All around, me hearties, a very impressive model rocket, probably still me favorite. Avast! Arrr! It's sheer size gets attention. Avast, me proud beauty! My orange/yellow/orange paint scheme gets attention. Avast! And when that second stage lights, it really gets attention... Aye aye! Blimey! if it lights, that is.

Construction was, as I recall, simple and straightforward, shiver me timbers, me bucko, despite bein' only me second rocket. Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, me hearties, arrr, but thar's no construction magic in that. Ahoy! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, about all you have t' do is build t' motor mounts and shock cord mounts, shiver me timbers, arrr, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Begad! Aye aye! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Begad!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Blimey! Avast! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Aye aye! A great flight, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Up it goes, shiver me timbers, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, matey, me bucko, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. Begad! . Aye aye! Well, me bucko, blow me down! . Arrr! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, me hearties, but it hit pavement! Damn, me hearties, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, shiver me timbers, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Ya scallywag! Blimey! (the booster stage never separated) cause t' body t' crumple about 8" forward o' t' upper stage fin unit.

This stagin' failure was caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Arrr! I recall that me wife (who had t' job o' watchin' t' booster) was worried that I'd be upset because all she could find was t' booster motor, shiver me timbers, and nay t' booster. Ya scallywag! (In retrospect, me bucko, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Ya scallywag! Begad! . Arrr! . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Well, me bucko, blow me down! k. Avast! a. Avast, me proud beauty! sustainer). Ya scallywag! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, but it be obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, me bucko, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. If you haven't built t' rocket yet, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Blimey! Havin' already built mine, however, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I required a different solution. Begad! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Well, blow me down! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' help hold t' U's in place, matey, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, arrr, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Avast, me proud beauty! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Begad! It's dirt cheap, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), ya bilge rat, but it isn't much t' look at. I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, me bucko, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, despite t' major destruction, ya bilge rat, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Arrr! Blimey! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Worked just fine single stage. Time t' try it 2-stage again. Well, blow me down! Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. Blimey! Blimey! . Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! . Ya scallywag! but again, arrr, no upper stage ignition. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! LAWN DART! Blimey! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, arrr, shiver me timbers, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Ahoy! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Avast! Blimey! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. Begad! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, me bucko, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Blimey! But without question, me bucko, ya bilge rat, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, shiver me timbers, me bucko, now it was just too short. Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Arrr! It has since been flown no less than 6 times in 2-stage configuration, arrr, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

One side note, though. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! . Avast! . Blimey! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! It really should have ignited. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine be faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, arrr, which is why it didn't ignite. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bad it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! models. Begad! rockets have seen it, too. So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Ahoy! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Ya scallywag! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, ya bilge rat, me bucko, others have complained that this rocket has a tendency t' crimp or buckle t' body tube just above t' top o' t' plastic fin unit on t' upper stage (a. k. a. Well, blow me down! sustainer). Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, me hearties, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Avast! Blimey! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, me bucko, shiver me timbers, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Aye aye! T' other way t' help avoid bucklin' t' body tube is t' soak that part o' t' rocket in thin CA (cyanoacrylate) glue.

Another tip related t' longevity, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! When stagin' occurs, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, especially after many stagings. I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Avast! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, me hearties, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, matey, mine has stood up remarkably well, ya bilge rat, me hearties, arrr, so I can still recommend yellow glue for this application.

About t' only other complaint that I've heard from other people who've flown this rocket, matey, is that t' supplied recovery device, matey, matey, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, matey, matey, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, ya bilge rat, one-piece plastic fin unit. Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Ahoy! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, matey, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Aye aye! Avast! k. Aye aye! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! a. Blimey! peak vent hole) cut out. Avast! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Begad! With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but doesn't drift into t' next area code on two-stage flights (as an 18" parachute would do).

Despite me problems gettin' t' second stage t' ignite (or perhaps because o' them), shiver me timbers, me bucko, I have become fascinated with staging. Arrr! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Aye aye! . Avast, me proud beauty! .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. Begad! Blimey! . . Avast! Begad! I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Aye aye! Begad! :-( T' booster portion went fine, with a slight arc. Arrr! T' upper stage ignited successfully, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, and continued that arc. Ya scallywag! T' sustainer was painted yellow and orange, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and it was headin' right into t' sunset, so we lost sight o' it. I heard t' ejection charge pop, me bucko, but neither me wife nor I ever saw t' upper stage again.

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Begad! . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! . I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Well, blow me down! It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, matey, and nose cone). Avast, me proud beauty! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, arrr, I really liked it t' way it was. Begad! Arrr! About t' only other thin' that I changed was that instead o' t' orange and yellow paint on t' old one, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.