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, me proud beauty! T' get t' correct measurement, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! This gave us a perfect fit for an E engine when usin' t' retainer rin' mount. Arrr! 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, me hearties, which are 18" long each. Ahoy! 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! We also substituted a 22" nylon parachute instead o' t' Estes chute. Ya scallywag! This attaches t' t' excellent shock cord mount provided on t' tube coupler from t' stock kit. Blimey! 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, as well as t' original nose cone, but longer body tubes. Ahoy! Blimey! T' result is an impressive looking, 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. Ahoy! As noted above, you can use these t' assemble t' Stretched Blue Ninja modified kit as well.

T' build is very easy. I recommend that you paint/finish t' BT-60 body tubes prior t' assembly. Ahoy! Also, we decided t' fillet t' fins and paint our fin assembly, and nose cone for a better finish, 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. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Interestingly, t' Stretched Blue Ninja does nay weigh much more than t' unmodified kit due t' t' fact that t' painted body tubes, me bucko, shiver me timbers, even though they are longer than t' originals, weigh about t' same as t' tubes in t' stock kit, 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. Aye aye! They are integrated into t' fin assembly, shiver me timbers, and t' tube coupler, me hearties, and if you don't get them set up correctly, arrr, you probably won't be able t' do it later without havin' t' rip apart your rocket.

In general, matey, shiver me timbers, t' assembly is very easy, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 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. RockSim indicates this will go t' approximately 1,100 feet and that is what it looked like in t' field. 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! Blimey! We also plan t' fly this on Aerotech E30-7Ws in t' desert later this month. It should go t' about 1,800 feet on that motor.

Recovery:
T' 22" nylon parachute we used turned out t' be perfect, me hearties, providin' a nice moderate descent rate (looked like about 18 feet/second) without too much drift. 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, me bucko, but this modified version is a lot cooler. Ahoy! In particular, me hearties, t' slow liftoff and visible acceleration make it really excitin' t' fly. Begad! 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, wrong) angle. Well, me hearties, blow me down! However, ya bilge rat, matey, if you use t' correctly sized chute, this is very unlikely.