but it's really easy to build a Strong Arm that will look better and more impressive than any other rocket at your next launch. For that reason, it's long been one of our favorite kits.

It has the serious surface-to-air shape that has everyone wondering what kind of warhead is up front. If you have to leave it in a tree, you might even see guys in black suits and shades snooping around. From its sleek ogive nose cone to the industrial-strength fins with molded-in wedge shaped leading edge, this is a serious rocket. The decals are extensive and of excellent quality, giving the Strong Arm the look of serious business.

This kit uses pre-molded plastic fins. These are not wimpy fins though; they are extra thick to increase the durability of the rocket so it can survive many hard landings.

The Strong Arm uses pre-slotted tubes and through-the-wall fin tabs to ensure that the fins are attached at the right angle and with the correct spacing. The precision alignment and spacing of the fins helps to keep the rocket on an arrow-straight trajectory. And the tab on the fin also increases the strength of the fin joint so that your fins will never simply pop off.

This kit provides a sleek interpretation of the nose cone and strakes while giving an overall impression that leaves no doubt about its origins.

Click on the photo at right to view a video of a Strong Arm launch.

Aerotech kits are the gold standard for materials quality. The attention to detail is amazing: these kits are an order of magnitude better than most of the rest of the kits on the market. High power fliers recognize them immediately when you start loading up, and respect for your choices in hardware is the immediate result.

About the only drawback to the kit might be the assembly instructions. They could be clarified a bit more with better illustrations.

The premium kraft tubes make assembly easy. The engine mount tube has even been marked with a longitudinal line to help you build this rocket even faster.

Engine Adapter: This kit comes with an engine adapter to allow you to fly the Strong Arm with 24mm motors, such as the Aerotech E30-4 motor.

The airframe tube is pre-slotted so that the fins are evenly spaced around the tube and to ensure that they are perfectly straight. This is done to ensure the rocket will fly as straight as an arrow when you launch it.

Besides slots for the through-the-wall fins, there are slots for through-the-wall launch lugs! The purpose of this is to make sure the two launch lugs are aligned perfectly so there is no binding on the launch rod.

Pre-molded Fin-Lok™ rings: The rings serve a couple of functions. First, they hold the engine hook to the engine tube. They also have receptacle to hold the tabs on the fins. The part that is patented is the little hook that grips the molded ridge of the fin tab. That allows the fins to snap into place.

There is also a molded ejection charge retainer that retains the metal baffle. This also functions as the anchor for the elastic shock cord. What an elegant build!

Heat sink baffle system: Aerotech calls this patented ejection baffle the labyrinth system. Essentially it uses a steel mesh to absorb the heat of the rocket engine's ejection charge.

After a number of flights, it does also collect residue from the ejection charge, so it should be inspected to make sure air can still flow through it.

When all the fins are attached to the engine mount, the system transfers the flight forces evenly, making a very strong engine mount. It is engineered just like a real aerospace research rocket.

One common mistake people make when building their first Aerotech kit is gluing the engine thrust ring in forward of the engine hook like the design in Estes rockets. No. It glues in aft of where the hook enters the motor tube.

If there was one downside to the system, it is that it is a bit heavier than other models of the same size. But you want to fly those bigger, louder engines, right?

Tools needed to assemble this rocket kit:

• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Masking Tape
• Hobby Knife
• 5-Minute Epoxy or super glue
• Wood Glue

To Launch This Rocket Kit, You'll Also Need:

• Rocket Motors (Not included with this kit - See the motor selection above)
• Launch Pad (see below for suggestions) & Launch Controller (Not included with this kit)

Q. What launch pad should I use to launch this rocket kit?

A. Since this is a big rocket, you'll need very stable launch pad. We offer a couple of choices: the Aerotech Mantis Launch Pad, and the Estes Porta Pad-E.

Q. What launch controller can I use to ignite the motors?

A. We offer two different controllers that can be used for mid-power size rockets. The Aerotech Interlock and the Pratt Hobbies GO-BOX Controller.

Q. What do you think about using the Strong Arm as a payloader?

A. Plastic nose cones are ideal for this. Just cut the shoulder apart and tape it back together after installing the payload. You could add a light and fly it at night, add a GPS and engage in covert tracking missions, or use it as an egg lofter; your imagination is the only limitation.

Q. I need help selecting motors. What should I do? Can you teach me how to select them myself?

A. Watch this YouTube video - How to Select Model Rocket Engines

We encourage you to learn the proper motor selection technique. Please watch our YouTube video that will walk you step-by-step through the process