Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Brief:
Estes Blue Bird Zero upscale; uses 24-inch parachute recovery..
Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Naturally, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Avast! Nay one t' be deterred, I searched on. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' make a long story short, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Aye aye! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Begad! Ya scallywag! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. Arrr! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, me bucko, thanks in part t' yours truly.)
When all t' gluin' was complete, t' entire rocket was skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I then proceeded t' prime, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Avast, me proud beauty! After drying, me hearties, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, arrr, shiver me timbers, arrr, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Ahoy! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Avast! Begad! T' decals turned out good, ya bilge rat, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I installed t' wadding, me bucko, motor, parachute, and set her on t' pad. Ahoy! This rocket gives a nice, semi-slow, ya bilge rat, smokey, me hearties, matey, takeoff. She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection was near apogee, matey, arrr, me bucko, and it recovered with no damage. Aye aye! After a perfect third flight, arrr, me hearties, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. Begad! Aye aye! T' BBZ was OK, except for some bilge-suckin' shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Begad! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Begad! Ahoy! After a perfect boost and ejection, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! Construction be fairly easy, me bucko, me hearties, and t' rocket flies very well.
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