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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, shiver me timbers, arrr, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Ya scallywag!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Begad! Avast! Sent it up 2-stage, me bucko, and WOW! It be simply awesome. A great flight, me bucko, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Avast! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, shiver me timbers, arrr, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. . . Avast, me proud beauty! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, matey, ya bilge rat, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, 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 was caused by t' booster motor ejectin' from t' booster before it could ignite t' upper stage engine. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! . . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! k. Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! a. Avast, me proud beauty! sustainer). I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, arrr, ya bilge rat, 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! Begad! Blimey! 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. Havin' already built mine, ya bilge rat, matey, however, arrr, 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, just above t' fins. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Well, blow me down! 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. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! It's dirt cheap, matey, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me hearties, shiver me timbers, but it isn't much t' look at. Arrr! Blimey! 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. Begad! 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 was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Worked just fine single stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! Up it goes, me bucko, t' booster burns through and separates. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! . Arrr! . but again, shiver me timbers, matey, no upper stage ignition. Arrr! Blimey! LAWN DART! Blimey! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Blimey! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Arrr! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Begad! Aye aye! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. Begad! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

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

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

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Blimey! . Begad! Ya scallywag! . I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Aye aye! Begad! It's all from scratch, shiver me timbers, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, me bucko, and nose cone). Ya scallywag! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, matey, 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 was that instead o' t' orange and yellow paint on t' old one, t' new one is a pretty cool-lookin' blue and yellow.