Mosquito family build thread

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Gillard

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Last year on EMRR there was a family contest where there were some really excellent families of up and down scales on the same rocket. and that got me hooked.
My club has a winter project when we are not flying, and this year we opted for up scales. a group of us are building a 4inch solar flare, and a few of use are upscaling individual rockets.
i'm going for the mosquito, and plan to build several.
i picked the mosquito because its a classic, and partly because it lacks any fance decals which you be added work and expense to reproduce.
the first thing i did was dig out an unopened kit from one of the many kits that i will build one day.

estes_mosquito_02.JPG
 
Nearly everyone has built and probably lost one of these.
i actually really like the kit, because you have to cut out your own fins, the bits are small and take a bit of effort to get the fins on straight.
Kit consists of:

a 2 inch section of BT5
a balsa nose cone (although later versions of this kit had plastic)
a strip of balsa wood
a launch lug.
instructions containing templates for fins and body tube fin marking.

estes_mosquito_01.JPG
 
Cutting the fins is easy, sanded the leading edges, and then gave one coat of sanding sealer.
At the same time glued the nose cone into the body tube and then added a small amount of model filler to remove the seam.

estes_mosquito_03.JPG

estes_mosquito_04.JPG
 
After marking the tube with the fin marking guide i tacked the fins onto the body tube with CA gel, this stuff sets in seconds so theres no hassle with fins slipping etc.
as CA can get quite brittle, especially with age, i gave two heavy fillets of wood glue.
The lug sits in the join of the fin and the body tube.

and that's the build finished.

as i'm going to build a few of these, i have opted to paint them all or at least several of them at the same time.
and as i want to have a group photo i won't be flying any of them until the group is complete - i've lost mosquitos in the past.

estes_mosquito_05.JPG
 
I gave up trying to find those itty bitty ones...

BBS.jpg
 
I have been looking for a fin pattern for the Mosquito based on an up-scale to BT-55.

If you have one please post it, or if you can advise me on how to make on I would be very thankful.

Andrew
Dark Lord Of The Scratch Builders
 
I have been looking for a fin pattern for the Mosquito based on an up-scale to BT-55.

If you have one please post it, or if you can advise me on how to make on I would be very thankful.

Andrew
Dark Lord Of The Scratch Builders

Check out the link here

https://www-personal.umich.edu/~mbear/mosquito.html

Does not give actual fin patterns but all measurements are there, and if you getv the fin pattern from JimZ's site you can use a photocopier/etc to enlarge the body wrap and fin template to the correct size.
hope this helps.
 
The first upscale is a mosquito based on a BT-60 and big bertha/menace nose cone.
This is roughly a 3x upscale, actually its a 3.01x upscale.
The fin pattern was enlarged on a photocopied and cut from balsa

estes_mosquitox3_01.JPG
 
Next, the motor mount was made and installed in the tube in the normal fashion. tube length is 6.02 inches

estes_mosquitox3_02.JPG
 
shock cord attached, Kelvar and elastic, swivel and the nose cone.
fins filleted, and lug attached in the join of the Bt and fin. The entire rocket given two coats of sanding sealer and sanded.
Recovery will be a 12 inch 'chute.

estes_mosquitox3_03.JPG
 
After marking the tube with the fin marking guide i tacked the fins onto the body tube with CA gel, this stuff sets in seconds so theres no hassle with fins slipping etc.
as CA can get quite brittle, especially with age, i gave two heavy fillets of wood glue.
The lug sits in the join of the fin and the body tube.

and that's the build finished.

as i'm going to build a few of these, i have opted to paint them all or at least several of them at the same time.
and as i want to have a group photo i won't be flying any of them until the group is complete - i've lost mosquitos in the past.

Great! The mosquito is by far my favorite rocket!
 
