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

Construction was, as I recall, simple and straightforward, despite bein' only me second rocket. Begad! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Sure, me hearties, it's big and it's a two-stager, arrr, but thar's no construction magic in that. Ahoy! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, arrr, shiver me timbers, about all you have t' do is build t' motor mounts and shock cord mounts, ya bilge rat, and then assemble t' all t' pieces you see. Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Well, blow me down!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! A great flight, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. 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, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket streamlined down. Well, blow me down! . Avast! . Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, arrr, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. (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. Arrr! 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, arrr, and nay t' booster. Well, blow me down! (In retrospect, arrr, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Arrr! Arrr! . . Aye aye! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Well, blow me down! a. Aye aye! Begad! sustainer). Ahoy! 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, ya bilge rat, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Aye aye! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, matey, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Begad! Havin' already built mine, me hearties, however, I required a different solution. Aye aye! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Begad! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Arrr! Begad! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Begad! 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. Arrr! T' help hold t' U's in place, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, ya bilge rat, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Ahoy! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Arrr! It's dirt cheap, ya bilge rat, arrr, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), shiver me timbers, but it isn't much t' look at. Well, blow me down! 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. Ahoy! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, despite t' major destruction, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Blimey! Blimey! Made sure it be still stable and went out t' try again, shiver me timbers, this time at a club launch. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Worked just fine single stage. Time t' try it 2-stage again. Begad! Blimey! Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! . Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! but again, me bucko, no upper stage ignition. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! LAWN DART! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, matey, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! 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. In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. But without question, me hearties, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, now it was just too short. Avast! 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, me bucko, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, shiver me timbers, me bucko, one on each side o' t' booster, arrr, matey, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. Begad! It has since been flown no less than 6 times in 2-stage configuration, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and t' upper stage has lit every single time!

One side note, though. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! . . Begad! Blimey! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! It really should have ignited. Arrr! Blimey! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, arrr, shiver me timbers, which is why it didn't ignite. I've seen this situation in one other engine (which was so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), shiver me timbers, and others on rec. Aye aye! Blimey! models. Ya scallywag! Blimey! rockets have seen it, too. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! So, matey, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, 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. a. sustainer). Begad! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, me hearties, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Begad! Ahoy! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Blimey! O' course, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, 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, matey, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Begad! Blimey! When stagin' occurs, me hearties, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, ya bilge rat, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Aye aye! Blimey! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, arrr, especially after many stagings. Blimey! 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. Aye aye! And besides, me bucko, 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, is that t' supplied recovery device, shiver me timbers, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, ya bilge rat, which is surprising, shiver me timbers, me hearties, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, me hearties, one-piece plastic fin unit. Avast! Regardless, shiver me timbers, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, matey, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Begad! However, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Ya scallywag! k. Aye aye! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Arrr! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Blimey! With this chute, matey, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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), shiver me timbers, I have become fascinated with staging. Aye aye! Ahoy! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Begad! I really like this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Ya scallywag! . Begad! Begad! .

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

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