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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, 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, arrr, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Avast, me proud beauty!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Aye aye! Sent it up 2-stage, me hearties, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Begad! A great flight, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Up it goes, ya bilge rat, 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. . Arrr! . Begad! Ya scallywag! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' nose cone pushed back, arrr, matey, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! (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) was worried that I'd be upset because all she could find be t' booster motor, arrr, arrr, and nay t' booster. Blimey! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Begad! Ya scallywag! . Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! . Blimey! Arrr! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Avast, me proud beauty! k. a. Arrr! Well, blow me down! sustainer). Ahoy! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, matey, ya bilge rat, but it be 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! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, me hearties, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Avast! Havin' already built mine, shiver me timbers, matey, ya bilge rat, however, me bucko, I required a different solution. I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Well, blow me down! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, shiver me timbers, just above t' fins. Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Well, blow me down! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, arrr, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! T' help hold t' U's in place, me bucko, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, shiver me timbers, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Ahoy! 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, me proud beauty! It's dirt cheap, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me bucko, arrr, 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, ya bilge rat, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Begad! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, shiver me timbers, now it was just too short. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, matey, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Ya scallywag! It has since been flown no less than 6 times in 2-stage configuration, matey, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

One side note, ya bilge rat, though. Aye aye! . Aye aye! . Ahoy! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Begad! It really should have ignited. Ya scallywag! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, which is why it didn't ignite. I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. models. Aye aye! rockets have seen it, me bucko, too. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! So, matey, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Begad! 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! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, me bucko, 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. Aye aye! k. Aye aye! a. Blimey! Arrr! sustainer). Avast! Begad! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Well, blow me down! Begad! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, ya bilge rat, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Ahoy! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Well, blow me down! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Aye aye! 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, me hearties, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Arrr! 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. Ahoy! Blimey! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, mine has stood up remarkably well, ya bilge rat, 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, ya bilge rat, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, matey, shiver me timbers, is insufficient. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, me bucko, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, one-piece plastic fin unit. Begad! Blimey! Regardless, matey, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Begad! Avast! Blimey! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. k. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! a. Begad! Blimey! peak vent hole) cut out. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, arrr, 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, me hearties, me bucko, several o' me rockets are staged. Avast! I really like this rocket. I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . .

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Begad! . Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! . I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Ahoy! Arrr! It's all from scratch, me hearties, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, me hearties, and nose cone). Arrr! Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! 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.