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

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