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

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

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