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

Construction was, as I recall, simple and straightforward, arrr, despite bein' only me second rocket. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, matey, arrr, but thar's no construction magic in that. With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, matey, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, arrr, I be extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Begad! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, me bucko, 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, arrr, and WOW! It be simply awesome. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. Well, arrr, blow me down! . . Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but it hit pavement! Damn, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, matey, 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 be caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Ya scallywag! 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, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and nay t' booster. Ya scallywag! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Begad! . Ahoy! . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Ahoy! k. Ya scallywag! Blimey! a. Well, blow me down! sustainer). Well, blow me down! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, but it be obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Avast! Aye aye! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. 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. It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, arrr, just above t' fins. Arrr! Ahoy! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Arrr! Begad! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, shiver me timbers, matey, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Well, blow me down! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Avast! Begad! It's dirt cheap, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), but it isn't much t' look at. Blimey! Aye aye! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, me hearties, despite t' major destruction, ya bilge rat, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, shiver me timbers, this time at a club launch. Avast! Worked just fine single stage. Aye aye! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Aye aye! Up it goes, matey, shiver me timbers, t' booster burns through and separates. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! . Well, me hearties, blow me down! . Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! but again, no upper stage ignition. Arrr! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, shiver me timbers, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Begad! Ya scallywag! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Blimey! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Avast! This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, ya bilge rat, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

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

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, 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. k. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! a. Arrr! Blimey! sustainer). Begad! Blimey! 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, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Arrr! Blimey! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, ya bilge rat, mine has stood up remarkably well, me bucko, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, matey, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, shiver me timbers, one-piece plastic fin unit. Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Well, blow me down! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, ya bilge rat, arrr, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Avast! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Arrr! Aye aye! k. Ahoy! a. peak vent hole) cut out. See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, me bucko, me hearties, 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), matey, I have become fascinated with staging. Aye aye! Avast! As you may have noticed, matey, several o' me rockets are staged. Arrr! I really like this rocket. Begad! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Ahoy! . .

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Blimey! Blimey! . Blimey! . Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Avast! Blimey! It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and nose cone). Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, I really liked it t' way it was. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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.