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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Ahoy! Blimey! I be a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Begad! Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It was simply awesome. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A great flight, arrr, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, shiver me timbers, arrr, shiver me timbers, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, ya bilge rat, me hearties, which, me bucko, arrr, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, arrr, so t' rocket streamlined down. . Well, blow me down! Blimey! . Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! PRANG! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, matey, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. (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. Avast! Blimey! 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, and nay t' booster. Aye aye! (In retrospect, matey, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Ya scallywag! . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! . Begad! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Ya scallywag! k. Ahoy! a. Avast! sustainer). Avast! Blimey! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, matey, me hearties, but it be obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Ya scallywag! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, matey, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Well, blow me down! Havin' already built mine, however, matey, I required a different solution. Ahoy! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Avast, me proud beauty! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, me bucko, matey, ya bilge rat, just above t' fins. Arrr! Blimey! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Blimey! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, arrr, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Aye aye! 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. There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It's dirt cheap, ya bilge rat, me hearties, 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, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Blimey! Begad! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, matey, me hearties, ya bilge rat, now it be 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, arrr, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, me hearties, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Blimey! Begad! It has since been flown no less than 6 times in 2-stage configuration, arrr, ya bilge rat, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

One side note, though. Avast! Ahoy! . . on that second prang, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Begad! It really should have ignited. Avast, me proud beauty! Knowin' more now, me hearties, I'm convinced that that engine be faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, me hearties, which is why it didn't ignite. 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. Begad! models. Avast, me proud beauty! rockets have seen it, too. Aye aye! So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Begad! 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, me proud beauty! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, 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. Blimey! k. Avast! a. Begad! sustainer). Blimey! 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. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, matey, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Begad! Ahoy! 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, shiver me timbers, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! When stagin' occurs, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, ya bilge rat, arrr, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, me hearties, especially after many stagings. Ahoy! Begad! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, me bucko, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, shiver me timbers, but I didn't have epoxy then. Ya scallywag! And besides, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, is that t' supplied recovery device, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Avast! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, me bucko, one-piece plastic fin unit. Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me bucko, me bucko, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). However, shiver me timbers, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Ya scallywag! k. Aye aye! a. Blimey! Ahoy! peak vent hole) cut out. See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. With this chute, matey, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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), I have become fascinated with staging. Well, blow me down! As you may have noticed, shiver me timbers, arrr, several o' me rockets are staged. Ya scallywag! I really like this rocket. I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Well, blow me down! . Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! .

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. . . I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Avast! It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, shiver me timbers, and nose cone). Well, blow me down! Begad! 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. Avast! Ya scallywag! 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.