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

Construction was, as I recall, simple and straightforward, me bucko, despite bein' only me second rocket. Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Begad! Blimey! With t' fins bein' one-piece plastic fin units with built-in launch lugs, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, I be extremely excited t' launch it that first day. I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, arrr, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet.  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Aye aye! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It was simply awesome. Aye aye! A great flight, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, arrr, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Aye aye! Up it goes, arrr, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, me bucko, me bucko, which, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket streamlined down. Aye aye! Avast! . Ya scallywag! Arrr! . Begad! PRANG! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, arrr, t' nose cone pushed back, arrr, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, shiver me timbers, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Ahoy! Begad! (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 be t' booster motor, me hearties, and nay t' booster. Ya scallywag! (In retrospect, matey, shiver me timbers, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Begad! . Blimey! Begad! . Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Arrr! k. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! a. sustainer). Ahoy! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, me bucko, but it was obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Begad! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Ahoy! Havin' already built mine, shiver me timbers, arrr, however, I required a different solution. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Arrr! Ahoy! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, just above t' fins. Blimey! Begad! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Ahoy! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, me hearties, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Begad! Blimey! T' help hold t' U's in place, matey, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Well, blow me down! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. It's dirt cheap, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), me hearties, but it isn't much t' look at. 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. 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). Arrr! Aye aye! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Avast, me proud beauty! Worked just fine single stage. Time t' try it 2-stage again. Up it goes, me hearties, t' booster burns through and separates. . Arrr! Arrr! . Arrr! but again, shiver me timbers, no upper stage ignition. Avast! Begad! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, matey, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Ahoy! Begad! 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. Begad! Begad! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Aye aye! This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Avast! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. In retrospect, ya bilge rat, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Begad! But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, ya bilge rat, now it was just too short. Ya scallywag! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Ya scallywag! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, matey, shiver me timbers, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, me hearties, 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, me bucko, though. Begad! . Ahoy! . Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! on that second prang, ya bilge rat, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast! It really should have ignited. Arrr! Aye aye! Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me bucko, ya bilge rat, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, which is why it didn't ignite. Aye aye! Avast! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bad it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), arrr, and others on rec. models. Ya scallywag! rockets have seen it, too. Well, blow me down! So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Avast! Aye aye! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

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

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

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