Steve Lindeman's Little Me-Me

The Estes Jetliner is one of the models currently on clearance for $4.59.
I've read a few reviews. Some have found it under powered with the A10-3t engine. It reminds me of the old BT-60 based Goonybirds. The Goonys also needed more power than the 13mm engines provided.

Steve Lindeman did a build of the Jetliner on RocketReviews.com - CLICK HERE
Steve built the Jetliner for 18mm engines but kept the 13mm engine mount and made a spool rocket out of it.
"On a side note: Take the unused original motor mount and drill two holes in line on the opposite side from the clip large enough so that can slide it up and down a launch rod as a spool rocket. I call mine "Little Me-Me" and the kids love it. Have thought of building a few more of these from scratch to give away to kids at the park on the 4th of July. Just the sort of thing to spark their interest in the hobby. Always trying to play forward."

Great idea Steve!
This spool is simply a launchable engine mount not glued into a rocket body. No launch lug is needed, punch two holes in the centering rings for the launch rod. 
Use "0" delay (booster engines) or engines with a very short delay. These spools are normally stable and have tumble recovery, so heads up! I might take a look in the spare parts box and make one.
Be sure to pick out flat wide centering rings that are much wider than the engine tubing - 5/60 or equivalent.

Spool Rocket Build Finished

Here's the finished Spool, ready for launch with a C6-3.




This should be a great small field flyer with either a B6-2 or C6-3.
I have plenty of C6-3 engines to fly.

The first flight report is HERE

Spool Rocket Build Part 7 Gluing CDs

Mix up a small amount of epoxy.

Here it's applied it to the flat surface of the centering rings for gluing to the lower CD.
Press the CD onto the epoxy bead and let dry.




When gluing the upper CD to the upper centering ring, be sure to line up the launch rod holes. I used a length of rod to make sure both rings were in line.
To finish up, I added a epoxy fillet on the exposed ends of the motor mount tube that extended beyond the tops of the CDs.

Spool Rocket Build Part 6 Lug Hole Drilling

Look closely at the center hole on the bottom CD. You can see where the notch was cut for the engine hook movement.

The launch rod hole was started by spinning the tip of my hobby knife on the disk mark.
After drilling through the other side, the hole diameter was widened with a small diamond file.



Here's the bottom disk after notching for the engine hook and drilling for the launch rod.

It's been set on top of the upper disk to mark the location for the launch rod hole.
The upper CD was then drilled.

Spool Rocket Build Part 5 Motor Mount and Lug Hole Position

When you get close to the correct diameter, 220 grit wrapped around an engine casing can help sand the hole large enough to fit the motor mount tube.




Dry fit the motor mount assembly and check the fit of the tube and centering rings against the CDs.
No Epoxy yet!




A hole is drilled in both CDs to allow for the launch rod. I didn't think a launch lug would be needed, the launch rod would simply go through two holes, one in each CD.

I marked the lug hole position with a marker.
Next post - alignment and drilling the lug hole.

Spool Rocket Build Part 4 Drilling The CDs

Center an engine casing on the CD, and trace around it using a fine point permanent marker.

The molded circles on the CD will help with centering the casing.



I tried to enlarge the center hole too quickly and cracked one of the clear CDs. So I pulled two new CDs and started again.

It's easier to enlarge the center hole by cutting at an angle. Flip over the CD and angle cut from the other side.
The picture shows the blade angle, the blade is up and the handle down.

You'll have to continually check with the casing and motor mount tube to be sure you don't make the hole too large.



A small piece of 220 grit around my finger was used to help round out the hole.

Enlarge the center holes on both CDs to a tight outside diameter fit on the motor mount tube.

Spool Rocket Build Part 3 Engine Mount

So you know what is upcoming, here's the final motor mount assembly looks like before gluing to the CDs.
Go ahead and add a wrap of tape over the engine hook to keep it in place.

For contrast, I used a marker on the rings before gluing them in place.
A black and white striped motor mount might look better against the silver CDs.
Notice the centering rings are set about 1/8" from the ends of the tube.
The ends of the motor mount tube go into the enlarged CD center holes.

The flat sides of the centering rings give a gluing surface for the epoxy.
Go ahead and glue the centering rings so 1/8" of the motor mount tube is exposed on both ends.
Apply a fillet to the inside joints only! No glue fillet goes on the outside where the motor mount tube is exposed.
This way the gluing surfaces (flat outside of the centering rings) will remain sharp and square.

Spool Rocket Build Part 2 Engine Mount

I set a 2 3/4" long, 18mm casing in the 3" long motor mount tube, with 1/4" of the casing extending out the back.
To notch for the engine hook, I place the rear bend of the hook over the end of the casing.
The front bend of the hook will be the slit location.


TIP: Todd (Bradycros on TRF) posted a great idea, something I hadn't thought of before.

The engine block gets a small notch on it's bottom edge to fit over the hook end.
With this notch, an engine block will fit flat against the upper bend in the hook and sit straight in the tube.
A simple, smart solution.


Here's the engine block pushed into the front of the engine mount tube against the engine hook.
The cut notch fits over and around the bend in the engine hook.

TIP: When gluing an engine block into a short tube like this, don't put glue in the tube before sliding in the engine block.
Slide the block in against the hook (dry) then add a glue fillet on top.

Spool Rocket Build Part 1 Parts

In all the years I've been flying rockets, I've never built a true spool rocket.

The closest I've came was my entry in the Rocket Reviews 2009 Two Stage Challenge competition.

I made a two stage odd-ball combining a Squirrel Works Pie In The Sky and a Badminton Birdie.
The Birdie was painted black.
I called it Blackbird Baked In A Pie.
It was a successful, stable two stager, a B6-0 booster to a A10-3t sustainer.


This spool model is closer to the truth.
The parts are simple, you probably have them in your spare parts box.

Grab a couple of old CDs that you never play anymore and send them up.



2 CDs (the picture shows two clear CD spacers, usually on the top of a CD package. I ended up using blank silver recordable CDs)
1 ST-7, 3" long (you could use BT-20 tubing, the ST-7 tube is a little stronger)
2 CR-710 Centering rings (Or, 2050 rings for an Estes BT-20 engine tube)
1 Engine Hook 2 3/4" long
1 TR-7 thrust ring (Or Estes EB-20 if using the BT-20 tube.)
The Launch Lug was pulled for the build, but after starting, it wasn't needed.

That's it!
You will need some epoxy, white glue and electrical tape for this build.
1/4" lengths of a used 24mm casing could be used in place of the centering rings.
The thrust ring could be a 1/4" length from a used 18mm casing.
Cut the engine casings with a razor saw.

This is the perfect small field flyer. I've flown it a few times in the soccer field with a C6-3.
The boost is funny and certainly high enough. Recovery is a very fast spin.