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

Construction was, as I recall, ya bilge rat, simple and straightforward, ya bilge rat, despite bein' only me second rocket. Aye aye! Sure, me hearties, me bucko, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Avast! 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. 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! 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.  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Begad! A great flight, ya bilge rat, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Arrr! Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, arrr, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. . . Ahoy! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, matey, ya bilge rat, but it hit pavement! Damn, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, me bucko, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Aye aye! (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. Aye aye! 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, matey, and nay t' booster. Begad! (In retrospect, arrr, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Begad! . . Ya scallywag! Aye aye! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Ahoy! Begad! k. a. Blimey! Ya scallywag! sustainer). Ahoy! Begad! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, ya bilge rat, but it was obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, arrr, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. 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, matey, I required a different solution. Begad! 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, shiver me timbers, just above t' fins. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! 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. Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Well, matey, blow me down! It's dirt cheap, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me bucko, but it isn't much t' look at. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ya scallywag! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, shiver me timbers, despite t' major destruction, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Begad! Made sure it be still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Aye aye! Blimey! Worked just fine single stage. Time t' try it 2-stage again. Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. . Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! . Well, blow me down! but again, arrr, me bucko, no upper stage ignition. Arrr! 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. Begad! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Begad! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. Well, blow me down! Blimey! In retrospect, matey, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, ya bilge rat, arrr, now it was just too short. Blimey! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Avast! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, matey, me bucko, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! 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. Avast! Avast! . . Begad! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine be completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! It really should have ignited. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Knowin' more now, ya bilge rat, arrr, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, matey, matey, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, me hearties, which is why it didn't ignite. Arrr! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which was so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. Ahoy! models. rockets have seen it, arrr, too. So, shiver me timbers, 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, 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. Arrr! Begad! k. a. Avast, me proud beauty! sustainer). Arrr! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Avast! O' course, me hearties, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. When stagin' occurs, me hearties, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, and then t' upper stage ignites and blows hot exhaust backwards into this area. Well, me bucko, blow me down! This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, matey, especially after many stagings. Ya scallywag! Begad! 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! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, arrr, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, arrr, but I didn't have epoxy then. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! And besides, mine has stood up remarkably well, me hearties, 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, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, is insufficient. Avast! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, arrr, arrr, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, shiver me timbers, one-piece plastic fin unit. Ahoy! Begad! Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, me bucko, 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. Ya scallywag! a. Well, blow me down! Begad! peak vent hole) cut out. Well, blow me down! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Ya scallywag! 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, shiver me timbers, several o' me rockets are staged. Ahoy! Arrr! I really like this rocket. Arrr! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Begad! . Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! .

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

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