All around, a very impressive model rocket, probably still me favorite. It's sheer size gets attention. My orange/yellow/orange paint scheme gets attention. And when that second stage lights, arrr, me bucko, it really gets attention... if it lights, matey, that is.

Construction was, matey, as I recall, me hearties, simple and straightforward, ya bilge rat, despite bein' only me second rocket. Begad! Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, arrr, but thar's no construction magic in that. Aye aye! 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Arrr! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, me hearties, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. I be a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, ya bilge rat, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet.  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast! Begad! Blimey! Sent it up 2-stage, me hearties, and WOW! Blimey! It be simply awesome. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! A great flight, matey, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, matey, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Up it goes, ya bilge rat, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, me hearties, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, so t' rocket streamlined down. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! . . Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Blimey! PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me bucko, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Begad! (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. Begad! 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, and nay t' booster. Begad! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Aye aye! . . Blimey! Ahoy! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Begad! k. Ahoy! a. Begad! sustainer). Arrr! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, ya bilge rat, but it was 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, arrr, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Havin' already built mine, however, arrr, I required a different solution. I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Begad! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Ya scallywag! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Ya scallywag! 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. Arrr! T' help hold t' U's in place, me bucko, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, me bucko, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Well, blow me down! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Ya scallywag! It's dirt cheap, arrr, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me hearties, but it isn't much t' look at. Well, blow me down! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

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

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

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Avast! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, 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. Begad! a. Avast, me proud beauty! sustainer). Arrr! Avast! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, matey, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Avast! 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. Ahoy! 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. Ya scallywag! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, matey, me bucko, 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! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, ya bilge rat, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, one-piece plastic fin unit. Blimey! Regardless, me hearties, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Avast! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me bucko, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Begad! However, me hearties, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Blimey! k. Begad! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Avast, me proud beauty! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Blimey! Begad! With this chute, me bucko, me bucko, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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), me hearties, I have become fascinated with staging. Begad! Blimey! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! .

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

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