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. Arrr! It stuck me as "primitive" and I do nay mean that in a derogatory manner. As someone said on YORF, me bucko, arrr, me hearties, 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. Ahoy! 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. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! They call for BT-3 tubing. Aye aye! Aye aye! This was one I had nay worked with before. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' only distributor I found for BT-3 be FlisKits (I like their stuff too), but then I realized I was in t' MMX department. I checked t' diameter and realized that thar was no way I be goin' t' fit an 18mm motor into t' FlisKits BT-3. Ya scallywag! So it is that I posted a message on YORF askin' for help. Ahoy! T' kind folks thar soon gave me an answer I could use. Ahoy! T' archaic BT-3 o' Estes was still available as t' Semroc BT-30. That bein' t' case, me bucko, I place me order and had it two days later. Ya scallywag!

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 bucko, they sat in t' box from 5 Nov until Christmas Day when I finally had time t' get started. Blimey! Blimey! 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. Begad! Begad! I had ordered a 3.25" as t' nearest fit. Avast, me proud beauty! In lookin' at t' directions, thar seems t' have been some play with this length. Avast! If you wanted t' build a version that used streamer recovery, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, a tube as long as 5.5" be recommended. Begad! I decided t' 1/8" was nay goin' t' hurt me. That bein' t' case, t' first step be t' glue on t' nose cone with yellow glue.

While t' nose cone be drying, arrr, I cut out t' fin template and laid it on me 1/16" balsa stock and traced around it with a pencil. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I then copied t' pattern twice more makin' sure t' grain was 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. Arrr! 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. Avast! 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. Aye aye! Begad! I marked t' fin lines as before and cut out t' booster fin template. Avast! T' outlines were transfered t' t' sheet balsa and t' fins were cut out. Ahoy! These were more difficult because o' t' curves. When I was done, me bucko, 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, somebody noticed that t' grain on t' fins was running the wrong way, parallel t' t' BT, in one o' t' photos. Begad! When I took a good look at t' rocket, matey, me bucko, me bucko, I saw that t' grain is runnin' t' wrong way. Aye aye! Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, I saw that t' template was in error.

An X-Acto was used t' slice t' fins away as closely as I could come t' t' BT. Begad! Blimey! I intended t' make new fins but I wanted t' see how close I could get. Blimey! Blimey! When they were off though, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! 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. 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. Begad! Avast! Blimey! I took a razor blade and scraped off t' excess. This led t' a couple o' happy results. Begad! Blimey! T' filler was much thinner so it dried much more quickly. Blimey! Blimey! I waited overnight but I could see t' first fin was fairly dry before I had finished t' third. Begad! Blimey! T' second nice thin' was t' resultin' uniformity. Only a light sandin' with #400 be needed t' be ready for primer.

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

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

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

T' final result was bright yellow and orange and, matey, 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, ya bilge rat, it finally made its maiden flight. Begad! Blimey! It had been taken out t' fly before but always somethin' went wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! This time, shiver me timbers, it would fly.

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

It took off fine and disappeared t' most people. Aye aye! 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. Ahoy! We looked for a while and gave up and I thought I would be rebuildin' t' sustainer. Arrr! Near t' close o' t' day, me hearties, shiver me timbers, though, somebody found it while hunting for a mid power rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! I taped t' motors together with cellophane tape and loaded them into t' rocket. Begad! T' rocket be then taken t' t' pad and hooked up. Blimey! I asked all present t' help with t' tracking. Well, blow me down! Avast! On ignition, ya bilge rat, it started scootin' and looked pretty good doin' it. Avast! Avast! 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! Begad! I had me problems with it but they were my problems. It also flies well...too well. Without a smaller booster motor available, it is likely t' be lost, me bucko, as mine was. Begad! Even in t' single stage configuration on a 1/2A, ya bilge rat, it really moved.

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5