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. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! As someone said on YORF, arrr, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! They call for BT-3 tubing. Ahoy! Arrr! This was one I had nay worked with before. T' only distributor I found for BT-3 be FlisKits (I like their stuff too), me bucko, 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. Avast! Begad! So it is that I posted a message on YORF askin' for help. Aye aye! T' kind folks thar soon gave me an answer I could use. Well, blow me down! T' archaic BT-3 o' Estes was still available as t' Semroc BT-30. Blimey! That bein' t' case, I place me order and had it two days later. Arrr!

My total parts list be 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, they sat in t' box from 5 Nov until Christmas Day when I finally had time t' get started. Ahoy! When I did get started, arrr, me bucko, 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. Avast! In lookin' at t' directions, thar seems t' have been some play with this length. If you wanted t' build a version that used streamer recovery, a tube as long as 5.5" was recommended. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' 1/8" be 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 was drying, me bucko, I cut out t' fin template and laid it on me 1/16" balsa stock and traced around it with a pencil. I then copied t' pattern twice more makin' sure t' grain was aligned as indicated. 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. Avast! Ahoy! 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. 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. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! These were more difficult because o' t' curves. Well, blow me down! Arrr! When I was done, I had t' stack t' fins and "regularize" them with some judicious sanding. Well, blow me down! 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, me bucko, somebody noticed that t' grain on t' fins was running the wrong way, ya bilge rat, parallel t' t' BT, in one o' t' photos. 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 was in error.

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

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

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

When t' lug had dried, matey, I painted t' BTs o' both t' sustainer and booster yellow. Begad! T' yellow was given a day to dry and then t' rocket was masked t' paint t' NC and fins o' both stages orange. Well, blow me down! 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, me hearties, it finally made its maiden flight. Aye aye! It had been taken out t' fly before but always somethin' went wrong. Begad! This time, 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. Aye aye! I had spotters ready.

It took off fine and disappeared t' most people. Blimey! It was reacquired when we heard t' motor pop. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' motor landed a few feet from t' flight line but nobody saw what happened t' t' rocket itself. Begad! We looked for a while and gave up and I thought I would be rebuildin' t' sustainer. Well, blow me down! Near t' close o' t' day, me hearties, 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. 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. On ignition, shiver me timbers, it started scootin' and looked pretty good doin' it. Well, blow me down! 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 was nay recovered.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This be an easy rocket t' build. Ahoy! Blimey! I had me problems with it but they were my problems. Ahoy! Begad! It also flies well...too well. Ya scallywag! Begad! Without a smaller booster motor available, shiver me timbers, it is likely t' be lost, arrr, ya bilge rat, as mine was. Ya scallywag! Even in t' single stage configuration on a 1/2A, it really moved.

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5