Brief:
T' PeeWee is a little two stage rocket designed by Tom Rhue and featured as t' Estes Design o' t' Month for October 1961. Blimey! Arrr! It stuck me as "primitive" and I do nay mean that in a derogatory manner. As someone said on YORF, it hearkens t' a day when t' hobby be bein' made up as t' modeler went along.

I decided t' try and build it and promised I would post t' build thread on YORF. Well, blow me down! It seems a fittin' place for this venerable design.

Construction:
I immediately surmised that I would be orderin' me parts from Semroc and took a look at t' instruction t' hit my first roadblock. They call for BT-3 tubing. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This was one I had nay worked with before. T' only distributor I found for BT-3 was FlisKits (I like their stuff too), but then I realized I was in t' MMX department. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I checked t' diameter and realized that thar was no way I be goin' t' fit an 18mm motor into t' FlisKits BT-3. So it is that I posted a message on YORF askin' for help. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' kind folks thar soon gave me an answer I could use. T' archaic BT-3 o' Estes was still available as t' Semroc BT-30. Blimey! Blimey! That bein' t' case, I place me order and had it two days later. Begad! Blimey!

My total parts list was as follows:

• 1/16" balsa
• 3.25" Semroc BT-30
• 2.75" Semroc BT-30
• Semroc BNC 30C balsa nosecone
• 2 x 1/8" launch lug

After gettin' t' parts, matey, they sat in t' box from 5 Nov until Christmas Day when I finally had time t' get started. Arrr! When I did get started, me hearties, I found a simple but fun project t' occupy an afternoon.

T' sustainer body tube be supposed t' be 3.125 inches long. I had ordered a 3.25" as t' nearest fit. Avast! In lookin' at t' directions, me hearties, thar seems t' have been some play with this length. Begad! If you wanted t' build a version that used streamer recovery, ya bilge rat, a tube as long as 5.5" be recommended. I decided t' 1/8" be nay goin' t' hurt me. That bein' t' case, shiver me timbers, t' first step was t' glue on t' nose cone with yellow glue.

While t' nose cone was drying, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I cut out t' fin template and laid it on me 1/16" balsa stock and traced around it with a pencil. Begad! I then copied t' pattern twice more makin' sure t' grain be aligned as indicated. An X-Acto knife was then used t' cut t' fins out.

An Estes fin markin' guide be used t' mark t' body tube for 3 fins and t' tick marks were extended usin' a pencil and an angle. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' template had a mark t' establish how much o' t' fin fell below t' BT and this mark was transfered t' each o' t' fins. Aye aye! T' fins were then glued in place with yellow glue and a double glue joint.

As t' sustainer dried, me hearties, matey, me bucko, I turned me attention t' t' booster. Begad! Blimey! It called for a 2.75" length o' BT-30 and I did have one t' right length. I marked t' fin lines as before and cut out t' booster fin template. Avast! Blimey! T' outlines were transfered t' t' sheet balsa and t' fins were cut out. Arrr! Blimey! These were more difficult because o' t' curves. When I was done, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I had t' stack t' fins and "regularize" them with some judicious sanding. T' fins were then glued onto t' booster tube in t' same manner as t' sustainer.

As I be postin' this project as a build thread on YORF, somebody noticed that t' grain on t' fins was running the wrong way, parallel t' t' BT, in one o' t' photos. Ahoy! When I took a good look at t' rocket, I saw that t' grain is runnin' t' wrong way. A closer inspection o' t' template revealed that t' tick mark for placin' t' fins was indeed on t' surface I used but lookin' at t' artwork, I saw that t' template be in error.

An X-Acto was used t' slice t' fins away as closely as I could come t' t' BT. Avast! I intended t' make new fins but I wanted t' see how close I could get. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When they were off though, shiver me timbers, I decided that they were perfectly serviceable and decided t' reuse them.

T' correct distance was marked off on t' real root edge and t' fins were reattached t' t' BT. Ya scallywag! T' result looked better and hopefully will nay shred t' fins.

Finishing:
Finishin' was done separately on t' booster and sustainer because I had t' go back and redo t' fins on the sustainer. Begad! Blimey! T' booster was done first.

I brushed Elmer's Wood Filler onto t' booster fins and then tried somethin' new I learned about on a new website. I took a razor blade and scraped off t' excess. Arrr! Begad! This led t' a couple o' happy results. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' filler be much thinner so it dried much more quickly. Begad! Well, blow me down! I waited overnight but I could see t' first fin was fairly dry before I had finished t' third. Well, blow me down! T' second nice thin' be t' resultin' uniformity. Avast! Only a light sandin' with #400 was needed t' be ready for primer.

I primed with Kilz. Begad! Two coats were applied and t' primer was allowed t' dry. T' next day, t' sustainer was ready t' be primed and it got 2 coats o' Kilz as well.

While sandin' t' primed stages, I noticed a perennial mistake o' mine. Arrr! Avast! I had forgotten t' launch lug...again. Avast! I scraped off a bit o' primer and glued it on, givin' it a chance t' dry.

When t' lug had dried, I painted t' BTs o' both t' sustainer and booster yellow. Begad! T' yellow was given a day to dry and then t' rocket be masked t' paint t' NC and fins o' both stages orange. Aye aye! Then it be just a simple matter of sprayin' t' orange on each stage.

T' final result be bright yellow and orange and, I hoped, easy t' see way up there.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
At least a half a year after I first got started on this one, it finally made its maiden flight. Avast! It had been taken out t' fly before but always somethin' went wrong. This time, it would fly.

T' start things off, me bucko, me hearties, I wanted t' try just t' single stage configuration with just a 1/2A6-2. Aye aye! Blimey! I wanted to see how it would behave. I had spotters ready.

It took off fine and disappeared t' most people. Begad! It be reacquired when we heard t' motor pop. T' motor landed a few feet from t' flight line but nobody saw what happened t' t' rocket itself. Ya scallywag! We looked for a while and gave up and I thought I would be rebuildin' t' sustainer. Arrr! Near t' close o' t' day, matey, though, shiver me timbers, somebody found it while hunting for a mid power rocket. Blimey! I decided nay t' fly it again on that field. A video o' t' maiden flight can be seen here.

I got tired o' waitin' for t' A8-0s t' come back so I decided t' go ahead and give it a try in t' 2-stage configuration with a B6-0/½A6-2 arrangement. Avast! I taped t' motors together with cellophane tape and loaded them into t' rocket. Arrr! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' rocket was then taken t' t' pad and hooked up. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I asked all present t' help with t' tracking. Well, blow me down! On ignition, matey, it started scootin' and looked pretty good doin' it. Aye aye! Everyone saw t' stagin' and t' booster tumblin' back to earth but t' sustainer was never seen again.

Recovery:
PROs: it flies nice.

CONs: It be nay recovered.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This was an easy rocket t' build. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I had me problems with it but they were my problems. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! It also flies well...too well. Aye aye! Without a smaller booster motor available, me bucko, matey, me bucko, it is likely t' be lost, ya bilge rat, as mine was. Avast, me proud beauty! Even in t' single stage configuration on a 1/2A, shiver me timbers, it really moved.

I will be rebuildin' t' sustainer but will make some modifications, arrr, ya bilge rat, lengthenin' it t' include a streamer.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5