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

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Begad! Naturally, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. Begad! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Nay one t' be deterred, ya bilge rat, arrr, I searched on. T' make a long story short, shiver me timbers, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Avast! 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! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, arrr, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

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