Brief:
This is a stretched version o' t' Estes "Blue Ninja" (kit #1300).

Modifications:
T' thrust rin' that comes in t' Blue Ninja kit need t' be cut shorter t' allow t' engine mount t' accommodate E engines. Avast! Begad! T' get t' correct measurement, arrr, ya bilge rat, we just placed t' thrust rin' on top o' a D engine, stuck and E engine next t' it, and marked t' rin' at t' correct distance. Blimey! This gave us a perfect fit for an E engine when usin' t' retainer rin' mount. Avast, me proud beauty! You can also still use D engines usin' a spacer block.

Toss out t' body tubes that come with t' standard Blue Ninja kit (or save for another project), and use two 2 Estes BT-60 tubes uncut, ya bilge rat, which are 18" long each. Aye aye! Arrr! You can then just assemble t' kit usin' t' instructions that come with it but usin' these parts instead.

Additional modifications we made were t' ditch t' "rubber band" shock cord in favor o' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with about eight feet o' Aerotech 3/8 inch elastic tied t' it. Begad! We also substituted a 22" nylon parachute instead o' t' Estes chute. Well, blow me down! This attaches t' t' excellent shock cord mount provided on t' tube coupler from t' stock kit. Avast! We used a 6" x 6" chute protector instead o' recovery wadding.

Construction:
This rocket uses t' excellent plastic fin assembly from t' Blue Ninja kit, me hearties, ya bilge rat, as well as t' original nose cone, but longer body tubes. Well, blow me down! T' result is an impressive looking, ya bilge rat, abuse tolerant rocket that provides really nice slow liftoffs.

T' instructions that come with t' Estes Blue Ninja kit are well written and easy t' follow/understand. Begad! As noted above, you can use these t' assemble t' Stretched Blue Ninja modified kit as well.

T' build is very easy. Aye aye! I recommend that you paint/finish t' BT-60 body tubes prior t' assembly. Well, blow me down! Begad! Also, matey, me bucko, we decided t' fillet t' fins and paint our fin assembly, ya bilge rat, and nose cone for a better finish, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but this is nay required.

We painted our body tubes with a cool blue metal flake paint t' try and preserve a little o' t' original Estes design. Begad! Interestingly, t' Stretched Blue Ninja does nay weigh much more than t' unmodified kit due t' t' fact that t' painted body tubes, even though they are longer than t' originals, weigh about t' same as t' tubes in t' stock kit, ya bilge rat, arrr, which have a relatively heavy adhesive decorative film on them.

Another thin' t' make sure you are careful doin' is t' get t' launch lugs aligned properly durin' assembly. They are integrated into t' fin assembly, and t' tube coupler, shiver me timbers, and if you don't get them set up correctly, you probably won't be able t' do it later without havin' t' rip apart your rocket.

In general, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' assembly is very easy, matey, just like t' unmodified Blue Ninja kit, and t' result is a very sturdy rocket.

Flight:
I recommend flyin' t' Stretched Blue Ninja on an Estes E9-6 BP motor. Ahoy! Ahoy! RockSim indicates this will go t' approximately 1,100 feet and that is what it looked like in t' field. Aye aye! Flights usin' this motor yielded a very nice slow liftoff followed by steady acceleration with recovery deployment just about perfect at apogee but in a nose-down attitude. Arrr! We also plan t' fly this on Aerotech E30-7Ws in t' desert later this month. Begad! It should go t' about 1,800 feet on that motor.

Recovery:
T' 22" nylon parachute we used turned out t' be perfect, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, providin' a nice moderate descent rate (looked like about 18 feet/second) without too much drift. Ya scallywag! T' combination Keelhaul®©™®/elastic cord we used worked flawlessly, as did t' Nomex® chute protector.

Summary:
T' stock Blue Ninja is a really fun rocket t' fly, me hearties, but this modified version is a lot cooler. Aye aye! In particular, arrr, t' slow liftoff and visible acceleration make it really excitin' t' fly. Plus t' kids enjoy flyin' a rocket that is nearly as tall as they are.

A downside t' t' rocket is that you may have trouble movin' it around if you drive a small car. Ahoy! Also, I am a little worried that t' airframe will bend if it takes a hard landin' at just t' right (or I should say, shiver me timbers, matey, wrong) angle. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! However, if you use t' correctly sized chute, arrr, this is very unlikely.