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

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

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