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

Construction was, matey, matey, as I recall, me bucko, simple and straightforward, despite bein' only me second rocket. Avast! Avast! Sure, me bucko, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. 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, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I be extremely excited t' launch it that first day. 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.  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Blimey! Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Up it goes, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, me hearties, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, matey, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket streamlined down. Blimey! Arrr! . Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! . PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, me bucko, t' nose cone pushed back, arrr, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! (the booster stage never separated) cause t' body t' crumple about 8" forward o' t' upper stage fin unit.

This stagin' failure be caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Aye aye! I recall that me wife (who had t' job o' watchin' t' booster) be worried that I'd be upset because all she could find was t' booster motor, ya bilge rat, and nay t' booster. (In retrospect, shiver me timbers, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. . Begad! Begad! . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Blimey! a. Ya scallywag! sustainer). Blimey! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, me bucko, but it was obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, arrr, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. If you haven't built t' rocket yet, me hearties, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Havin' already built mine, however, I required a different solution. Avast, me proud beauty! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Ahoy! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, me bucko, just above t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Avast! 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. T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Blimey! 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), me bucko, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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 hearties, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

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

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

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Aye aye! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! k. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! a. Avast! sustainer). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Blimey! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, arrr, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! O' course, matey, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Begad! When stagin' occurs, me hearties, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Ya scallywag! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, shiver me timbers, me bucko, especially after many stagings. Ahoy! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Blimey! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, matey, arrr, but I didn't have epoxy then. Avast, me proud beauty! And besides, mine has stood up remarkably well, 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, is that t' supplied recovery device, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Arrr! Avast! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, me hearties, which is surprising, ya bilge rat, me bucko, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, one-piece plastic fin unit. Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Avast! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me bucko, 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. Begad! k. a. Ya scallywag! peak vent hole) cut out. Aye aye! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, matey, 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), matey, I have become fascinated with staging. Begad! As you may have noticed, me bucko, arrr, several o' me rockets are staged. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I really like this rocket. Aye aye! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . Arrr! Blimey! .

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

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