Brief:
This is a scratch build Mosquito-esque rocket usin' a Fat Boy body and nose cone and plywood fins. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It has a 24mm motor mount. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! 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. Blimey! 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. I used t' Fat Boy centerin' rings as templates t' mark rings on t' plywood. An X-Acto razor knife was used t' score through t' thin wood. I took several traces around t' rings t' get through the three layers o' wood. Arrr! 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. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Two pair o' pliers were used t' twist t' wire t' the right shape and snip t' extra. Once t' hook was made, t' lower centering rin' be notched t' allow t' hook t' bend back away from t' motor mount. Ahoy! The upper rin' was epoxied t' t' motor mount tube. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' lower rin' was initially press fit only. Begad!

A steel fishin' leader was looped around t' motor mount tube just below the upper centerin' rin' and fed through a small hole in t' ring. Arrr! 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. Once an acceptable template was created, I used it t' mark t' plywood for three fins. T' razor knife scoring technique was used t' cut out t' fins. There were some staple holes and rough spots in t' fin surfaces. Ahoy! 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, shiver me timbers, t' motor mount's upper centerin' rin' was epoxied into t' main body. Aye aye! T' fins were then epoxied through t' wall t' the motor mount tube. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Everythin' I've read states that a good yellow glue joint will exceed t' strength o' paper and wood bonded together. T' materials will fail before t' yellow glue (or epoxy) will. Arrr!

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. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' other end o' t' elastic was tied to the nose cone lug. Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! I like t' have options for launch pad selections. Aye aye! It helps at busy regional launches t' be flexible in what sort o' pad you can launch from. Sometimes t' rails are busy. Aye aye! Blimey! Sometimes t' rods are. Well, blow me down! I epoxied and machine screwed t' rail buttons in t' vicinity o' t' centerin' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' machine bolts used are larger diameter than t' thickness o' t' centerin' rings, so not much button strength be goin' t' come from t' rings.

Finishing:
T' finish be done usin' low cost rattle can spray paint. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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, matey, I used a small yellow "Frankenchute" borrowed from my Cycline 3 kit. Aye aye! This is a relatively light rocket with lots o' fin area to help it flutter down. There is very little space in t' tube betwixt t' motor mount tube and t' nosecone for packin' t' chute. Begad! 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. Avast! Blimey! It first flew on a D12-3 and flew ramrod straight t' a respectable altitude.

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

There be one unfortunate failure t' eject t' chute at a subsequent launch event. 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! Begad! T' nose cone separated, but the chuteless descent be a bit too rapid. Ahoy! Avast! T' fact that I watched it come straight at me and bounce off t' chair at me side added t' t' drama. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I proved that the glue be 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. 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. Aye aye! Blimey! It was large enough in diameter and used materials allowin' experimentin' with high power rocketry build techniques. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It flys wonderfully, is very forgivin' o' many engine delays, and recovers in an amusing, 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.