All around, a very impressive model rocket, me bucko, probably still me favorite. It's sheer size gets attention. Ya scallywag! My orange/yellow/orange paint scheme gets attention. And when that second stage lights, it really gets attention... Avast, me proud beauty! if it lights, me bucko, that is.

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was 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. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Begad! Blimey! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! Blimey! It was simply awesome. Begad! Blimey! A great flight, arrr, me bucko, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, arrr, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Up it goes, me hearties, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, me bucko, so t' rocket streamlined down. Well, blow me down! Blimey! . Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! . PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, me hearties, arrr, arrr, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, ya bilge rat, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! (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. 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, matey, me hearties, me hearties, and nay t' booster. (In retrospect, ya bilge rat, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. . . Ahoy! Arrr! )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Avast, me proud beauty! k. Arrr! a. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! sustainer). Begad! 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, matey, 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, matey, shiver me timbers, however, shiver me timbers, I required a different solution. Ya scallywag! 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. Well, blow me down! 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. T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, shiver me timbers, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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! It's dirt cheap, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), but it isn't much t' look at. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, 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, me bucko, me bucko, matey, despite t' major destruction, me hearties, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Blimey! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, arrr, this time at a club launch. Worked just fine single stage. Begad! Blimey! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Up it goes, t' booster burns through and separates. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! . Ya scallywag! but again, ya bilge rat, no upper stage ignition. LAWN DART! Blimey! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Ya scallywag! Begad! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! In retrospect, matey, me bucko, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, me bucko, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Arrr! But without question, matey, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

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

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Although I haven't experienced this problem myself, me bucko, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! k. Begad! Blimey! a. sustainer). Begad! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, me hearties, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Begad! Blimey! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Avast! 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 hearties, 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, 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, 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. Blimey! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, me bucko, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, shiver me timbers, but I didn't have epoxy then. Begad! And besides, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, 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, arrr, is insufficient. Begad! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, me hearties, matey, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, arrr, one-piece plastic fin unit. Begad! Blimey! Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Blimey! Avast! Blimey! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Well, blow me down! Blimey! However, ya bilge rat, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Blimey! k. Blimey! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Begad! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Avast! With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, me bucko, 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, me hearties, several o' me rockets are staged. Avast! Blimey! I really like this rocket. Begad! Begad! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Blimey! Begad! . .

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

Update on 1997 Oct 19. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! . Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Blimey! . I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, ya bilge rat, arrr, motor mount, arrr, and nose cone). Avast! Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I really liked it t' way it was. 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.