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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, me bucko, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Ya scallywag! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, ya bilge rat, matey, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Arrr!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Arrr! Aye aye! Sent it up 2-stage, ya bilge rat, and WOW! It be simply awesome. Arrr! A great flight, 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, which, arrr, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. . . Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, shiver me timbers, but it hit pavement! Damn, shiver me timbers, t' nose cone pushed back, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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 be caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! 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 be t' booster motor, and nay t' booster. (In retrospect, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! . Avast, me proud beauty! . Begad! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Begad! Aye aye! a. sustainer). Ahoy! 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, ya bilge rat, 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. Well, blow me down! Havin' already built mine, however, me bucko, ya bilge rat, matey, I required a different solution. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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, me bucko, me hearties, just above t' fins. Blimey! 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. Begad! T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, me bucko, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Ahoy! It's dirt cheap, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), shiver me timbers, 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, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Avast! Avast! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, despite t' major destruction, me bucko, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Blimey! Blimey! Worked just fine single stage. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Ahoy! Blimey! Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! . Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! but again, no upper stage ignition. LAWN DART! Blimey! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Begad! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! But without question, matey, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, me hearties, now it was just too short. Avast! 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 bucko, one on each side o' t' booster, shiver me timbers, matey, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! Blimey! . Arrr! . Begad! Begad! Blimey! on that second prang, me hearties, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. It really should have ignited. Begad! Knowin' more now, me bucko, I'm convinced that that engine be faulty, arrr, shiver me timbers, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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. Begad! models. Begad! rockets have seen it, too. Blimey! So, matey, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Avast! Ahoy! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Aye aye! 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. Blimey! k. Ahoy! Aye aye! a. Begad! Ahoy! sustainer). There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Well, blow me down! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Blimey! Avast, 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, ya bilge rat, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Ahoy! 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. This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, especially after many stagings. Blimey! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Ya scallywag! Arrr! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, matey, me bucko, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, 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, shiver me timbers, is that t' supplied recovery device, arrr, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, me bucko, me bucko, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, one-piece plastic fin unit. Well, blow me down! Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me bucko, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Ahoy! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. k. a. Aye aye! 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 hearties, matey, 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, matey, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Ahoy! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Begad! . Arrr! .

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

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