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

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