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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, shiver me timbers, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Avast! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, ya bilge rat, arrr, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Arrr!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Sent it up 2-stage, ya bilge rat, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! A great flight, matey, me bucko, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, me bucko, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me bucko, which, matey, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, matey, so t' rocket streamlined down. . . Avast! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! (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! Begad! I recall that me wife (who had t' job o' watchin' t' booster) be worried that I'd be upset because all she could find was t' booster motor, and nay t' booster. Begad! Aye aye! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Arrr! . Begad! . Begad! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Begad! Well, blow me down! k. Ya scallywag! a. sustainer). Well, blow me down! Begad! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, matey, but it was obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Avast! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Havin' already built mine, however, arrr, I required a different solution. Ya scallywag! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Ahoy! Begad! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Ya scallywag! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. 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. Ahoy! T' help hold t' U's in place, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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! Aye aye! It's dirt cheap, matey, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but it isn't much t' look at. Aye aye! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, matey, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, despite t' major destruction, ya bilge rat, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Ya scallywag! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Begad! Begad! Worked just fine single stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Ya scallywag! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. Ya scallywag! . . Avast! Blimey! but again, me bucko, no upper stage ignition. LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, shiver me timbers, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Ya scallywag! Blimey! But without question, 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, matey, one on each side o' t' booster, up near where t' bottom o' t' upper stage engine would be when its all put together. 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, me hearties, me bucko, matey, though. Aye aye! . Avast! . on that second prang, shiver me timbers, me hearties, arrr, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! It really should have ignited. Avast! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine be faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, ya bilge rat, which is why it didn't ignite. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! models. rockets have seen it, shiver me timbers, arrr, too. So, matey, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Arrr! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Blimey! Blimey! Well, blow me down! 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. a. Avast! Blimey! sustainer). Blimey! Blimey! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, arrr, matey, me bucko, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. O' course, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Well, blow me down! Arrr! 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. Arrr! When stagin' occurs, ya bilge rat, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, matey, me bucko, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Avast! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, arrr, especially after many stagings. I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Well, blow me down! Avast! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but I didn't have epoxy then. Blimey! And besides, arrr, ya bilge rat, mine has stood up remarkably well, shiver me timbers, matey, 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, me hearties, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, shiver me timbers, is insufficient. Begad! Blimey! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, me hearties, which is surprising, matey, me hearties, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, me bucko, one-piece plastic fin unit. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Regardless, matey, matey, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Begad! Blimey! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Blimey! Blimey! However, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Avast! Aye aye! k. Well, blow me down! Avast! a. Ahoy! peak vent hole) cut out. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. With this chute, matey, 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. Ya scallywag! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Begad! I really like this rocket. Aye aye! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Begad! . .

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

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