Mosquito Information Please...

So, I picked up a Mega Mosquito combo package from Estes during their December sale, and now that Easter is here, I'm breaking it out to do some family crafting....

As I look at the contents, it becomes clear that there is a smaller mini-mosquito in the package.
It appears that there are five parts... three mini balsa fins, a short two inch body tube, a mini nose cone, and a launch lug (soda straw).

As I sand the balsa fins, and treat them with a little sealant, I am also gluing the launch lug onto the side of the body. Then it hits me.... THERE IS NO PARACHUTE.

I read the "instructions" and find there is no mention of a chute, streamer, nor breaking system of any kind!
Now I'm getting worried.

One of the appeals of this model is that it will help use up the 1/2A3-2T 1/2A3-4T, 1/4A3-3T that I have laying around from a hobby shop motor buy-out.

But if these small motors have a time delay, they'll have an ejection charge, and that is going to blow the capsule/nose cone off. There's no room for a parachute in the tube once the motor is inserted....(and there's no motor mount nor retension bar or clip either!)

So, how do you keep the nose cone from coming off and being lost???? And why shouldn't I roll-up a n orange streamer to try to pack into the nose cone and upper body tube, separated by some dog barf?

Anyone with experience on this mini-mite, please advise!:confused2:

Kirk G said:

I read the "instructions" and find there is no mention of a chute, streamer, nor breaking system of any kind!
Now I'm getting worried.

One of the appeals of this model is that it will help use up the 1/2A3-2T 1/2A3-4T, 1/4A3-3T that I have laying around from a hobby shop motor buy-out.

But if these small motors have a time delay, they'll have an ejection charge, and that is going to blow the capsule/nose cone off. There's no room for a parachute in the tube once the motor is inserted....(and there's no motor mount nor retension bar or clip either!)

So, how do you keep the nose cone from coming off and being lost???? And why shouldn't I roll-up a n orange streamer to try to pack into the nose cone and upper body tube, separated by some dog barf?

Anyone with experience on this mini-mite, please advise!:confused2:

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Tumble recovery is used with this rocket because it's so small and light. The nose cone is suppose to be glued into the body tube.

Anyone with experience on this mini-mite, please advise!

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These have been around for a long time (mid '70's). They operate on "featherweight" or tumble recovery. Even with the small engine, they seem to evaporate off of the pad. Paint it a bright color that will contrast with where you're going to launch it. Because of their small size, almost all of them are lost anyway.

sooner.boomer said:

Paint it a bright color that will contrast with where you're going to launch it.

Click to expand...

Or put an LED in the nose and fly it at night; see my Swarm.

"Tumble" recovery usually means it comes screaming down nose first, burying itself into the ground. IF you can even keep an eye on it, that is. There are some ways to modify these little guys to avoid the inevitable loss, as they disappear even on 1/4A power. Conversion to MicroMaxx motors with rear ejection is 1 way. There are threads in the MicroMaxx section that detail this procedure. If I get a chance, I'll post a pic of a 220 Swift (same rocket, basically) that I recently modified this way.

Otherwise, "fly-it-and-forget-it."

Kirk G said:

So, I picked up a Mega Mosquito combo package from Estes during their December sale, and now that Easter is here, I'm breaking it out to do some family crafting....

As I look at the contents, it becomes clear that there is a smaller mini-mosquito in the package.
It appears that there are five parts... three mini balsa fins, a short two inch body tube, a mini nose cone, and a launch lug (soda straw).

As I sand the balsa fins, and treat them with a little sealant, I am also gluing the launch lug onto the side of the body. Then it hits me.... THERE IS NO PARACHUTE.

I read the "instructions" and find there is no mention of a chute, streamer, nor breaking system of any kind!
Now I'm getting worried.

One of the appeals of this model is that it will help use up the 1/2A3-2T 1/2A3-4T, 1/4A3-3T that I have laying around from a hobby shop motor buy-out.

But if these small motors have a time delay, they'll have an ejection charge, and that is going to blow the capsule/nose cone off. There's no room for a parachute in the tube once the motor is inserted....(and there's no motor mount nor retension bar or clip either!)
So, how do you keep the nose cone from coming off and being lost???? And why shouldn't I roll-up a n orange streamer to try to pack into the nose cone and upper body tube, separated by some dog barf?
Anyone with experience on this mini-mite, please advise!:confused2:

Click to expand...

I just looked at the instructions for the small Mosquito included in the Mega Mosquito kit.



They are vague, you get just an exploded drawing with the line "Glue all the parts together"
Under "Prepare Engine" it basically says wrap with masking tape for a "Snug Fit". (I don't know if I'd want a snug fit on this one)
On the other side in the flight instructions no mention is made of featherweight or tumble recovery.
On the right side of the wrap around face card it does say "Tumble Recovery".

I would guess that Estes assumes you have built a featherweight model before.
Take a look at the older, more descriptive Estes instructions on the JimZ website:
https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/estes/est0801.pdf

You only need Tape if the Motor is loose. It is supposed to eject the Motor. I've had 3 of these since around 1986, and yes, they have all eventually been lost.

