Scratch - Upscale Mosquito (320%) {Scratch}

Mo' Skeeter Upscale

Scratch - Upscale Mosquito (320%) {Scratch}

Contributed by Chris Gonnerman

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Published:	2010-12-24
Manufacturer:	Scratch
Style:	Upscale

Brief

This is me Mo' Skeeter, a 320% upscale o' t' classic Estes Mosquito. It's a rear-ejection model, which avoids t' visible nose cone line that most Mosquito upscales suffer from.

Components

This rocket consists o' a Baby Bertha cone, 6" o' BT-60, ya bilge rat, 6" o' BT-20, ya bilge rat, two 20-60 centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, a thrust ring, matey, engine hook, and retainin' ring, a launch lug, matey, and a shock cord consistin' o' a Keelhaul®©™ leader and a length o' elastic; I use a standard Estes or Semroc chute with it, me bucko, attached via snap swivel.

T' fins are 3/32" balsa, cut usin' a 320% upscale o' t' standard template downloaded from JimZ's site.

Construction

I cut t' pointed part and attachment lug from t' nose cone, bored a new hole t' attach t' Keelhaul®©™, shiver me timbers, and epoxied t' cone in place on t' BT-60 tube. Ya scallywag! I came t' regret that decision a bit later.

After notchin' t' centerin' rings (inside for t' engine hook on t' aft ring, me hearties, outside for t' shock cord for t' forward ring), matey, I installed t' thrust ring, engine hook, and retainin' rin' into t' BT-20. Well, blow me down! I still had some epoxy mixed up, so I used that t' secure all these parts. After gluin' t' aft centerin' rin' in place usin' yellow glue, matey, I put t' forward rin' on t' tube and inserted t' assembly into t' sustainer, pushin' it in until t' aft rin' was just inside t' BT-60 tube. Doin' this pushed t' upper rin' into t' exact position it needed t' be in. Avast, me proud beauty! I pulled t' inner tube out and applied yellow glue t' secure it.

Next, ya bilge rat, I glued t' fins in place usin' yellow glue and t' usual "stick it on, pull it off, arrr, shiver me timbers, let it dry a bit, ya bilge rat, glue it on for good" method. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Here's where I regretted gluin' t' nose cone on first... I had t' hold t' rocket for probably twenty minutes before I be sure t' glue was solid enough t' stand t' rocket on its fins.

When it be all dry, I applied several fillets o' white glue (less shrinkage than yellow) then attached t' launch lug with yellow glue.

Finishing

I brushed t' fins with thinned Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler. I also brushed it over t' body tube spirals and into t' nose cone line. When dry, ya bilge rat, I sanded t' filler smooth; then I started t' usual prime-and-sand loop.

When I be happy with t' surface preparation, ya bilge rat, I painted it yellow usin' a cheap store-brand rattlecan (I don't remember where I got it). Several light coats followed by t' rotisserie treatment resulted in a deep shiny coat; I gave that t' usual week t' dry (as is usually required with t' cheap paint), shiver me timbers, then masked it and applied Wal-Mart Colorplace Fire Red.

I created t' decal myself usin' t' GIMP and some clipart I found online, matey, and printed it usin' a color laser printer. I didn't clearcoat t' decal before applyin' it, ya bilge rat, and it suffered a little bit o' flakin' before I got clearcoat on t' rocket, but it hardly shows. Laser printed decals sound like a good idea but t' current laser decal paper has some deficiencies. Still, t' rocket looks pretty good overall; I'm particularly pleased how well t' red decal matches t' Fire Red paint.

Construction Score: 4

Flight

At our 4-H Club Launch on t' 9th o' July, me hearties, 2009, arrr, matey, I got t' launch t' Mo' Skeeter for t' first time, arrr, ya bilge rat, on a B6-4. It flew well and recovered nicely, albeit on t' roof o' t' landowner's machine shed. Ahoy! Thankfully, arrr, we were able t' recover it in good shape.

I got t' fly it again at t' SPARC launch on August 22, arrr, 2009, matey, on a B6-4 again. It be a perfect flight and a perfect deployment. Begad! It came off t' rod too fast t' photograph, me bucko, which is surprisin' for a rocket with as much base drag as this one. There were some minor dings t' t' paint on t' fins.

On September 18, me hearties, arrr, 2010 we had a launch at t' neighbor's. I flew it on a B4-4 for t' first time, arrr, and WOW do I like that. Ya scallywag! It took off with more authority than I expected, and recovered beautifully.

Recovery

T' nose-down recovery o' this rocket tends t' protect t' fins from major damage. Though it rigs differently than other rockets, me bucko, I have nay suffered a deployment failure, ya bilge rat, nor any damage t' t' chute. And note, this rocket does nay require wadding, shiver me timbers, since t' upper rin' shields t' chute from exhaust gasses.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary

Mo' Skeeter has become me favorite flier. It's a real crowd pleaser.

Overall Rating: 5

Mo' Skeeter Upscale