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

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

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