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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I be extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Avast, me proud beauty! I be a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Begad! Begad! Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast! Sent it up 2-stage, matey, and WOW! Blimey! It was 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. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Up it goes, ya bilge rat, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, ya bilge rat, arrr, so t' rocket streamlined down. Ahoy! . . Well, blow me down! PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, me bucko, arrr, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, me hearties, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me hearties, me hearties, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! (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. Ahoy! (In retrospect, arrr, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. . Well, blow me down! . Avast! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Avast! a. Ahoy! Blimey! sustainer). 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. Well, me hearties, blow me down! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, matey, shiver me timbers, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Havin' already built mine, however, me bucko, I required a different solution. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, me bucko, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Aye aye! T' help hold t' U's in place, shiver me timbers, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Ahoy! Begad! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Begad! It's dirt cheap, me bucko, me hearties, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), ya bilge rat, but it isn't much t' look at. Begad! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, me bucko, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Avast! Well, blow me down! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, shiver me timbers, now it be just too short. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Begad! 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, me bucko, 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, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

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

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! . Well, blow me down! . Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! It's all from scratch, arrr, matey, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, matey, and nose cone). Blimey! Well, blow me down! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, matey, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, me bucko, 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, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.