Been looking for a fin pattern for the Ace Rocket Manufacturing Mongrel. Any have one they can scan and share?

I'm interested in cloning the ACE Mongrel.

__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

Chris Pearson and I are working on reproducing dimensional data so that we can clone the Mongrel in anticipation of the 40th anniverasry of LDRS-1. I am still working on getting the fin dimensions just right.

Chris shared these pics of an original, 40-year old, Ace balsa nose cone next to a PML plastic nose cone and gave me permission to share. Korey Kline made these balsa nose cones on a lathe in his garage, and there was a lot of variation in nose cone lengths. Chris's example is 17.75-inches long and has a 1.5-inch shoulder. The fiberglass extension is not original. Korey was a fan of long nose cones, and was known to make balsa nose cones with L/Ds as long as 5:1 and even 6:1. These were the early balsa nose cones that were in use before the advent of the famous ACE 4-inch plastic nose cone in the 1980s.

The one photo of an Ace Mongrel that one can easily find shows Chris standing next to Ace Mongrel kit #1. The black nose cone is all nose cone - long. It looks like a nose cone with a piece of body tube extention, but it isn't.

Mark Canepa's book, Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships, describes the Ace Mongrel kit in Chapter 3. He describes a rocket with 1/8" thick fins, an 18" nose cone, 4" diameter, that stood about 5-feet tall.

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__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

In case there are some who are interested in reproducing the color scheme of the first Ace Mongrel kit - please check out the attached photos. There were two blue fins, and a yellow fin. The previously unreleased photo of the launch of the Ace Mongrel at LDRS-1 (under all three F motors lit) shows the fourth red fin.

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__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

The NCR Phantom series, the 4000 in particular, looks like it was highly inspired by the Mongrel. The 4000 was my first high power kit really, though it was only intended to fly through G. I flew mine sometimes on H’s. The HD version though certainly was designed for larger motors. Never had it.

Chris is a great guy....been a pretty good while since I last spoke with him though.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

In the picture you posted the nose cone appears to be black on ACE Mongrel #1. In another picture from LDRS-1 where Heidi Smakula is holding the Mongrel the nose cone appears to be blue. Is that just the direct sunlight shining on a black nose cone or is it blue? The red fin is also visible in this picture.

http://www.northernohiotra.com/history/ldrshistory.html
.

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__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates

Chris thought it was black. Maybe it really was blue? It would go with the fin color. I'll be sharing some new info soon.
-W

__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

The ongoing effort to come up with clonable plans for the Ace Mongrel continues.

Curt Hughes flew an Ace Mongrel at LDRS-1 too. Curt's Mongrel also flew with three motors like Chris Pearson's, but instead of three FSI F100 motors, Curt used a 29mm H160 and two outboard D11 motors for the ejection charge. Curt's first Mongrel is pictured below. It was severely damaged by a zipper on its second flight.

Curt built a second Mongrel for LDRS-2, but didn't fly it. This model is pictured below. Curt gave this model to Chris Pearson a couple days ago, and I was over Chris' house last night getting dimensions. My earlier attempts at determining dimensional data off of photos was pretty close. But having a real Mongrel rocket to measure is of course the best way to go.
-W

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__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

Any updates here lately? I've also looked into cloning some OOP rockets like the mongrel.

__________________
Mark Beever
Southern Pennsylvania Area Association of Rocketry, NAR section 503

I do have updates and enough info for anyone to clone one. Chris Pearson built one, and I have all the pieces and parts for one accumulated in a box, ready to build. Maybe this summer...

__________________
-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

Very interesting thread Wolf and great information. I recognize the photo of Chris but I wasn't aware that was Ace Mongrel kit #1 or that the black nose cone pictured was all one long nose cone.

These are fin dimensions that I had saved. Compare with what you were working with in your file as I did not have a chance to download or view your OpenRocket file before you removed it.

4 Trapezoidal 1/8" Fins
Root Chord Length: 8"
Tip Cord Length: 2"
Sweep Length: 8"
Sweep Angle: 55 Deg.
Semi Span: 5.625"

__________________
Steve Naquin
TRA# 677 L2
NAR# 85518 L2
SAM# 0052

🚀 In Construction: Der Blue Maxx/Minie-Magg 5.5” & Vander-Burn MDRM Clone w/Stickershock23 Custom Decals
🚀 In Paint & Detail: USR Banshee
🚀 In Build Queue: Estes Doorknob w/Vander-Burn Rocketry Upgrade Kit [Sport Decor], Semroc Centurion-F, Semroc Egg Crate
🚀 In Repair: SLS Lil’ Hustler, SLS Aero-Dart 1969 Trim
🚀 Stay Tuned For Fall 2021 Launch Dates