Glue the nose cone on securely using tube type plastic cement or epoxy.

Tumble recovery means it becomes unstable and tumbles.

Featherweight recovery means it remains stable and is so light it falls like a feather.

The Mosquito uses featherweight recovery, not tumble recovery.

I had a 220 Swift that I "friction fit" the motor a little too tightly....

It instantly re-kitted on ejection

The Estes face card has text that claims the rocket tumbles.

See: "Lightweight Model Tumbles Safely Back to Earth"

Whatever it does on its descent, as long as it does it in one piece and sans Motor it's doing it right.
My last one I painted bright Yellow, and still managed to lose it on its third flight.:confused2:

Mosquitos go up, but I've never seen one come back down. I think they just stay up there......

TopRamen said:

You only need Tape if the Motor is loose. It is supposed to eject the Motor. I've had 3 of these since around 1986, and yes, they have all eventually been lost.

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So, let me get this straight.... you GLUE the nose cone on, and when the 1/4A3-3 or 1/4A3-2 type motor is inserted, you WANT a snug fit, but with no motor retention clip, you EXPECT the motor to be ejected out the bottom, and the extremely light shell (tube, nosecone, fins) just glides back down to earth? If there's ANY wind at all, how are you supposed to track this?

I have sprayed a Valspar white primer, and then a gloss yellow overcoat. I am considering masking and spraying each fin a different color...red, black, and yellow...to aid in maximum visibility... both on the way up, and falling as well as laying in a farm field of silage. Does this make sense?

I got two packs of 1/4A3-3 as well as a few reminant others to burn off. What are the law of averages that i will be able to use up my packs before I loose the mosquito?

Kirk G said:

If there's ANY wind at all, how are you supposed to track this?

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:rofl:It's not the wind that will keep you from tracking the Mosquito. It's the thermonuclear Estes ejection charges. I flew a Semroc Lil Hercules at my local field on an A8-3 and found it on the other side of the trees on the tennis courts, about 100 yards away. The Lil Hercules is about twice the size of a Mosquito, and the A8-3 is about twice the power of a 1/2A. Paint it bright, launch it on a big field, and hope for the best.:wink:

Tracking it is'nt really an option. Your just supposed to guesstimate approximately when and where it will land and then kind of look all around in that general Location.

I found this Picture on the AC Supply Site. Does the Mosquito come with a Decal these days???

Kirk G said:

So, let me get this straight.... you GLUE the nose cone on, and when the 1/4A3-3 or 1/4A3-2 type motor is inserted, you WANT a snug fit, but with no motor retention clip, you EXPECT the motor to be ejected out the bottom, and the extremely light shell (tube, nosecone, fins) just glides back down to earth? If there's ANY wind at all, how are you supposed to track this?

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Yep, you glue in the nose cone.
You don't want a snug fit on the engine. just enough friction so the engine won't fall out of the body tube.
You want the engine to easily eject.

It's a hard one to track, they move fast!
You might find it easier to follow it if you are closer to the launcher as opposed to 50 feet away at a club launch.
I can follow small models when I fly alone standing 15 feet from the launcher.
Farther away, not so much.

Fishhead is right, when the ejection goes off, it'll shoot the model in the opposite direction.
If you can have a few more eyes following it.

TopRamen said:

I found this Picture on the AC Supply Site. Does the Mosquito come with a Decal these days???

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The little Mosquito comes with that decal.
The Mega Mosquito has that and the name set in the Dymo Labelmaker font.

hcmbanjo said:

The little Mosquito comes with that decal.
The Mega Mosquito has that and the name set in the Dymo Labelmaker font.

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Sweet. I'm getting a couple more just for fun. I've been so focused on building bigger stuff that I forgot about how fun the Mosquito is.
I'm gonna' use some of my Aluminum Foil Tape on one to make it shiny.
I'de seen the Mega Mosquito Decals on some of the Builds here, but I have not built a Mosquito in years, and they used to not come with a Decal.

hcmbanjo said:

Yep, you glue in the nose cone.
You don't want a snug fit on the engine. just enough friction so the engine won't fall out of the body tube.
You want the engine to easily eject.

It's a hard one to track, they move fast!
You might find it easier to follow it if you are closer to the launcher as opposed to 50 feet away at a club launch.
I can follow small models when I fly alone standing 15 feet from the launcher.
Farther away, not so much.

Fishhead is right, when the ejection goes off, it'll shoot the model in the opposite direction.
If you can have a few more eyes following it.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the great tips.

What do you think of coloring each fin a different color? Red, Black, Yellow?

Also, what do you think of the idea of NOT gluing in the nosecone, but attaching it via a string glued in or perhaps a tightly rolled streamer placed in the nosecone to unfurl? Or is it possible ?

Kirk G said:

Thank you for the great tips.

What do you think of coloring each fin a different color? Red, Black, Yellow?

