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

Construction was, arrr, as I recall, simple and straightforward, despite bein' only me second rocket. Sure, it's big and it's a two-stager, but thar's no construction magic in that. Ahoy! Arrr! 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. Avast! Very easy and very straightforward.

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. I be a bit nervous about that 48" crepe paper streamer givin' a slow enough descent, me bucko, so I bought an Estes plastic 18" hexagonal parasheet. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! Blimey! It was simply awesome. A great flight, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Blimey! Blimey! Up it goes, me bucko, me bucko, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, so t' rocket streamlined down. Arrr! Blimey! . . Avast! Blimey! PRANG! Blimey! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, but it hit pavement! Damn, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' nose cone pushed back, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, and t' weight o' t' engines and fins etc. (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. Ahoy! Begad! I recall that me wife (who had t' job o' watchin' t' booster) was worried that I'd be upset because all she could find was t' booster motor, matey, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and nay t' booster. Begad! (In retrospect, me bucko, I can't believe that she be able t' find t' engine casing. Aye aye! Ahoy! . . )T' booster was still attached t' t' upper stage (a. k. a. sustainer). Ahoy! I didn't know much about stagin' at this point, but it was obvious even then that I didn't want t' booster engine t' eject backwards out o' t' booster, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Havin' already built mine, 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. Avast! Ahoy! It starts with a rin' around t' booster body, me hearties, just above t' fins. Aye aye! 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. Begad! T' help hold t' U's in place, thar are two cross members down near t' engine, ya bilge rat, arrr, 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. 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. Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Avast! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, despite t' major destruction, matey, I managed t' rebuild it (albeit 14" shorter). Ya scallywag! Made sure it be still stable and went out t' try again, ya bilge rat, this time at a club launch. Begad! Worked just fine single stage. Begad! Aye aye! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Aye aye! Up it goes, matey, t' booster burns through and separates. Ahoy! Ahoy! . . Well, blow me down! but again, matey, no upper stage ignition. Well, blow me down! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, 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. Avast! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Ahoy! Arrr! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Blimey! 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. Avast! Arrr! In retrospect, me hearties, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, arrr, me bucko, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! But without question, arrr, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, shiver me timbers, now it was just too short. Avast! 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, shiver me timbers, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, one on each side o' t' booster, matey, 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. . Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! . Aye aye! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Ya scallywag! Begad! It really should have ignited. Knowin' more now, I'm convinced that that engine was faulty, me hearties, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, which is why it didn't ignite. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! I've seen this situation in one other engine (which be so bilge-suckin' it wouldn't even ignite directly from an igniter), and others on rec. Ya scallywag! Blimey! models. rockets have seen it, too. Arrr! Blimey! So, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Begad! Blimey! I use a small eyeglasses-type screwdriver for this purpose.

There are a few other hints that I can think o' regardin' this rocket. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! 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. Ahoy! a. sustainer). Begad! 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, shiver me timbers, matey, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Ya scallywag! O' course, me bucko, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! 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 hearties, is t' coat t' inside o' t' top o' t' booster with glue. Arrr! When stagin' occurs, shiver me timbers, 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, 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. Begad! Begad! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, me hearties, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, matey, arrr, but I didn't have epoxy then. Blimey! And besides, mine has stood up remarkably well, ya bilge rat, 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. Begad! Avast! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, which is surprising, me bucko, arrr, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, shiver me timbers, one-piece plastic fin unit. Blimey! Avast! Regardless, me bucko, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. Arrr! Begad! One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, ya bilge rat, or make a significantly larger streamer (or both). Arrr! However, 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. Ya scallywag! With this chute, t' Long Shot comes down soft enough t' avoid significant landin' damage, matey, 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), arrr, matey, I have become fascinated with staging. Begad! As you may have noticed, ya bilge rat, several o' me rockets are staged. I really like this rocket. I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. Well, blow me down! . Begad! Begad! .

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

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