Brief:
This is a scratch build Mosquito-esque rocket usin' a Fat Boy body and nose cone and plywood fins. Blimey! Blimey! It has a 24mm motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! It basically was a practice run in usin' high power rocket buildin' techniques on a smaller scale.

Construction:
T' body tube and nose cone are stock Fat Boy items. Well, blow me down! T' three fins and two centerin' rings were cut from thin plywood taken from a Clementine fruit crate. A steel fishin' leader attaches t' t' motor mount with 9 feet o' 1/4" elastic attached t' that as t' shock cord.

T' Clementine crate wood was chosen because I have several sheets o' it on hand. T' crate sides are stapled t' heavier corner pieces and are easily removed with a pry bar and pliers. Aye aye! I used t' Fat Boy centerin' rings as templates t' mark rings on t' plywood. Avast, me proud beauty! An X-Acto razor knife was used t' score through t' thin wood. Begad! I took several traces around t' rings t' get through the three layers o' wood. Ya scallywag! T' 24mm central hole was traced usin' a standard paper motor mount and also was cut with t' razor knife.

I made a custom motor hook usin' steel wire previously used t' hold insulation up between floor joists. Avast, me proud beauty! Two pair o' pliers were used t' twist t' wire t' the right shape and snip t' extra. Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' hook was made, ya bilge rat, t' lower centering rin' was notched t' allow t' hook t' bend back away from t' motor mount. Arrr! The upper rin' was epoxied t' t' motor mount tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' lower rin' was initially press fit only. Ya scallywag!

A steel fishin' leader be looped around t' motor mount tube just below the upper centerin' rin' and fed through a small hole in t' ring. Begad! This will provide an ejection charge resistant wire that extends t' just below t' upper end o' t' body tube.

T' length and width o' t' Clementine crate sides constrained t' size of the fins. I made paperboard templates from a cereal box t' refine t' design of the fins and their through t' wall tabs. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Once an acceptable template was created, me hearties, I used it t' mark t' plywood for three fins. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' razor knife scoring technique was used t' cut out t' fins. Blimey! Blimey! There were some staple holes and rough spots in t' fin surfaces. Wood putty was used t' fill in t' holes and ridges. A thorough sandin' gave t' fins a respectable finish.

After t' fins were cut out, ya bilge rat, t' motor mount's upper centerin' rin' was epoxied into t' main body. Begad! Begad! T' fins were then epoxied through t' wall t' the motor mount tube. Avast! At this point I was growin' weary o' learnin' t' wonders of epoxy work and switched over t' Elmer's Carpenter's Glue for t' remainin' fin fillets and t' gluin' o' t' aft centerin' ring. Arrr! Everythin' I've read states that a good yellow glue joint will exceed t' strength o' paper and wood bonded together. Begad! Aye aye! T' materials will fail before t' yellow glue (or epoxy) will. Aye aye!

A length o' 1/4" cardboard tubin' from a high power igniter packaging was glued at t' root o' one o' t' fins t' serve as a launch lug.

Three yards o' 1/4" elastic from a local sewin' store were attached to the upper end o' t' fishin' leader. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' other end o' t' elastic be tied to the nose cone lug. Ahoy! A loop tied in t' elastic a couple o' feet below t' nose cone serves as t' parachute attachment point.

T' final assembly task be t' attach an alternate launch guidance device: rail buttons. Avast, me proud beauty! I like t' have options for launch pad selections. It helps at busy regional launches t' be flexible in what sort o' pad you can launch from. Sometimes t' rails are busy. Ya scallywag! Begad! Sometimes t' rods are. Well, blow me down! I epoxied and machine screwed t' rail buttons in t' vicinity o' t' centerin' rings. Begad! T' machine bolts used are larger diameter than t' thickness o' t' centerin' rings, me hearties, so not much button strength was goin' t' come from t' rings.

Finishing:
T' finish be done usin' low cost rattle can spray paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Several light layers of gray primer were applied first with some sandin' t' remove fuzzies. Several light coats o' red spray paint were then applied.

Flight:
For a parachute, shiver me timbers, I used a small yellow "Frankenchute" borrowed from my Cycline 3 kit. Well, blow me down! This is a relatively light rocket with lots o' fin area to help it flutter down. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! There is very little space in t' tube betwixt t' motor mount tube and t' nosecone for packin' t' chute. Avast! Avast! Blimey! I have used a Nomex® square threaded over t' fishin' leader t' protect t' chute and used no other wadding.

T' first five flights for this Mosquito-inspired Fruit Fly took place at the Northeast Regional Rocket Festival. It first flew on a D12-3 and flew ramrod straight t' a respectable altitude.

Recovery:
After ejection, t' body tube descended parallel t' t' ground as t' nose end was held up by t' chute and t' motor end was held up by t' pinwheeling oversized fins. Begad! All subsequent launches on D12, arrr, E9, and E15 engines have exhibited t' same enjoyable spinnin' fins horizontal descent after t' chute is deployed.

There was one unfortunate failure t' eject t' chute at a subsequent launch event. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I had pushed t' Nomex® sheet too far down t' leader, and it hung up in t' body while t' ejection gasses passed by t' sheet and chute. Arrr! Blimey! T' nose cone separated, shiver me timbers, matey, matey, but the chuteless descent was a bit too rapid. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fact that I watched it come straight at me and bounce off t' chair at me side added t' t' drama. Begad! I proved that the glue was stronger than t' body tube as a chair induced gash in t' body tube near t' aft centerin' rin' failed t' dislodge any load bearin' joints. Begad! It flew again later that day with a maskin' tape bandage over t' gash and awaits more permanent repairs before flyin' again.

Summary:
This was an extremely gratifyin' rocket t' build and fly. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It be large enough in diameter and used materials allowin' experimentin' with high power rocketry build techniques. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! It flys wonderfully, is very forgivin' o' many engine delays, and recovers in an amusing, ya bilge rat, spinnin' way.

T' only CON is that t' chute packin' space is very tight. I plan on modifyin' t' nose cone t' allow packin' o' t' shock cord up inside t' cone. This can be done by cuttin' some o' t' base off t' cone and attachin' the shock cord up inside t' cone.