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

Construction was, matey, as I recall, simple and straightforward, 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. Well, blow me down! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, 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. 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. 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. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Begad! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It be simply awesome. Aye aye! A great flight, arrr, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me hearties, which, ya bilge rat, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, arrr, so t' rocket streamlined down. . . Begad! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me bucko, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. 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. Well, blow me down! Avast! 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 be t' booster motor, and nay t' booster. (In retrospect, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. . . Aye aye! Well, blow me down! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. a. Ya scallywag! Arrr! sustainer). Begad! Begad! 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. Begad! Well, blow me down! Havin' already built mine, me hearties, ya bilge rat, however, ya bilge rat, I required a different solution. Ya scallywag! 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, me bucko, just above t' fins. Ya scallywag! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Blimey! Begad! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, shiver me timbers, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, matey, shiver me timbers, 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. Begad! Aye aye! It's dirt cheap, shiver me timbers, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me bucko, but it isn't much t' look at. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, 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. I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, now it was just too short. Aye aye! Ahoy! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Ahoy! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, matey, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Arrr! It has since been flown no less than 6 times in 2-stage configuration, matey, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

One side note, matey, shiver me timbers, though. Begad! . Begad! . on that second prang, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast! It really should have ignited. Knowin' more now, shiver me timbers, I'm convinced that that engine be faulty, 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), arrr, matey, and others on rec. Avast, me proud beauty! models. Aye aye! Begad! rockets have seen it, too. Begad! Aye aye! 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. Arrr! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, me bucko, 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. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! a. sustainer). 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, me hearties, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Ahoy! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, matey, matey, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! When stagin' occurs, me bucko, 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. Arrr! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, ya bilge rat, 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! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! And besides, me hearties, mine has stood up remarkably well, shiver me timbers, 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, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, me hearties, matey, is insufficient. Avast! Arrr! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, matey, arrr, which is surprising, 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, me proud beauty! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Aye aye! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! k. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! a. Aye aye! Blimey! peak vent hole) cut out. Aye aye! Blimey! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Ya scallywag! Blimey! With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, me bucko, 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! As you may have noticed, me bucko, several o' me rockets are staged. Ya scallywag! I really like this rocket. Blimey! Aye aye! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Well, blow me down! . Ahoy! .

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Well, blow me down! Blimey! . . Ya scallywag! Blimey! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It's all from scratch, ya bilge rat, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, arrr, matey, motor mount, shiver me timbers, and nose cone). Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, me bucko, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, I really liked it t' way it was. Ya scallywag! Blimey! About t' only other thin' that I changed was that instead o' t' orange and yellow paint on t' old one, shiver me timbers, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.