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

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