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

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Ahoy! Ahoy! Naturally, matey, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Aye aye! Nay one t' be deterred, I searched on. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' make a long story short, shiver me timbers, 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. Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. Begad! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

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