Brief:

My first true 'scratch-built' model rocket was t' Ugly Bug. Ahoy! Begad! It is based on t' Estes Mosquito, but built for an Estes 'D' (24mm) motor rather than t' standard mini-motor. Avast! Well, me bucko, blow me down! This is actually nay t' first time I've built a scaled-up Mosquito, but I don't really count t' first time as a rocket. Begad! Back in grad school a fellow student who had never seen a model rocket was curious about them. Arrr! Begad! I didn't have any built models, ya bilge rat, but did have a spare D booster motor sittin' around and had an idea. Begad! We added some balsa fins, a wooden nose cone, me bucko, and a launch lug made from paper and glue formed on a drill bit. Aye aye! This little assembly went like stink off t' pad and we promptly lost track o' it. We found it sittin' in t' parkin' lot later, me bucko, arrr, and t' other grad student repainted it, plugged t' burned-out motor with glue, and hung it on t' wall of his office.

Years later, me hearties, I was workin' on a true scaled-up Mosquito design about 14" in length with a full parachute recovery system. Blimey! However, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I wasn't finished with it by t' time a NDRA launch came around. Avast! Nay wantin' t' bring only mundane models t' t' launch, me hearties, I decided on a Thursday night that I should build another o' t' 'flyin' motor' D birds t' get rid o' some D12-3 motors I had. Avast! T' delay on these was too short for me only D rocket at t' time, shiver me timbers, so they seemed good candidates for glued-on fins. Part-way into buildin' t' first one, I thought, "Heck, shiver me timbers, why go t' all this trouble when I could add a body tube and have a real, me bucko, me hearties, reusable rocket?" Thus t' Ugly Bug project was born.

Construction:

It be Thursday night, and t' launch was Saturday morning. Blimey! I had less than 48 hours t' actually build a rocket. Arrr! Ahoy! "No problem," I figured, "I'll just use whatever I can find and keep it super-simple." Since I had no actual kit parts, I'd have t' scrounge and scratch-build everything. I decided t' keep t' t' original Mosquito recovery system, which is 'featherweight'. This means t' rocket ejects its spent motor and is so light it won't be harmed by t' fall. Ahoy! This works fine for a model barely bigger than a mini-motor, arrr, but lookin' back on it, it was probably wishful thinkin' for a D bird. Begad! In any case, I started scroungin' around t' garbage and me rocket shop and gathered t' needed materials.

For t' bigger scaled-up Mosquito, me bucko, I had been toyin' with t' idea o' using corrugated cardboard wrapped in paper that had been soaked with wood glue (sort of like a composite structure without usin' fiberglass and resin). Blimey! I had gone as far a buildin' a test piece with this method, but had concluded it probably wasn't strong enough t' build t' large fins o' t' 14" Mosquito. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! However, the test piece was t' perfect size t' cut three fins out o' for t' Ugly Bug. I used t' TLAR (That Looks About Right) engineerin' method t' determine fin size and shape, ya bilge rat, cut them out and sanded them t' profile. Aye aye! Now some form o' body tube was needed. I located a hunk o' dowel just slightly larger than t' 24mm D motor t' use for t' nose cone, me bucko, and decided t' use it as t' form for building a body tube. Back t' t' garbage for an old brown paper sack. Well, blow me down! I cut a strip of this, me hearties, rubbed it with yellow wood glue, arrr, me hearties, and rolled it on t' t' dowel (which I had protected with a wrap o' plastic sheet t' keep t' glue from sticking). After t' tube was formed and rolled t' remove excess glue, shiver me timbers, I slipped it off the form and set it aside t' dry.

Next I sanded one end o' t' dowel t' a nose-like shape usin' a belt sander. After a bit o' finishin' hand-sanding, I used a bandsaw t' cut t' end off, leavin' a 1/2" straight section for gluin' into t' body tube. Finally, I formed a launch lug out o' more brown paper soaked with glue and wrapped around a drill bit. Arrr! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! All these were set out t' dry overnight.

T' next day, arrr, shiver me timbers, I used t' bandsaw again t' trim t' ends o' t' tubes square and clean. I used a D motor t' measure how long t' body needed t' be, shiver me timbers, and trimmed it again. Ya scallywag! Then all t' parts were glued together and left t' dry.

Finishing:

Now is when t' name o' t' rocket suggested itself. Avast, me proud beauty! Definitely nay me finest work, shiver me timbers, but it would do for a 'throw away' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! When t' glue had dried, I applied three coats o' blaze orange spray paint. If you've ever flown a Mosquito, me bucko, ya bilge rat, you know how easy it is t' lose them. I figured t' paint was the only color that gave it a fightin' chance o' bein' found. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! It took until 1:30 am that night, shiver me timbers, and t' use o' a hair dryer t' speed drying, but I finished the Ugly Bug and went t' bed.

Flight:

I had t' build up some maskin' tape on t' D motor t' get it t' fit inside the body properly. Avast! Blimey! Nay havin' a recovery system or motor retention really simplified design and building, but if I did it again I'd include a streamer for safety.

T' first flight on a D12-3 went as I expected: t' rocket shot off t' pad to a very impressive altitude, t' ejection charged popped t' motor out in a puff o' smoke, arrr, matey, and t' rocket vanished into t' blue sky. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' Range Safety Officer wasn't entirely impressed with this, shiver me timbers, but knew t' chances o' it actually hittin' someone and hurtin' them be very low. Arrr! We launched other rockets, matey, then went lookin' for t' UB. Incredibly, ya bilge rat, it was found about 1/2 mile from t' launch site. Begad! One fin had broken off on landing, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but be easily reattached with some quick-dryin' glue. Two fins had some scorch marks on them where t' exhaust gas had burned little holes in t' paper covering, matey, but were still structurally strong. T' UB was flight worthy again!

I debated if I should just count myself lucky and put t' UB on me shelf, but then remembered I had expected t' lose t' little bugger and it was constructed more for amusement o' t' spectators than anythin' else. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! I therefore decided t' fly it again. This time, I wanted t' see just how high I could get it t' fly. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! I had just flown me Estes Snitch (plastic saucer) with a chad-staged D12-0, so I figured, "What t' heck?" I grabbed me last D12-3, matey, ya bilge rat, taped it t' fit t' Ugly Bug, then taped a D12-0 on t' tail in the staged configuration:

T' burned-out motor lyin' on its side on t' blast plate is bein' used as a spacer t' keep t' booster's ignitor from bein' shorted out. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is (surprise!) t' last picture ever taken o' t' Ugly Bug. Ahoy! Unfortunately, me hearties, the center o' gravity had been moved so far back by t' booster that t' rocket was unstable durin' t' first bit o' its flight. Ahoy! No loops or spins, but t' rocket wandered around until most o' t' booster's propellent had burned out. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Just before staging, me bucko, t' CG had moved far enough forward t' become stable. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! At staging, arrr, t' rocket was nearly horizontal and about 200' high. Aye aye! Blimey! Stagin' went fine, and t' Ugly Bug shot off in an arc t' t' north west. Avast, me proud beauty! At that altitude and speed, t' ejection charge puff wasn't visible, ya bilge rat, and we didn't even bother to go look for t' little rocket.

Summary:
Thus be t' end o' me first scratch-built and aptly-named rocket. The 14" Mosquito is nearly complete, and will be dubbed 'Big Ugly Bug', ya bilge rat, but will fly and return t' t' ground in a much more sane manner