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

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

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