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

Construction was, matey, as I recall, simple and straightforward, ya bilge rat, despite bein' only me second rocket. Blimey! Sure, matey, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Begad! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Aye aye! Blimey! Sent it up 2-stage, matey, matey, and WOW! Blimey! It was simply awesome. Avast! Blimey! A great flight, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Ahoy! Blimey! Up it goes, ya bilge rat, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me hearties, which, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, shiver me timbers, so t' rocket streamlined down. Ahoy! Blimey! . . Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, me hearties, t' nose cone pushed back, me bucko, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me bucko, 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 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 be t' booster motor, ya bilge rat, and nay t' booster. Ahoy! (In retrospect, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Ya scallywag! Arrr! . . Well, blow me down! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Avast, me proud beauty! k. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! a. sustainer). Blimey! 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, me bucko, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, however, I required a different solution. Ya scallywag! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Aye aye! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Aye aye! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Well, blow me down! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, me hearties, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. T' help hold t' U's in place, shiver me timbers, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, matey, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Avast, me proud beauty! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Blimey! Well, blow me down! It's dirt cheap, matey, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), arrr, arrr, but it isn't much t' look at. Avast, me proud beauty! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, arrr, 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, despite t' major destruction, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). 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. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Blimey! Arrr! Up it goes, me bucko, t' booster burns through and separates. Avast! . Ahoy! . Avast! Arrr! but again, no upper stage ignition. LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, 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! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Avast! 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, me hearties, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Avast, me proud beauty! But without question, ya bilge rat, arrr, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, now it was just too short. 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, me bucko, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Well, blow me down! It has since been flown no less than 6 times in 2-stage configuration, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

One side note, though. . Ya scallywag! . on that second prang, matey, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Aye aye! It really should have ignited. Begad! Knowin' more now, matey, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, matey, 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. Arrr! models. rockets have seen it, ya bilge rat, too. Aye aye! So, arrr, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Aye aye! 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. Arrr! 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. Begad! Begad! k. a. Aye aye! sustainer). There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, me bucko, me bucko, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Blimey! 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. 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. 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. Ahoy! Ahoy! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, especially after many stagings. 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. Ya scallywag! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, ya bilge rat, mine has stood up remarkably well, shiver me timbers, matey, ya bilge rat, 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, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, ya bilge rat, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, me hearties, one-piece plastic fin unit. Avast! Regardless, me bucko, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Ya scallywag! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, 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. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! k. Begad! Blimey! a. Ahoy! Blimey! peak vent hole) cut out. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Aye aye! Blimey! With this chute, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, I have become fascinated with staging. Ahoy! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Ya scallywag! Begad! I really like this rocket. Avast! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Well, blow me down! . Begad! .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Ahoy! Aye aye! :-( T' booster portion went fine, with a slight arc. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' upper stage ignited successfully, me bucko, and continued that arc. Begad! Ahoy! T' sustainer be painted yellow and orange, me hearties, and it was headin' right into t' sunset, me hearties, matey, 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. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! . . Avast, me proud beauty! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Aye aye! It's all from scratch, matey, shiver me timbers, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, arrr, and nose cone). Begad! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, me bucko, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, 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, arrr, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.