Next up is a upscale which is based around and estes meanie nose cone, BT 20, making it a 1.79 upscale.
fins and wrap marking were again done on a photocopier.
using a 13mm motor mount, whichh will leave next to no room for a recovery system, so it will be a nose break recovery.

estes_mosquito_179_01.JPG
 
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rocket built, the same way as last, shock cord is kevlar.
nose cone required quite a bit of sanding to get it to the right profile, it had a very wide shoulder on it.

estes_mosquito_179_02.JPG
 
next upscale is a 135% upscale.
Bt 20 based
Fin template done on the photocopier.
All parts from the spares box, but the nosecone had to be cut down from a larger nosecone and then sanded to profile.
Using a 13mm motor mount.
Recovery will be break apart as there is very little space for a recovery system, can only just get the shock cord, eye screw and small amount of wadding in.
Will probably be flying on 1/2 A motors.

estes_mosquito_135_01.JPG
 
so that's one more done,
here it is and with it's bigger and smaller brothers.

estes_mosquito_135_02.JPG

estes_mosquito_135_03.JPG
 
Going through my tube box and nose cone box looking for the next upscale, i drew a blank, i don't have anything that matches (apart from the Bt80 and fat boy cone but that's for later)
then i stumbled across a section of T-4 that i must have picked up during my micro maxx phase.
and in the balsa box i found sone balse rod that fits the tube, i will build up the shoulder join with filler to get the correct profile.

so i'm a happy chap, and the next mosquito will be a 82% down scale - micromaxx motor, tumble recovery.

off to the photocopier for the fin template.
fins will be made out of thin basswood, and be TTW to the motor mount.

estes_mosquitox.82_01.JPG

estes_mosquitox.82_02.JPG

estes_mosquitox.82_03.JPG
 
here is the little mosquito and with the ones that it might one day grow up to be like!

estes_mosquitox.82_04.JPG

estes_mosquitox.82_05.JPG
 
Going through my tube box and nose cone box looking for the next upscale, i drew a blank, i don't have anything that matches (apart from the Bt80 and fat boy cone but that's for later)
then i stumbled across a section of T-4 that i must have picked up during my micro maxx phase.
and in the balsa box i found sone balse rod that fits the tube, i will build up the shoulder join with filler to get the correct profile.

so i'm a happy chap, and the next mosquito will be a 82% down scale - micromaxx motor, tumble recovery.

off to the photocopier for the fin template.
fins will be made out of thin basswood, and be TTW to the motor mount.

What a KEWL bunch of Sketers Gillard!
Once they are all painted will they become your swarm of mosquitos backdrop for all you future models LOL!!!!!!:roll:
 
What a KEWL bunch of Sketers Gillard!
Once they are all painted will they become your swarm of mosquitos backdrop for all you future models LOL!!!!!!:roll:

i could use one in every photo that i ever use - it could become a kind of signature trademark - - - but i think there's someone who already does that:neener:
 
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You have inspired me. Here is my Texas Gnat as my wife calls it based on a BT-60 tube and 18 mm motors and a Der Red Max based on a BT-50 tube and a Semroc nose cone. It'll fly on an 18mm motor. I did make the Der tube 1" longer to increase stability.

Andrew
Dark Lord Of The Scratch Builders

texas gnat.jpeg
 
flew the x3.01 upscale.
first flight was with an A8-3
nice low flight.
recovered fine on 4 foot of streamer

estes_mosquitox301_x1.JPG
 
next flight was with a quest B6-4.
don't kow what happened here, as there is a motor clip, maybe i bent it back too much and it failed to catch, but the mosquito came in hard and fast, and there was no motor in the mount

estes_mosquitox301_x2.JPG
 
next flight was with a quest B6-4.
don't kow what happened here, as there is a motor clip, maybe i bent it back too much and it failed to catch, but the mosquito came in hard and fast, and there was no motor in the mount

Ouch. that bites!


Gonna build another one? XD

I found something in my rocket stash you might like.


Estesscan.jpg
 
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