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

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Ahoy! Arrr! Naturally, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. Ahoy! Aye aye! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Avast! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Nay one t' be deterred, 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. 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. Aye aye! Aye aye! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Arrr! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Avast! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, me bucko, arrr, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

When all t' gluin' was complete, me bucko, t' entire rocket was skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. I then proceeded t' prime, shiver me timbers, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Ahoy! Blimey! After drying, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. Blimey! Blimey! T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Avast! Blimey! Avast! 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, me hearties, ya bilge rat, parachute, and set her on t' pad. Ya scallywag! This rocket gives a nice, semi-slow, me hearties, smokey, takeoff. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Blimey! Ejection be near apogee, and it recovered with no damage. Aye aye! After a perfect third flight, me bucko, arrr, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. Begad! Arrr! T' BBZ was OK, shiver me timbers, except for some bilge-suckin' shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! After a perfect boost and ejection, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. 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. Aye aye! Avast! Construction be fairly easy, and t' rocket flies very well.