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

Construction was, me bucko, as I recall, arrr, simple and straightforward, me bucko, despite bein' only me second rocket. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Sure, matey, ya bilge rat, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I be extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Aye aye! 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.  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! Blimey! It was simply awesome. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! A great flight, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, me hearties, matey, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me bucko, which, me hearties, ya bilge rat, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. Aye aye! Blimey! . Arrr! Blimey! . PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, me hearties, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, me bucko, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Begad! Avast! (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. Ahoy! Aye aye! 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, ya bilge rat, and nay t' booster. (In retrospect, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Arrr! . . Avast, me proud beauty! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Ya scallywag! k. Avast, me proud beauty! a. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! sustainer). Ahoy! Blimey! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, but it was 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. Avast! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, matey, shiver me timbers, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Havin' already built mine, ya bilge rat, however, ya bilge rat, I required a different solution. Arrr! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, shiver me timbers, just above t' fins. Ahoy! Begad! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Begad! 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. Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' help hold t' U's in place, me bucko, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, me hearties, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Ya scallywag! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Blimey! It's dirt cheap, matey, me bucko, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me hearties, but it isn't much t' look at. Aye aye! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, matey, 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, despite t' major destruction, arrr, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Begad! Aye aye! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Aye aye! Worked just fine single stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Blimey! Up it goes, ya bilge rat, t' booster burns through and separates. Arrr! . . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! but again, me bucko, shiver me timbers, no upper stage ignition. Begad! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Arrr! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Well, blow me down! 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! Begad! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. In retrospect, matey, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, arrr, ya bilge rat, now it be just too short. Ya scallywag! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Begad! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, matey, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, one on each side o' t' booster, me bucko, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! 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, though. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! . Begad! Avast! . Arrr! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Well, blow me down! It really should have ignited. Begad! Knowin' more now, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me hearties, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, which is why it didn't ignite. Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! models. Ahoy! rockets have seen it, too. Ahoy! Arrr! So, 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. Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, me bucko, matey, 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. Ahoy! a. Arrr! sustainer). Begad! Aye aye! 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, shiver me timbers, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Blimey! O' course, me hearties, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. 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. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! When stagin' occurs, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, matey, shiver me timbers, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, especially after many stagings. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Ahoy! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. Aye aye! And besides, shiver me timbers, arrr, mine has stood up remarkably well, matey, ya bilge rat, 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, arrr, is insufficient. Begad! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, shiver me timbers, 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! Arrr! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Avast! However, me hearties, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Aye aye! Begad! k. Begad! a. Arrr! peak vent hole) cut out. Blimey! Arrr! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Blimey! With this chute, me bucko, 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), shiver me timbers, me hearties, I have become fascinated with staging. As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Begad! Blimey! . Arrr! Blimey! .

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

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