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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Arrr! I be a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, matey, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Avast!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Sent it up 2-stage, matey, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Ahoy! A great flight, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Avast! Begad! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me bucko, which, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. Well, blow me down! . Arrr! . PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, me bucko, 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 be 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. Aye aye! (In retrospect, ya bilge rat, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Begad! . . Begad! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Begad! a. Blimey! Aye aye! sustainer). I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, me bucko, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Havin' already built mine, matey, however, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I required a different solution. Blimey! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Arrr! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Avast! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' help hold t' U's in place, me bucko, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, ya bilge rat, me hearties, 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. Begad! Avast! It's dirt cheap, matey, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), but it isn't much t' look at. Avast! 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. Ya scallywag! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, shiver me timbers, despite t' major destruction, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, arrr, me hearties, this time at a club launch. Ya scallywag! Begad! Worked just fine single stage. Aye aye! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Aye aye! Aye aye! Up it goes, matey, matey, t' booster burns through and separates. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! . Ya scallywag! . Ahoy! Avast! 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. Aye aye! Avast! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Arrr! Begad! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Ahoy! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Blimey! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, arrr, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Blimey! Blimey! But without question, shiver me timbers, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, arrr, now it be just too short. Arrr! 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, 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. 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, though. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! on that second prang, ya bilge rat, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. It really should have ignited. Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, matey, which is why it didn't ignite. I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bad it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. models. Avast, me proud beauty! rockets have seen it, arrr, too. Avast! Blimey! So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Avast! Blimey! 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. Arrr! 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. k. Avast! a. Blimey! sustainer). Avast! Begad! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Aye aye! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, arrr, me hearties, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, ya bilge rat, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! When stagin' occurs, me hearties, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, matey, arrr, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Begad! Ahoy! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, me bucko, especially after many stagings. Blimey! Aye aye! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Begad! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, mine has stood up remarkably well, matey, 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, is insufficient. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, shiver me timbers, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, 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! Blimey! However, arrr, arrr, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Begad! Arrr! k. a. peak vent hole) cut out. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! With this chute, matey, 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. Aye aye! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Avast! I really like this rocket. Aye aye! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. . Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! . Aye aye! I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! :-( T' booster portion went fine, with a slight arc. Avast! T' upper stage ignited successfully, and continued that arc. Begad! T' sustainer be painted yellow and orange, shiver me timbers, and it was headin' right into t' sunset, so we lost sight o' it. Ahoy! 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, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! . Begad! . Begad! Blimey! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Begad! Blimey! It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, ya bilge rat, motor mount, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, and nose cone). Avast, me proud beauty! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, shiver me timbers, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, I really liked it t' way it was. Ya scallywag! About t' only other thin' that I changed be that instead o' t' orange and yellow paint on t' old one, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.