All around, me bucko, a very impressive model rocket, probably still me favorite. Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, that is.

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I was a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, ya bilge rat, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! Blimey! It was simply awesome. Arrr! Blimey! A great flight, me hearties, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, shiver me timbers, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Up it goes, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, o' course means no attempt was made t' eject t' streamer, so t' rocket streamlined down. Avast! Blimey! . . Well, blow me down! Blimey! PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it be a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, me bucko, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. Aye aye! 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. 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. Avast! (In retrospect, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. Aye aye! . Avast! . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. Aye aye! a. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! sustainer). I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, arrr, but it be obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, me bucko, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Blimey! Ya scallywag! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, arrr, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Begad! Havin' already built mine, however, me hearties, I required a different solution. I ended up makin' this bizarre contraption o' bent-up paper clips t' retain t' booster motor. Begad! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, arrr, just above t' fins. Aye aye! Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Ahoy! Begad! T' tops o' t' U's are hooked t' t' ring, arrr, and t' bottom o' t' U's fit snugly under t' motor casin' when it's installed in t' booster. Avast! T' help hold t' U's in place, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, though I'm nay sure how necessary they are. Begad! 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 bucko, but it isn't much t' look at. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I've never made another one for any other rocket because it would probably maul a balsa wood fin pretty badly, shiver me timbers, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Blimey! 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). Avast! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Made sure it was still stable and went out t' try again, this time at a club launch. Worked just fine single stage. Avast! Ya scallywag! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Ahoy! Up it goes, matey, t' booster burns through and separates. Well, blow me down! . Blimey! Ahoy! . Blimey! but again, no upper stage ignition. Well, blow me down! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, ya bilge rat, and ripped up a lot more body tube. Arrr! Avast! Only difference this time is that I got some good advice from t' nice folks in t' GSSS club. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Blimey! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Begad! Aye aye! This book has a whole chapter devoted t' staging. Aye aye! Consider a short stuffer tube t' direct t' flamin' bits o' propellant more directly at t' upper stage engine. Well, blow me down! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Well, blow me down! But without question, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, now it was just too short. Ya scallywag! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Blimey! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, ya bilge rat, me bucko, one on each side o' t' booster, me hearties, 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, though. Arrr! . Ahoy! . on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! It really should have ignited. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Knowin' more now, shiver me timbers, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, arrr, which is why it didn't ignite. Blimey! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which was so bad it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), me bucko, and others on rec. models. Ya scallywag! Begad! rockets have seen it, matey, too. So, me hearties, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Begad! 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, 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, me proud beauty! k. Begad! a. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! sustainer). Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! 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, matey, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Well, matey, blow me down! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Arrr! Arrr! O' course, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. This can cause t' paper tube coupler t' char pretty badly, shiver me timbers, matey, especially after many stagings. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I coated all t' inside surface o' t' top o' me booster with a thin coat o' t' regular yellow wood glue. Ahoy! Arrr! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. And besides, arrr, mine has stood up remarkably well, me hearties, arrr, 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, arrr, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, matey, is insufficient. Aye aye! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, arrr, me bucko, which is surprising, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, matey, one-piece plastic fin unit. Ya scallywag! Regardless, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Begad! Blimey! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, matey, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). However, matey, I've settled on usin' a standard Estes 12" plastic parachute with t' spill hole (a. Blimey! k. Begad! a. peak vent hole) cut out. Begad! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, ya bilge rat, 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! Aye aye! As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. Avast! Begad! I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Begad! . .

Update on 1997 Oct 12. Begad! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! . I lost t' upper stage o' this rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! :-( T' booster portion went fine, with a slight arc. Avast, me proud beauty! T' upper stage ignited successfully, me bucko, and continued that arc. Blimey! Blimey! T' sustainer was painted yellow and orange, matey, and it be headin' right into t' sunset, me hearties, 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, me proud beauty! . Arrr! Aye aye! . Begad! Arrr! I have essentially re-built t' upper stage. It's all from scratch, with balsa fins and and Estes parts (body tubes, motor mount, and nose cone). Other than usin' balsa for t' fins, thar's really nay much that I changed in t' construction, arrr, I really liked it t' way it was. Ahoy! 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.