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

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Well, blow me down! Naturally, matey, when I became a BAR, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' clone one. Ahoy! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Ahoy! Nay one t' be deterred, I searched on. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' make a long story short, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Ahoy! Begad! 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 bucko, me proud beauty! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. 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. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. Aye aye! Aye aye! (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. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I then proceeded t' prime, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Ya scallywag! After drying, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. Ahoy! Avast! T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Ahoy! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Ya scallywag! Well, matey, blow me down! T' decals turned out good, matey, 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, motor, matey, parachute, shiver me timbers, matey, and set her on t' pad. Avast! Begad! This rocket gives a nice, shiver me timbers, semi-slow, matey, smokey, takeoff. Begad! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. 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. Blimey! T' BBZ be OK, arrr, me hearties, except for some nasty shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! Construction be fairly easy, matey, and t' rocket flies very well.