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

Construction was, matey, as I recall, simple and straightforward, me hearties, despite bein' only me second rocket. Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, shiver me timbers, about all you have t' do is build t' motor mounts and shock cord mounts, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Blimey! Very easy and very straightforward.

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

Well, despite t' major destruction, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Aye aye! Made sure it be still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Avast! Worked just fine single stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Begad! Up it goes, me hearties, t' booster burns through and separates. . Ahoy! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! but again, me hearties, me hearties, no upper stage ignition. Begad! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, and ripped up a lot more body tube. 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. 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. Aye aye! In retrospect, me bucko, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, me hearties, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Blimey! Blimey! But without question, me bucko, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, ya bilge rat, now it was just too short. Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Blimey! Blimey! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, me bucko, one on each side o' t' booster, me bucko, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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 bucko, arrr, though. Arrr! Arrr! . . Avast! Avast! on that second prang, matey, me bucko, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It really should have ignited. Begad! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me bucko, me bucko, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, me hearties, which is why it didn't ignite. Well, blow me down! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which was so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! models. rockets have seen it, matey, too. So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, matey, me hearties, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! k. Arrr! Blimey! a. Aye aye! Blimey! sustainer). Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast! 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. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, 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. Begad! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, matey, especially after many stagings. Begad! Blimey! 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! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, shiver me timbers, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, shiver me timbers, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, 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, matey, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, 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. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! k. Blimey! Blimey! a. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! peak vent hole) cut out. Well, blow me down! Blimey! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Blimey! Blimey! 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. As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Avast, me proud beauty! I really like this rocket. Well, blow me down! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Ya scallywag! . Ahoy! .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. Begad! . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! . I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Aye aye! :-( T' booster portion went fine, with a slight arc. T' upper stage ignited successfully, and continued that arc. Ya scallywag! T' sustainer be painted yellow and orange, and it was headin' right into t' sunset, ya bilge rat, so we lost sight o' it. 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. Avast! . Begad! Arrr! . Arrr! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Avast! 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, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, I really liked it t' way it was. Avast! 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.