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

Construction was, arrr, as I recall, matey, simple and straightforward, ya bilge rat, despite bein' only me second rocket. Arrr! Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, ya bilge rat, 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, shiver me timbers, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, ya bilge rat, matey, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Arrr! Sent it up 2-stage, arrr, arrr, and WOW! It be simply awesome. Arrr! A great flight, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Well, blow me down! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, shiver me timbers, which, me bucko, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, shiver me timbers, so t' rocket streamlined down. Well, blow me down! . Begad! . Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, arrr, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' nose cone pushed back, shiver me timbers, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, matey, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Begad! Aye aye! 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. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Arrr! . Begad! Begad! . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Well, blow me down! k. Begad! a. Aye aye! sustainer). Begad! Avast! 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, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Begad! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, arrr, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Begad! Havin' already built mine, me hearties, however, me bucko, me bucko, I required a different solution. Well, blow me down! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Begad! Arrr! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, shiver me timbers, just above t' fins. Blimey! Avast! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Avast! Begad! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, matey, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Avast! 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. Aye aye! 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, matey, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me bucko, but it isn't much t' look at. Ahoy! 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! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, now it was just too short. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, me hearties, arrr, 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. 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, matey, me hearties, me hearties, though. Ya scallywag! . . Well, blow me down! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. It really should have ignited. Well, blow me down! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which is why it didn't ignite. Well, blow me down! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), ya bilge rat, and others on rec. models. Arrr! rockets have seen it, too. So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Ya scallywag! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Blimey! 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. Begad! k. Begad! Begad! a. Aye aye! sustainer). Well, blow me down! Begad! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Ya scallywag! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Begad! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Begad! 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, shiver me timbers, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Ahoy! When stagin' occurs, shiver me timbers, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, me hearties, me hearties, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Begad! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, especially after many stagings. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! 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, shiver me timbers, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, ya bilge rat, mine has stood up remarkably well, matey, 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, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, ya bilge rat, arrr, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, one-piece plastic fin unit. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Regardless, shiver me timbers, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Ya scallywag! Blimey! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Begad! k. Well, blow me down! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Arrr! 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, 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), me hearties, ya bilge rat, arrr, I have become fascinated with staging. As you may have noticed, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, several o' me rockets are staged. Begad! Well, blow me down! I really like this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! . Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. Aye aye! . . Ya scallywag! I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Ahoy! :-( T' booster portion went fine, ya bilge rat, with a slight arc. Avast! Avast! T' upper stage ignited successfully, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and continued that arc. Aye aye! T' sustainer be painted yellow and orange, me bucko, and it was headin' right into t' sunset, so we lost sight o' it. Ya scallywag! I heard t' ejection charge pop, matey, 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, shiver me timbers, matey, motor mount, and nose cone). Begad! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, me bucko, I really liked it t' way it was. 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.