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

Construction was, matey, as I recall, simple and straightforward, me bucko, ya bilge rat, despite bein' only me second rocket. Aye aye! 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, about all you have t' do is build t' motor mounts and shock cord mounts, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Well, blow me down! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, ya bilge rat, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Arrr! Blimey! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Avast!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Sent it up 2-stage, ya bilge rat, and WOW! It be simply awesome. Arrr! Blimey! A great flight, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Blimey! Ahoy! Up it goes, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me hearties, me bucko, arrr, which, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. Begad! . Begad! Avast! . Begad! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, matey, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me bucko, matey, 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 was caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Aye aye! 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. Begad! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. . Well, blow me down! . Aye aye! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Arrr! Aye aye! k. Begad! a. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! sustainer). Aye aye! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, me hearties, 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. If you haven't built t' rocket yet, matey, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Avast! Havin' already built mine, however, me bucko, I required a different solution. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Ahoy! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, me hearties, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Ya scallywag! T' help hold t' U's in place, me hearties, ya bilge rat, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, 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. Ahoy! It's dirt cheap, ya bilge rat, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), shiver me timbers, matey, but it isn't much t' look at. Begad! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, arrr, 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, despite t' major destruction, ya bilge rat, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Aye aye! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Made sure it be still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Worked just fine single stage. Ahoy! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Ya scallywag! Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. Avast! Begad! . Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! . Well, matey, blow me down! but again, no upper stage ignition. Begad! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, arrr, and ripped up a lot more body tube. 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. Avast! Well, blow me down! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. 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. Arrr! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Ya scallywag! But without question, shiver me timbers, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, matey, 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, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, shiver me timbers, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. 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, me hearties, though. Avast, me proud beauty! . Ahoy! . Blimey! on that second prang, me hearties, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. It really should have ignited. Begad! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me bucko, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, 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), matey, and others on rec. models. Begad! Arrr! rockets have seen it, too. Arrr! 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. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, 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. Arrr! k. Arrr! a. Begad! Ahoy! sustainer). Avast, me proud beauty! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Begad! Blimey! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, ya bilge rat, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! 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, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Avast, me proud beauty! When stagin' occurs, shiver me timbers, 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. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, matey, 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, matey, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, shiver me timbers, arrr, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, matey, me hearties, 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, is that t' supplied recovery device, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Avast! Blimey! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, ya bilge rat, one-piece plastic fin unit. Aye aye! Blimey! Regardless, arrr, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! However, matey, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Ahoy! Aye aye! k. a. peak vent hole) cut out. Arrr! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Well, blow me down! Begad! With this chute, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, arrr, 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 bucko, I have become fascinated with staging. Avast! As you may have noticed, shiver me timbers, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Begad! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. Begad! . Ahoy! . Well, blow me down! I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Blimey! :-( T' booster portion went fine, with a slight arc. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' upper stage ignited successfully, ya bilge rat, and continued that arc. T' sustainer was painted yellow and orange, ya bilge rat, and it be headin' right into t' sunset, so we lost sight o' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! . Blimey! . Aye aye! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Begad! Blimey! It's all from scratch, matey, ya bilge rat, me bucko, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, matey, motor mount, and nose cone). Well, blow me down! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, ya bilge rat, I really liked it t' way it was. Aye aye! About t' only other thin' that I changed be that instead o' t' orange and yellow paint on t' old one, arrr, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.