Brief:
T' Longspear be t' recycled body tube and fin can o' t' Sky Longmarch 3. Avast, me proud beauty! It still uses an 18mm motor but is now a longneck rocket.

Modifications:
Earlier this year, shiver me timbers, I bought Sky's Longmarch 3 from Apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket was a simple build with a distinctive look t' it and, while it would nay win any contests, ya bilge rat, I be quite happy with it. It did, however, matey, have a few problems. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! One was t' extremely large chute, ya bilge rat, 20" I think, which caused it t' drift too far. Blimey! That was seldom a problem because t' shock cord usually failed and t' thin' would plummet t' t' earth none t' worse for wear.

T' original shock cord mount consisted o' a piece o' sewin' elastic held in place with an Estes style mount. Begad! It seemed that no matter how much waddin' be put it, me hearties, t' elastic would burn through. I decided t' solve this problem by mountin' some Keelhaul®©™® with epoxy, ya bilge rat, LOC/Precision style and then tie t' elastic t' t' Keelhaul®©™. Blimey! I got t' launch this small mod one time, used plenty o' dog barf and...the elastic burned through again. T' lower body came down a few yards from t' launch site with no harm and I got t' watch me very distinctive nosecone drift under it's overlarge chute until it be lost in t' distance somewhere over US-87.

Not wantin' t' give up completely, me hearties, I decided t' scavenge t' lower body and build somethin' else. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I wanted t' keep t' "Longmarch" theme and decided t' build t' Longspear 3.

T' lower body o' t' Longmarch 3 consists o' a plastic fin can and a pre-detailed paper tube. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! It is nay a kraft paper tube and is nay spiraled. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! It has single vertical seam runnin' t' length o' t' tube and a very glossy finish. It is just a tad larger than a BT-55.

I had some BT-5 tubin' layin' around so decided t' make t' upper body out o' that since I also had a nosecone which would fit. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I did nay have a shoulder that would go from BT-55 t' BT-5. Begad! Blimey! T' best I could do be BT-55 t' BT-20. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Since I also had a shoulder that would connect a BT-20 and a BT-5 along with a few BT-20 tubes, shiver me timbers, t' spear got longer which did nay bother me. Blimey! Blimey! I like long, skinny rockets. Begad! Blimey! I decided t' used t' tubes full length as they came from Estes. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I should probably rethink t' "3" part o' t' name.

Assemblin' t' Longspear 3 was simplicity itself. I used CA t' glue t' nosecone t' t' upper body tube, t' upper body tube t' t' first shoulder, t' first shoulder t' t' middle body tube and t' middle body tube t' t' lower shoulder. Aye aye! With each addition, I had t' check t' make sure everythin' be straight but that be nay too hard. I put t' screw eye in t' lower shoulder with some carpenter's glue and then it be time t' try and fit t' new assembly t' t' old lower body from t' Longmarch 3. Avast, me proud beauty! That is where I encountered t' only real trouble.

As I stated in t' beginning, this Chinese rocket's body tube is nay exactly equivalent t' a BT-55 and t' fit was very loose. T' same was true o' t' old nosecone as well. Begad! I used some 18mm Tamiya maskin' tape t' make it a little more snug. Arrr! Well, blow me down! In fact, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I taped it almost t' t' point where t' tape is as wide as t' transition section but nay quite. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! That seems t' be just about enough but t' upper section is still a bit looser than "normal". Ahoy! An X-Acto knife trimmed t' excess tape and t' rocket be ready for finishing.

Elmer's filler was used on t' balsa nosecone and t' transitions. Arrr! A little be applied t' an area o' spiralin' that seemed t' need some work but, frankly, matey, nay much effort was put into fillin' t' spirals. A bit o' light sandin' and it be ready for paint.

Finishing:
I am nay very good at paintin' and don't particularly like doin' it. Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! No matter how careful I am, I seem t' botch things with a run that ruins or at least seriously degrades t' project. Avast! Aye aye! I have had bad luck with maskin' tape either lettin' paint seep under t' edge o' t' tape or peelin' up previous layers. Well, blow me down! A guy in me local hobby shop recommended Tamiya maskin' tape for models and it has worked much better but it is expensive! While re-readin' Tim Van Milligan's book, arrr, matey, he recommended usin' cellophane tape. Arrr! I decided t' give it a try.

T' paint scheme I chose be very simple. Ya scallywag! Avast! I be goin' t' paint t' shoulders blue t' match t' trim on t' Longmarch 3 and then paint t' nosecone red. I decided t' try and do a little more and masked off for a simple roll pattern stripe on t' shoulder in white. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I painted and came out with a mess. Aye aye! T' cellophane had leaked badly.

Instead o' strippin' and tryin' again, shiver me timbers, I used Tamiya tape t' extend t' blue area a bit above and below t' shoulders and did away with t' stripe altogether. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! While I was at it, matey, I decided t' paint a portion o' each o' t' upper BTs red so I masked for that as well. Arrr! Begad! T' results this time were much better. Blimey! I had one bad spot o' leakage that could be fixed but launch day is nigh and she's goin' "as is".

Final preparation for t' Longspear 3 involved ties a 16" piece o' ¼" elastic t' t' Keelhaul®©™ loop and tyin' off t' other end t' t' nosecone. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! It was ready t' go.

Construction:

• Lower Body from Sky Longmarch 3
• Estes BT-20 tube
• Estes BT-5 tube
• Semroc BNC-5W Ogive Nose Cone
• Semroc TA-2055 BT20 t' BT-55 Shoulder
• Semroc TA-520 BT5 t' BT20 Shoulder
• Semroc SE-1 1" screw eye

PROs: easy, very distinctive

CONs: t' long rocket is awkward

Flight and Recovery:
T' first flight be on an Estes B4-2. Everythin' prepped as normal and it be time t' launch t' rocket. Up it went doin' exactly what it be supposed t' do. Aye aye! It almost looked graceful. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' 2 second delay be just right and t' chute deployed and brought it down gently. Ahoy! Aye aye! I has some worries about this because I used a 12" nylon chute but it did fine. It was a good maiden flight and confirmed me instinct never t' try this with an A motor.

T' second flight be with an Estes C6-3. Aye aye! Everythin' went together just like before and t' rocket flew off great just like before only higher. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Deployment be just right with a 3 second delay on a C. Begad! Blimey! I think this rocket could handle an 18mm D with a 5 second delay but I don't have one.

I didn't have another C6-3 either so I used a C6-5 for t' third flight o' t' day. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Again, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' rocket was easily prepped and launched but things changed at about 80 feet. Arrr! It seemed as if t' motor stopped thrusting. Avast! Begad! When that happened, t' nose began t' drop and it continued t' do so, swingin' through about 270 degrees so that it be facin' down at one point and then swung back t' near horizontal. Arrr! Arrr! At that point, t' motor began thrustin' again and it took off horizontally flyin' a long way. Ahoy! T' chute deployed as it was supposed t' and it recovered with just a mild dent in t' topmost body tube. Avast! I am at a loss t' explain this weird behavior.

PROs: flew well except for t' anomalous final flight

CONs: t' anomalous final flight

Summary:
T' main pro o' this one is that I got t' use t' lower body for t' Longmarch over again. Avast! I have no artistic talent and hated t' waste that nicely decorated tube.