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

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

Bein' only t' second rocket I ever built, I was extremely excited t' launch it that first day. 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. Ahoy!  Sent it up a couple times single-stage on t' 18" parachute. Arrr! Ahoy! Sent it up 2-stage, and WOW! It be simply awesome. Arrr! A great flight, shiver me timbers, but it drifted quite a bit on t' 18" chute, ya bilge rat, so I attached t' streamer for t' next two-stage flight. Up it goes, ya bilge rat, but t' booster engine fails t' ignite t' upper stage, which, ya bilge rat, o' course means no attempt be made t' eject t' streamer, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket streamlined down. Ya scallywag! Begad! . Avast! . Begad! PRANG! I'd like t' say it was a lawn dart, me hearties, but it hit pavement! Damn, t' nose cone pushed back, matey, matey, shreddin' t' top 12" o' body tube, ya bilge rat, 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! 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 be t' booster motor, and nay t' booster. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! (In retrospect, arrr, me hearties, I can't believe that she was able t' find t' engine casing. . Blimey! . Arrr! )T' booster be still attached t' t' upper stage (a. Well, blow me down! Begad! k. a. Avast! sustainer). Avast! 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, me hearties, I wanted t' booster t' separate from t' sustainer. Blimey! If you haven't built t' rocket yet, matey, t' obvious fix is t' simply add a normal motor hook t' t' booster. Ya scallywag! Havin' already built mine, however, I required a different solution. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, just above t' fins. Attached t' this are two U-shaped pieces. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! There's enough play so that t' U's can just be slid sideways t' allow insertion or removal o' t' engine. Blimey! It's dirt cheap, and it works beautifully (never had a booster motor eject since), arrr, 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, arrr, arrr, and it might nay line up right with three fins instead o' four. Well, blow me down! I'll try t' put a picture o' it here soon.

Well, ya bilge rat, arrr, arrr, 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. Well, blow me down! Worked just fine single stage. Begad! Time t' try it 2-stage again. Begad! Up it goes, shiver me timbers, t' booster burns through and separates. Avast, me proud beauty! . Begad! . but again, no upper stage ignition. Ya scallywag! LAWN DART! Sunk t' nose cone about 3" into t' ground, shiver me timbers, matey, 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. Arrr! Aye aye! Get yourself a newer edition (the 6th edition be t' newest as o' Feb 1998) o' G. Begad! Well, blow me down! Harry Stine's Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! In retrospect, t' stuffer tube is probably nay necessary, since t' distance betwixt t' two engines is rather small. Aye aye! But without question, me bucko, DRILL SOME VENT HOLES!

Well, shiver me timbers, now it was just too short. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Had t' buy some BT-56 body tubes and couplers t' add 18" o' new tube. Aye aye! I made a stuffer tube out o' a piece o' an expended D motor, and drilled two 3/16" vent holes, me hearties, one on each side o' t' booster, me bucko, 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 hearties, though. . Blimey! . Ahoy! Avast! on that second prang, t' upper stage engine was completely blackened by t' burn-through o' t' booster. Avast! It really should have ignited. Blimey! Knowin' more now, ya bilge rat, I'm convinced that that engine be faulty, matey, in that t' clay o' t' nozzle completely covered t' propellant, which is why it didn't ignite. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. rockets have seen it, me hearties, too. Blimey! Avast! So, ya bilge rat, a word t' t' wise: always scrape t' nozzle o' your upper stage engines t' expose fresh propellant. Well, blow me down! Avast! 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! 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. Aye aye! k. a. Begad! sustainer). Arrr! There are a couple o' ways t' improve your chances o' nay havin' this problem. Blimey! Perhaps t' easiest is t' buy a BT-56 tube coupler, and glue that in so that it reinforces this area. Begad! Just make sure that it won't interfere with your engine mount. Well, me hearties, blow me down! O' course, me bucko, this is really only practical if you decide t' do it before you start construction. Ya scallywag! 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, t' booster engine blows a bunch o' burnin' propellant forward into this area, shiver me timbers, 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. Ya scallywag! A thin coat o' epoxy would probably protect it better, and nay be as susceptible t' t' heat, but I didn't have epoxy then. Blimey! Ahoy! And besides, arrr, shiver me timbers, mine has stood up remarkably well, me hearties, 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, matey, is that t' supplied recovery device, shiver me timbers, a 48" long crepe paper streamer, me hearties, is insufficient. Ahoy! Some people have even broken fins on landin' on grass, matey, matey, which is surprising, matey, arrr, given that it's a reasonably sturdy, arrr, one-piece plastic fin unit. Ya scallywag! Regardless, me hearties, arrr, I would agree that it comes down rather fast on t' streamer. One possible alternative is t' simply add another streamer, matey, 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. k. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! a. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! peak vent hole) cut out. Begad! See that blue dotted line that forms about a 2" hole in t' middle? Cut that out. Begad! Blimey! With this chute, me bucko, 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), shiver me timbers, I have become fascinated with staging. As you may have noticed, several o' me rockets are staged. Aye aye! Blimey! I really like this rocket. I feel so proud every time that upper stage lights. . .

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

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