Also, what do you think of the idea of NOT gluing in the nosecone, but attaching it via a string glued in or perhaps a tightly rolled streamer placed in the nosecone to unfurl? Or is it possible ?

Click to expand...

Sounds like the Mosquito might not be the kind of Rocket you want. Maybe trade it in toward something with Streamer Recovery.
I don't really think that there is any room for a Streamer, and if you did use one, you then need some kind of retention for the Motor.
I'll bet that Micromeister probably has done something like what you want to do, so you might try shooting him a PM.
If I were you, I'de give it a chance in it's original configuration. Just because it is hard to recover does not mean that it is impossible.
If you go through all that work to make it have a Recovery Device, then you lose it anyway, you'll feel worse than if you fly it stock and lose it.

I wonder if Rockets this small can be Simmed on Openrocket or Rocsim???:lol:

Kirk G said:

Thank you for the great tips.

What do you think of coloring each fin a different color? Red, Black, Yellow?

Also, what do you think of the idea of NOT gluing in the nosecone, but attaching it via a string glued in or perhaps a tightly rolled streamer placed in the nosecone to unfurl? Or is it possible ?

Click to expand...

Painting it different colors is probably a good idea -- anything that increases its visibility in the sky or on the ground will be helpful.

There will not be room to attach a streamer or shock cord inside the BT. The BT is basically the same length as the motor.

You do not want to hollow out the nose cone or in any way decrease weight near the nose because the Mosquito needs that weight to be stable.

For the same reason you would not want to install a motor block 1/2 inch down the body tube so that the motor extrudes 1/2" from the bottom of the BT and then install streamer or nose-blow recovery -- moving the motor back 1/2 inch probably shifts the CG backwards enough to throw the rocket into 'neutral stability' territory.

If you are simply hell-bent and determined to build a 'stretched-Mosquito' version which could use nose-blow or streamer recovery, I would simply buy a longer BT-5 tube, cut a length 2.5" long, mount the fins and launch lug as per instructions, then glue in a motor block and install the shock 'cord' (or Kev-string) and 4" streamer as you would on any other small rocket.

But that's a heck of a lot of work for a rocket you're still pretty likely to lose quickly.

I'd just build it according to stock plans, paint it in some garish day-glo colors, launch it and hope I get it back. If so, cool, if not, oh well.

Kirk G said:

So, let me get this straight.... you GLUE the nose cone on, and when the 1/4A3-3 or 1/4A3-2 type motor is inserted, you WANT a snug fit, but with no motor retention clip, you EXPECT the motor to be ejected out the bottom, and the extremely light shell (tube, nosecone, fins) just glides back down to earth? If there's ANY wind at all, how are you supposed to track this?

I have sprayed a Valspar white primer, and then a gloss yellow overcoat. I am considering masking and spraying each fin a different color...red, black, and yellow...to aid in maximum visibility... both on the way up, and falling as well as laying in a farm field of silage. Does this make sense?

I got two packs of 1/4A3-3 as well as a few reminant others to burn off. What are the law of averages that i will be able to use up my packs before I loose the mosquito?

Click to expand...

If you are really looking something to use up your Estes mini 1/4As and 1/2As, try looking at some of the older BT-5 and BT-20 based mini kits. Try some of the following:

TK-2/0802 Screamer: https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/est0803.htm
0815 Javelin/Super Flea combo: https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/estes/est0815.pdf
0846 Eclipse: https://www.oldrocketplans.com/estes/est0846/est0846.htm

There are others such as the Star Trooper (Estes 3031) and the Gnome (Estes 0886) that are currently available that fly well on such small motors.

The Eclipse looks like neat little rocket.

I made one of these for my daughter. I'm convinced that it never landed. All we heard was the ejection pop.

bradycros said:

The Eclipse looks like neat little rocket.

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I think the Eclipse is pretty much just the Viking with slightly different fins.

I got a Viking bulk pack a couple of years ago so I suppose I could whip up an Eclipse pretty easily.

caliguy78 said:

I made one of these for my daughter. I'm convinced that it never landed. All we heard was the ejection pop.

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I wouldn't be surprised at all if a mosquito ends up smashed on the front of the Voyager spacecraft... They're worse than the Energizer Bunny... They keep going and going and going...

The Mosquito, of course, is the illegitimate love child of the Astron Streak, the original 'hasta-la-vista' rocket from the 1960s. On a C6-7 it could supposedly hit 2500 feet, but I defy anybody in the history of rocketry to prove they ever launched a Streak on a C6-7 and got it back.

I DID get one back once on an A8-5, but it was sheer dumb luck. We launched it, looked around for 15 minutes, said the heck with it, then as I had packed up my bike and was riding away from the field, I almost ran over it about 200 yards from the launch site (it was not a windy day).

:y::y:




I finally did launch it on a C6-7 at one of our school's rocket days -- there were a bunch of kids into rocketry in 1968-69 so we had several school launches.

It just went up and up and up and up and up, and was gone. According to my calculations it should be nearing the Tau Ceti star system soon.

Looks like it would be mighty easy to clone.