USR Mosquito 2.2

[lalligood]

Well, I know that I have said in the past that I've been looking to not build basic 3FNCs too much anymore and stick to new, challenging builds instead but sometimes too much of a good thing is indeed too much!

It has been a real treat the past 2 evenings to work on a U.S. Rockets Mosquito 2.2. This is a basic 3FNC that also happens to be an upscale of the Estes Mosquito. The "2.2" stands for the diameter of the main airframe tubing--2.25 inches. That also means that you've go one large bug on your hands--it's nearly 18" tall! I don't mean to get so out of hand...it's MUCH larger than the original but this is still a rather compact rocket.

Highlights include solid balsa nose cone (the same kind that you get with the Banshee, AeroRoc, & Weightlofter kits from USR), 1/4" pre-cut balsa fins, 29mm motor mount (with 24mm motor adapter), & streamer recovery. Finished rocket weight is under 5oz.

I must somewhat apologize for not taking any "in progress" photos but I felt that the USR website & the Mosquito 2.2 review(s) on EMRR had already done a satisfactory job of capturing this. I *will* however be sure to take a picture of the kit completed but "naked" (before any painting/priming).

This was an easy and refreshing build. There is so little to get it built. The instructions recommend airfoiling the leading & trailing edges. A sanding block with 150 grit sandpaper makes pretty quick work of shaping the 1/4" thick balsa fins.

From there it's time to bust out the Titebond and start gluing everything together. With the main airfram tube marked, the fins are glued & filleted on. Same for the launch lugs. The motor mount is a pair of birch ply rings near each end of the 4" long 29mm MMT tube. Glue & fillet the CRs & then glue the entire assembly into the aft end of the tube.

Kickin' it old skool, 5 feet of 1/4" elastic shock cord mounts inside the main tube with a tri-fold paper mount. The old addage, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" applies here.) A screw eye is screwed & glued into the base of the balsa nose cone. The shock cord is also tied to the screw eye. I tied a small loop in the shock cord so that I could clip/unclip the streamer, which I tied a snap swivel onto.

Done

Now to fill the grain on the nose cone & fins, sand, prime & paint...

And like the original, it could be quite easy to lose this bird with a large motor relative to its size. I'll probably pull out the 24mm motor adapter & stick to Estes D12s & E9s...at least until I get out to the sod farm in Bunnell Then we'll seriously consider a F40 or G64!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... I picked this kit up as the current (as of this writing anyway) promotion with U.S. Rockets. $31 delivered to my door. (I did happen to order the Stiletto & Sentra SRB 2.7 kits as well...)

I'll get that picture up shortly of the complete rocket. Enjoy

 

[lalligood]

Aw, what the hey... I took a quick pic of it just now.

BTW, the nose cone looks a little funny color-wise because I smeared it with diluted Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. It was not sanded before I took the pic. The fins will be treated similarly in the very near future as well...

 

[lalligood]

Well, this one didn't take long at all... I had some good painting weather over the weekend to get the primer & yellow sprayed. Got home from work while it was still sunny & relatively warm out. Just enough time to spray the red. Let it dry for a while & then I put on a thin silver pinstripe (to cover up some bleed under from my subpar masking) and then buffed it with 3M Rubbing Compound to quite a lusterous shine

I think there's an E9-8 in my range box with this Mosquito's name on it! Should be able to fly it here in just a couple of weeks...

Enjoy the pic!

 

[KarlD]

Nice Job!

I like the pinstripe!!

 

[Jerry Irvine]

The speed of (fatigued) balsa has been determined! Andrew flew his Mosquito 2.2 this weekend on 29mm 60-F-120-8 several times. This rocket is unpainted and the fins are not all that straight.

On its approximate 100th flight and about 5th with that motor, it shredded!

Jerry

 

[lalligood]

I flew my Mosquito 2.2 for the first time yesterday on an Estes E9-8. This is a super motor to use with this rocket (although on calmer days & for deployment at apogee, the E9-6 would be a slightly better choice). It was a really windy day so I was hoping that the longer delay would allow it to be well on its way down before deploying the streamer. It was very windy so I was thinking that a delayed deployment would assist in reducing the drift of the rocket.

