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

Construction was, as I recall, simple and straightforward, arrr, despite bein' only me second rocket. Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, ya bilge rat, but thar's no construction magic in that. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, arrr, ya bilge rat, 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. Well, blow me down! 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. Ahoy! Arrr! 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. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Aye aye! Sent it up 2-stage, matey, and WOW! It was 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. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, me bucko, me hearties, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. . Arrr! . Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! 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, 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) be worried that I'd be upset because all she could find was t' booster motor, ya bilge rat, and nay t' booster. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. . Avast! . Well, blow me down! Blimey! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. a. Begad! Blimey! sustainer). I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but it was obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, shiver me timbers, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Blimey! Blimey! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Havin' already built mine, however, matey, I required a different solution. Ahoy! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, me hearties, just above t' fins. Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. 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. Blimey! Blimey! T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, matey, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me hearties, but it isn't much t' look at. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, shiver me timbers, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Blimey! Blimey! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, me hearties, now it be just too short. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! 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, me bucko, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. 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, arrr, though. Ahoy! . Begad! . Begad! on that second prang, me bucko, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Ahoy! It really should have ignited. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Knowin' more now, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! models. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! rockets have seen it, shiver me timbers, too. Arrr! Blimey! So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Ya scallywag! 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. 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. Aye aye! a. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! sustainer). Avast! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Arrr! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Begad! Well, blow me down! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Begad! Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. When stagin' occurs, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, ya bilge rat, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Ya scallywag! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, especially after many stagings. Avast! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Arrr! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, shiver me timbers, but I didn't have epoxy then. Arrr! Ahoy! And besides, me hearties, arrr, 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, me hearties, me hearties, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, one-piece plastic fin unit. Avast, me proud beauty! Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, shiver me timbers, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). However, arrr, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! k. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Well, blow me down! 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), ya bilge rat, I have become fascinated with staging. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! As you may have noticed, ya bilge rat, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Blimey! . Avast! .

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

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