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

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

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