Well...it was a great idea but the winds proved greater. It still drifted quite a ways away from our small field (we were doing demo launches for a local private school) as everyone watched it sail right over a building & into a tree about 20 feet up Several students & I all made attempts at climbing up the tree but were unable to get anywhere close to the rocket. One of the teachers was able to locate a retractable pole & a couple students took turns poking at it until it finally came down. Actually they had to pull on the elastic shock cord, which eventually broke but that actually helped in the process. So it's got some bumps 'n' bruises but it'll fly again! AND I managed to seize my rocket back from the evil clutches of the Rocket Gods! I showed them

 

[lalligood]

Originally posted by Henry8minus1
I have a F52-11 that I am thinking would make a good flight.

I painted it like both of my one-flight mosquitos I had when I was young.

Nice looking Mosquito

The 11 second delay is probaby a little on the long side but with a near featherweight rocket, it will recover safely... The upward portion of the flight should be like Mosquito flights of old though. Push the button & it disappears right off the pad. Where'd it go hehe

 

[Dbarrm]

I put mine up on a G35-10, wow what a flight. I would love it if someone would sim it and let me know how high it went.


Dan

 

[XAVIEN]

I will be launching my Mosquito 2.2 this weekend in Arizona (ARG) if the screwy rain stops. Mine will more then likely be going on a G35, should be an interesting launch one way or the other.

Best regards,
Steve

 

[Jerry Irvine]

Originally posted by Dbarrm
I put mine up on a G35-10, wow what a flight. I would love it if someone would sim it and let me know how high it went.
Dan

Mosquito 2.2 G35
CDA (IN^2)=2.186779
ORBIT.BAS COPYRIGHT JERRY IRVINE
WEIGHT ALTITUDE BURNOUT BURNOUT MACH ALTITUDE COAST
(LBS) (FT) ALT (FT) VEL(FPS) MAX (MILES) TIME (S)
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------- ---------

0.25 2302.3 1817.9 699.1 0.6 0.4 3.8
0.50 2557.7 1466.2 671.8 0.6 0.5 6.3
0.75 2583.8 1160.3 607.5 0.5 0.5 7.6
1.00 2446.2 924.1 524.1 0.5 0.5 8.3
1.25 2203.0 748.4 444.7 0.4 0.4 8.4
1.50 1910.3 616.7 376.9 0.3 0.4 8.2
1.75 1612.9 516.1 321.1 0.3 0.3 7.7
2.00 1338.6 437.5 275.4 0.2 0.3 7.1

Jerry

 

[XAVIEN]

Jeff,

Sorry to hear about your Mosquito 2.2. I launched mine in February using an Ellis Mountain G53-6. The launch was amazing, especiall considering the motor took up most of the body tube! My shock cord broke at ejection and the body fell from at least 2500 feet and I can happily say no damage was done, other then cosmetic. I used standard wood glue, I also put wood glue around the fins and body tube to act as a strength enhancer. If you are dead set on using a prachute, use a small one. I had a small parachute on mine, let me tell you the balsa nose cone floated "forever" after the shock cord broke. I walked alot that day........

repair it, then relaunch it!

Best of luck,
Steve

 

[lalligood]

I don't think I would ever fly my USR Mosquito 2.2 to recover on anything but a streamer. With the 29/40-120 casing though, the rocket may weigh too much--even post-burnout--for the streamer included with the kit.

Check out EMRR's Streamer Calculator to make sure that your using the right size streamer. It may not hurt to use a slightly larger streamer than what the calulator recommends if you are going to have the rocket recovering on playa too...

And for all of those aliphatic resin haters out there, note Henry8minus1's statement: "The fins ripped a layer of paper off the tube, so yellow wood glue held and the paper failed."

HTH,

 

[lalligood]

Originally posted by Henry8minus1
Why not? How does a parachute differ from streamer recovery? Don't they both slow the rocket down to a desired decent rate? What are the pros and cons of each? What makes a rocket a streamer rocket? A parachute rocket?

Simply put, streamers are less prone to drifting. With a lightweight rocket (with large fins in relation to the overall size of the rocket) like the Mosquito 2.2, you want to get it down. You could use a chute but make it small (12-15") & only on a calm day.

I have ONLY flown my USR Banshee (definitely the premier MPR in my fleet!) to recover on a streamer. The streamer is 5" x 96" but I should probably make it a little bigger if I'm going to keep flying it on H128Ws & H238Ts! The bigger streamer is needed to help offset the 2-3oz of noseweight & motor casing. I wouldn't use anything else on my Banshee either!

HTH,