Brief:
Estes Blue Bird Zero upscale; uses 24-inch parachute recovery..

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Begad! Avast! Naturally, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. Begad! Blimey! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Nay one t' be deterred, me hearties, arrr, I searched on. Arrr! T' make a long story short, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Aye aye! I decided t' do a slight upscale t' BT-60 from t' stock BT-55 size mostly because that is what I had on hand at t' time. Ya scallywag! Avast! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Arrr! Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

When all t' gluin' was complete, shiver me timbers, t' entire rocket was skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. Aye aye! I then proceeded t' prime, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. After drying, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, me hearties, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Blimey! T' decals turned out good, shiver me timbers, and t' finished product looked great!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I prepped t' BBZ for her maiden flight on a D12-3. I installed t' wadding, motor, parachute, matey, arrr, and set her on t' pad. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket gives a nice, semi-slow, smokey, takeoff. She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Ejection was near apogee, and it recovered with no damage. Begad! After a perfect third flight, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' BBZ be OK, except for some nasty shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Begad! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Ya scallywag! Blimey! After a perfect boost and ejection, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Well, blow me down! It crashed on t' asphalt HARD — rest in pieces.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I have t' give both construction and flight five out o' five. Begad! Ahoy! Construction was fairly easy, and t' rocket flies very well.