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

Construction was, arrr, me hearties, as I recall, me hearties, ya bilge rat, simple and straightforward, me bucko, ya bilge rat, despite bein' only me second rocket. Ahoy! Sure, 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, ya bilge rat, about all you have t' do is build t' motor mounts and shock cord mounts, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Begad! Very easy and very straightforward.

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

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

Well, now it was just too short. Avast! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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, me hearties, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Well, blow me down! Avast! 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, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, though. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! . Blimey! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! It really should have ignited. Begad! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me hearties, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, arrr, me hearties, which is why it didn't ignite. Well, blow me down! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which was so bad it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), arrr, 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. Well, 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. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, arrr, me bucko, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! Begad! k. a. sustainer). Avast, me proud beauty! 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, shiver me timbers, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Ya scallywag! O' course, ya bilge rat, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! Aye aye! When stagin' occurs, matey, 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. 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, me proud beauty! Aye aye! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, matey, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, arrr, arrr, but I didn't have epoxy then. Ahoy! And besides, matey, mine has stood up remarkably well, me bucko, 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, arrr, me hearties, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, me bucko, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, one-piece plastic fin unit. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Regardless, arrr, 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). Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! However, shiver me timbers, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Avast! k. Begad! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Ya scallywag! 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, 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. As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Aye aye! I really like this rocket. Begad! Arrr! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . .

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Well, blow me down! Arrr! . . Begad! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Begad! It's all from scratch, arrr, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and nose cone). Avast! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, shiver me timbers, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I really liked it t' way it was. Well, blow me down! 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.