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

Construction was, as I recall, arrr, simple and straightforward, despite bein' only me second rocket. Aye aye! Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Avast, me proud beauty! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, matey, me bucko, about all you have t' do is build t' motor mounts and shock cord mounts, me bucko, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Avast! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I be extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Blimey! Arrr! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, ya bilge rat, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Blimey! Ahoy!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It be simply awesome. Blimey! A great flight, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, me bucko, arrr, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Arrr! Ahoy! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, me bucko, so t' rocket streamlined down. . Blimey! Aye aye! . Begad! Blimey! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, matey, but it hit pavement! Damn, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Begad! (the booster stage never separated) cause t' body t' crumple about 8" forward o' t' upper stage fin unit.

This stagin' failure was caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, and nay t' booster. Begad! (In retrospect, arrr, ya bilge rat, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Arrr! . Aye aye! Avast! . Ahoy! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! k. a. sustainer). Blimey! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, me hearties, 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. Ahoy! Arrr! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, shiver me timbers, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Begad! Havin' already built mine, however, I required a different solution. 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, arrr, just above t' fins. Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Avast! 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! T' help hold t' U's in place, shiver me timbers, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, shiver me timbers, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Aye aye! 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! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! 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. I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, me bucko, despite t' major destruction, me bucko, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Ahoy! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Worked just fine single stage. Blimey! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Up it goes, me bucko, me bucko, t' booster burns through and separates. Begad! . . but again, no upper stage ignition. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. 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. Avast! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Avast! But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

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

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

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