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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, me hearties, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, me bucko, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Begad! Ya scallywag!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It was simply awesome. A great flight, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Blimey! Up it goes, shiver me timbers, arrr, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me bucko, which, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket streamlined down. Blimey! . Begad! . Ahoy! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, me hearties, me bucko, but it hit pavement! Damn, me bucko, me bucko, t' nose cone pushed back, me bucko, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, shiver me timbers, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Arrr! (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. Begad! 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. Begad! Aye aye! (In retrospect, me bucko, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Begad! . Well, blow me down! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Begad! Aye aye! k. Blimey! a. Well, blow me down! sustainer). I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, 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, ya bilge rat, just above t' fins. Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. 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 hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but it isn't much t' look at. Blimey! 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. Ahoy! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

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

Well, now it be 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, one on each side o' t' booster, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Blimey! 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. Aye aye! . Blimey! Aye aye! . Begad! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Blimey! Begad! It really should have ignited. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 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 was so bad it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. Aye aye! Begad! models. Ahoy! rockets have seen it, too. Ya scallywag! Begad! So, matey, ya bilge rat, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! k. a. Well, blow me down! sustainer). 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. Aye aye! 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. Ahoy! 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, arrr, 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Aye aye! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, 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. Arrr! Aye aye! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, ya bilge rat, arrr, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, shiver me timbers, mine has stood up remarkably well, shiver me timbers, 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, matey, arrr, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Aye aye! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, matey, which is surprising, arrr, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, one-piece plastic fin unit. Ahoy! Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Arrr! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Begad! k. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! a. Blimey! Aye aye! peak vent hole) cut out. See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! 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. As you may have noticed, matey, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Begad! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . Well, blow me down! Ahoy! .

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

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