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

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

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

Well, me bucko, now it was just too short. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 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, shiver me timbers, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

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

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Begad! . . Begad! Ahoy! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, and nose cone). Well, me hearties, blow me down! 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. Aye aye! Ahoy! About t' only other thin' that I changed was that instead o' t' orange and yellow paint on t' old one, me bucko, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.