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

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