Estes - Mongoose {Kit} (2092) [1994-]

Contributed by John "MAX" Venable

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Diameter: 0.98 inches
Length: 26.50 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 1
Style: Multi-Stage

Brief:
This is a entry-level, two-stage roEstes Mongoosecket with parachute recovery.

Construction:
The kit is a basic two-stage consisting of upper and lower body tubes, nose cone, molded plastic fins, and a basic recovery system.

Construction was easy, but once again I had to tweak it! I heard that the upper and lower tubes around the motor mounts was weak so instead of centering rings, I filled the upper and lower tubes with a solid piece of tubing. I also used epoxy to construct this rocket. I used 1/8" Kevlar shock cord and an 8" nylon X-chute. No cons anymore!

Finishing:
It was super easy to paint. After motor mounts were glued in I primed all parts with BIN primer. I then applied three coats of Rustoleum metallic copper to the body tubes followed by two coats of high gloss black to the fins. No cons here.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Estes Mongoose

Flight:
The two motors were taped together and inserted into body tube. I used two pieces of 1" Nomex cloth instead of wadding. For all three flights I used a C6-0 and a C6-7. The first flight weathercocked at 300' and went horizontal. The next 2 flights were perfect at about 1000'. No cons after a few minor alignment issues.

Recovery:
1/8" Kevlar shock cord with 1" dual Nomex shields and an 8" Top Flight X-form 'chute followed by a solid lower-stage made for lots of fun.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
If you follow other people's suggestions on this site before you build this or any other rocket there will be nothing but pros.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • Estes - Mongoose {Kit} (2092) [1994-] By Alan and Duane Boldt (July 14, 2010)

    This review is for the 2010 EMRR Challenge "Two on One" review. Duane Boldt and Alan Boldt contributed to this review. Alan: This 26.5" 2-stage rocket is purple and yellow with cool decals. It is easy to build and there are not many parts. The Mongoose has plastic, one-piece fin units on both the booster and sustainer. Components: 1 - 18" Purple body tube 1 - 2" Purple ...

  • Estes - Mongoose {Kit} (2092) [1994-] By David Sindel (January 15, 2009)

    This is a fairly simple 2-stage, 18mm rocket from Estes. I have slightly modified mine with shortening and a modified booster motor mount to repair damage. The parts list: 18" of BT-50; mine only has 10" left. 1-15/16" of BT-50 for booster 2 magenta plastic fin units PNC-50YR: 2-part magenta nose cone 2 blue 18mm engine mount tubes of rather poor quality 2 green ...

  • Estes - Mongoose {Kit} (2092) [1994-] By Nick Esselman

    I originally purchased an Estes' Mongoose Kit because I wanted to use it for an experiment, however, when my 8 year old nephew came to visit it seemed like a good kit to build together. So we built it. The instructions have lots of illustrations, however, that didn't help us fully understand how to assemble the lower stage's motor mount. I think the problem starts in the first step when ...

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