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

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero was me first model rocket. Well, blow me down! Naturally, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Begad! Nay one t' be deterred, me bucko, I searched on. Avast, me proud beauty! T' make a long story short, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Well, blow me down! 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! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. Well, blow me down! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

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