Brief:
Anyone who has paged through a 1973-75 Estes catalog has undoubtedly seen and puzzled over t' Goonybirds. Ya scallywag! T' Goonybirds were a series o' cartoonish, me bucko, youth-oriented rockets thought by some t' be t' flyin' equivalent o' t' Rat Fink hot rod characters, me hearties, me bucko, and thought by others t' be proof o' someone spikin' t' Estes water coolers. Ahoy! Economically mini-engine powered and easily built with stick on decals, arrr, t' original Goonybirds never really caught on, but in death they have developed somethin' o' a cult followin' among some BAR's.

While many rocketeers will admit t' a fondness for t' "Flyin' Freaks", mostly after a few beers, me hearties, ya bilge rat, one company in particular has taken that fondness a step further. Ya scallywag! Excelsior Rocketry has revived t' "Goony" name with a new series o' rockets based on t' Estes Baby Bertha. Well, blow me down! (A predecessor o' which was t' pretty much t' startin' point for t' originals.) T' Goonybird Zero is one o' these rockets, a rocket with a strangely familiar fin pattern and a decal sheet that one might swear they've seen somewhere before.

T' Goonybird Zero be t' Excelsior take on t' Estes Bluebird Zero, shiver me timbers, which means that it's a lot like t' original BBZ after a ferocious lawn dart. Blimey! Well, blow me down! For anyone who enjoys clonin' t' old kits, this constantly growin' series is a quick and easy way t' recreate t' spirit o' t' old kits usin' an inexpensive and readily available Estes Baby Bertha kit. Begad! Begad! You supply t' Baby Bertha and some balsa, matey, me hearties, Excelsior supplies t' fin patterns and imaginative decals.

Construction:
To build this you will need t' Excelsior Goonybird Zero plan pack and t' Estes Baby Bertha kit:

• 7.5" BT-60
• PNC-60L nose cone
• 2 CR-2060 centerin' rings
• CR-520 engine block
• 2.75" BT-20J engine tube
• Mylar retainer ring
• 18mm engine hook
• launch lug
• 12" parachute
• 24" sewin' elastic shock cord
• 24" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• medium snap swivel

Unless you've been stuck in RTF purgatory for t' past few years, t' Goonybird Zero should cause you no problems from a construction standpoint. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Built as a stock Baby Bertha with a different fin pattern and orientation, t' Goonybird Zero is a candidate for weekend project greatness. Aye aye! I used all o' t' normal tricks on this project, ya bilge rat, Keelhaul®©™ shock cord and Elmer's Fill & Finish t' hide t' balsa grain and tube spirals, and could have easily flown it on Sunday after startin' t' project on Friday if t' weather hadn't conspired t' thwart me. Begad! T' only problem I had with t' kit was that a wrap wasn't provided t' help mark t' fin locations on t' body tube. I solved this problem by usin' t' wrap from t' Estes Long John Silver kit, arrr, shiver me timbers, me hearties, (itself a 3 fin, ya bilge rat, BT-60 bird,) but I'm nay sure that a beginner would know where t' look for such a thing. Blimey! Begad! I attached t' fins with gel CA, shiver me timbers, then used a heavy run o' Elmer's Wood glue t' fillet them into place.

T' Keelhaul®©™ be anchored in t' forward centerin' rin' by cuttin' a slice in t' ring, then slidin' t' knotted end o' t' strin' into t' slice. Arrr! This was glued securely with wood glue before t' motor mount be installed into t' body tube. Aye aye! I took t' advice offered on t' construction sheet and moved t' mount up in t' body tube t' move t' center o' gravity forward, and based on t' flight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it sure didn't hurt t' stability in any way.

Construction was finished off with a 24" length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic, a medium snap swivel and t' stock parachute from t' Big Bertha kit. Couldn't be much easier.

Finishing:
After attachin' and filletin' t' fins I sprayed t' rocket with white primer, then sealed away t' tube spirals and balsa grain with thinned Elmer's Fill & Finish. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' entire rocket was sprayed gloss white, then masked off above t' small fins. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' top half was then sprayed with a nameless blue metallic paint that I've had for years, which coincidentally matches t' original BBZ paint fairly closely.

This kit has a pretty fair amount o' decals for a kit that's nay even a foot tall. Aye aye! While t' process o' applyin' t' decals isn't what one would call easy, it also isn't a killer. Ya scallywag! T' most difficult part o' this process is gettin' t' winged Goony t' sit flat in t' spaces betwixt t' three small fins. This takes some careful repositioning, matey, but puttin' a drop o' dish detergent in t' water makes this a fairly simple process.

Finally I sprayed t' whole bird with a cheap-o Big Lots clearcoat. T' finished product looks great and I plan t' check out t' Excelsior product line for some o' me other clonin' projects.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
After what seemed an eternity I finally found a free evenin' t' visit fabulous B6-4 Field in t' wilds o' Ft. Begad! Blimey! Thomas for a twilight launch. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' Goonybird Zero was t' first flight o' t' night and immediately attracted t' attention o' a group o' neighborhood kids, all o' whom I've know since kindergarten. Begad! Blimey! They traded their recovery services for t' right t' pick t' next flight and press t' button, a deal I'll make anytime.

T' first flight o' t' GBZ came t' an abrupt finish when t' ejection charge in t' B6-4 fired early, me bucko, much like a B6-2. Aye aye! T' early ejection charge cost t' rocket quite a bit o' altitude, but it recovered without damage and waited for another turn behind t' backlog o' rockets that I'd built since I'd last found time t' fly.

Flight two was on another B6-4, shiver me timbers, and this time t' ejection was dead on, me bucko, shiver me timbers, occurrin' just at apogee after a dead straight flight into dead calm skies. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' flight be surprisingly high and once again I be able t' send t' recovery team t' pick t' GBZ up only a hundred or so feet away.

Flight three was on another B6-4 in seemingly identical conditions, arrr, but at ejection it immediately became obvious that t' GBZ be in trouble as it began driftin' t' t' west on a breeze that apparently only existed above B6-4 Field. Avast, me proud beauty! It drifted toward t' trees that line t' field and have a voracious appetite for me rocket creations, ya bilge rat, unfortunately windin' up near t' top o' one o' t' larger trees, joinin' t' Big Dawg and Solar Sailer II as casualties on t' night. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I still enjoyed myself.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Pros: Cheap and easy t' build. Avast! Great lookin' finished product with minimal effort.

Cons: Rocket Eatin' Trees.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5