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

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