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. It stuck me as "primitive" and I do nay mean that in a derogatory manner. Arrr! As someone said on YORF, it hearkens t' a day when t' hobby was 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. Arrr! 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! This was one I had nay worked with before. T' only distributor I found for BT-3 was FlisKits (I like their stuff too), matey, but then I realized I was in t' MMX department. Begad! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! So it is that I posted a message on YORF askin' for help. 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. Arrr! Blimey! That bein' t' case, me bucko, I place me order and had it two days later. Blimey! 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, me hearties, they sat in t' box from 5 Nov until Christmas Day when I finally had time t' get started. Begad! When I did get started, ya bilge rat, I found a simple but fun project t' occupy an afternoon.

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

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

An Estes fin markin' guide was used t' mark t' body tube for 3 fins and t' tick marks were extended usin' a pencil and an angle. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Begad! T' fins were then glued in place with yellow glue and a double glue joint.

As t' sustainer dried, I turned me attention t' t' booster. 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. T' outlines were transfered t' t' sheet balsa and t' fins were cut out. Arrr! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! These were more difficult because o' t' curves. Ahoy! Blimey! When I was done, matey, I had t' stack t' fins and "regularize" them with some judicious sanding. Aye aye! T' fins were then glued onto t' booster tube in t' same manner as t' sustainer.

As I was postin' this project as a build thread on YORF, arrr, shiver me timbers, somebody noticed that t' grain on t' fins was running the wrong way, shiver me timbers, parallel t' t' BT, in one o' t' photos. When I took a good look at t' rocket, arrr, I saw that t' grain is runnin' t' wrong way. Well, blow me down! A closer inspection o' t' template revealed that t' tick mark for placin' t' fins be 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. Arrr! I intended t' make new fins but I wanted t' see how close I could get. When they were off though, ya bilge rat, I decided that they were perfectly serviceable and decided t' reuse them.

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

Finishing:
Finishin' be done separately on t' booster and sustainer because I had t' go back and redo t' fins on the sustainer. Arrr! T' booster be 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. Avast! Begad! This led t' a couple o' happy results. Begad! T' filler was much thinner so it dried much more quickly. Ya scallywag! I waited overnight but I could see t' first fin be fairly dry before I had finished t' third. Begad! T' second nice thin' was t' resultin' uniformity. Avast! Only a light sandin' with #400 was needed t' be ready for primer.

I primed with Kilz. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! 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. I had forgotten t' launch lug...again. I scraped off a bit o' primer and glued it on, matey, givin' it a chance t' dry.

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

T' final result was bright yellow and orange and, shiver me timbers, matey, I hoped, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, it finally made its maiden flight. Avast! Well, blow me down! It had been taken out t' fly before but always somethin' went wrong. Well, blow me down! This time, arrr, it would fly.

T' start things off, shiver me timbers, I wanted t' try just t' single stage configuration with just a 1/2A6-2. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I wanted to see how it would behave. Well, blow me down! I had spotters ready.

It took off fine and disappeared t' most people. Ahoy! It be reacquired when we heard t' motor pop. Begad! T' motor landed a few feet from t' flight line but nobody saw what happened t' t' rocket itself. Begad! Begad! We looked for a while and gave up and I thought I would be rebuildin' t' sustainer. Near t' close o' t' day, matey, though, somebody found it while hunting for a mid power rocket. 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. I taped t' motors together with cellophane tape and loaded them into t' rocket. T' rocket was then taken t' t' pad and hooked up. I asked all present t' help with t' tracking. Ahoy! On ignition, matey, matey, shiver me timbers, it started scootin' and looked pretty good doin' it. Arrr! Blimey! Everyone saw t' stagin' and t' booster tumblin' back to earth but t' sustainer be never seen again.

Recovery:
PROs: it flies nice.

CONs: It was nay recovered.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This was an easy rocket t' build. Arrr! I had me problems with it but they were my problems. It also flies well...too well. Well, blow me down! Without a smaller booster motor available, me hearties, it is likely t' be lost, me bucko, as mine was. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Even in t' single stage configuration on a 1/2A, it really moved.

I will be rebuildin' t' sustainer but will make some modifications, me bucko, lengthenin' it t' include a streamer.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5