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

Construction was, shiver me timbers, as I recall, simple and straightforward, despite bein' only me second rocket. Ya scallywag! Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Ya scallywag! 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, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. 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. Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast! Well, blow me down! Sent it up 2-stage, matey, shiver me timbers, and WOW! It be simply awesome. A great flight, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, shiver me timbers, matey, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Well, blow me down! Up it goes, matey, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, arrr, which, matey, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. . Ya scallywag! . Blimey! Blimey! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, me hearties, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, shiver me timbers, 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 was caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. 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, and nay t' booster. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! (In retrospect, ya bilge rat, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Aye aye! . Arrr! . Ya scallywag! Begad! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Well, blow me down! Begad! a. Aye aye! sustainer). Ya scallywag! Begad! 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, arrr, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. If you haven't built t' rocket yet, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Begad! Havin' already built mine, however, I required a different solution. I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Begad! Begad! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Ahoy! Aye aye! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! T' help hold t' U's in place, ya bilge rat, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, me hearties, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Arrr! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Well, blow me down! It's dirt cheap, arrr, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me bucko, matey, but it isn't much t' look at. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Well, blow me down! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, ya bilge rat, now it was just too short. Blimey! 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, me bucko, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Begad! 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, me bucko, though. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! . . Ya scallywag! on that second prang, ya bilge rat, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Well, me hearties, blow me down! It really should have ignited. Knowin' more now, arrr, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, which is why it didn't ignite. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), matey, and others on rec. Ya scallywag! Blimey! models. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! rockets have seen it, me bucko, too. Arrr! Blimey! So, me hearties, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! k. Avast, me proud beauty! a. Aye aye! sustainer). Well, blow me down! Begad! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, me hearties, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Arrr! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Avast, me proud beauty! O' course, arrr, 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, matey, matey, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. When stagin' occurs, me hearties, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, especially after many stagings. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Aye aye! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, me hearties, but I didn't have epoxy then. Well, blow me down! And besides, shiver me timbers, mine has stood up remarkably well, 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, shiver me timbers, is insufficient. Ya scallywag! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, matey, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, me hearties, one-piece plastic fin unit. Aye aye! Regardless, me hearties, arrr, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Well, blow me down! Begad! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me hearties, matey, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Begad! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. k. a. peak vent hole) cut out. Blimey! Arrr! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Avast, me proud beauty! 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), me bucko, I have become fascinated with staging. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! I really like this rocket. Begad! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Well, blow me down! Blimey! . Arrr! .

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

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