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

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero was me first model rocket. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Naturally, ya bilge rat, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Nay one t' be deterred, matey, arrr, I searched on. T' make a long story short, matey, arrr, me bucko, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! 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. I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Everythin' be glued with 30min epoxy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! (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. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I then proceeded t' prime, me bucko, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Ya scallywag! After drying, me hearties, me hearties, me hearties, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, ya bilge rat, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. Avast! T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. 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. Arrr! Blimey! I installed t' wadding, ya bilge rat, motor, ya bilge rat, me bucko, parachute, matey, and set her on t' pad. This rocket gives a nice, arrr, me hearties, semi-slow, smokey, arrr, me bucko, takeoff. Ahoy! Blimey! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection be near apogee, me hearties, arrr, me hearties, and it recovered with no damage. Aye aye! Blimey! 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! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' BBZ was OK, except for some bilge-suckin' shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Begad! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. After a perfect boost and ejection, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! 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! Blimey! Construction be fairly easy, me bucko, and t' rocket flies very well.