I decided t' do a bit o' "paper building" with some o' t' free rockets throughout t' Internet (See me "Free" Paper-Rocket Comparison Page). Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! One o' t' first that I downloaded was FlisKits' Midnight Express™. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I downloaded t' Pre-printed Pattern Sheet in t' PDF format from FlisKits. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I printed it on 110lb Card Stock (Georgia Pacific brand purchased from WalMart). Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I also downloaded and printed t' instruction set. Then got busy.

Interestingly enough, matey, t' rocket patterns were all contained on a single page and yet thar were four pages o' instructions. It is a testament t' t' effort put into this "free" rocket by FlisKits. T' instructions are well organized, well illustrated, and very detailed. Arrr! Excellent by any comparison.

You will need t' provide a recovery system includin' a shock cord and streamer. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! You will also need clay nose weight. Well, blow me down! FlisKits recommends a 12-18" shock cord, 12" o' Cotton Button Thread for a streamer shroud line, maskin' tape t' attach t' t' streamer, and an 18" Crepe Paper Streamer.

FlisKits also recommends that you have a pencil, razor knife (hobby knife), matey, white glue, shiver me timbers, me hearties, an 1/8" dowel (for shapin' t' launch lug), me hearties, a short length o' BT-5 body tube, and 3-4 expended engine casings (for shapin' t' body tube).

CONSTRUCTION:

Without gettin' into all t' details o' building, I cut each o' t' rocket pieces out o' t' pattern sheet and followed each step in t' instructions. Begad! T' two tough points in buildin' this rocket are t' nose cone and t' fins.

T' nose cone is just a bit tough because o' t' point and tryin' t' maintain a symmetrical finish. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! FlisKits points out that it is common t' have a gap near t' point. Good because I did.

T' fins are challengin' because o' t' number o' cuts and folds. T' fins are nay simply a doublin' over o' t' paper, rather, me bucko, they are built up and have a flat root and trailin' edge. Aye aye! T' leadin' edge is sharp, givin' t' fins an airfoil finish. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' accomplish this t' lines need t' be scored and folded properly t' make them look correctly. Aye aye! When finished t' fins are a little over 1/8" thick.

I liked t' method for rollin' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Avast! This is accomplished by linin' up 4 motors and wrappin' t' tube around them. Well, blow me down! Avast! Worked great. Arrr! T' tube has a glue strip. It is cut out separately from t' body tube, ya bilge rat, arrr, glued on t' inside edge o' one side and set aside t' dry. Ahoy! Then t' other side is glued t' t' tab, arrr, arrr, arrr, aligned and makin' t' same level as t' first side. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! This makes t' seam less noticeable.

T' nose cone shoulder and t' thrust rin' are essentially t' same patterns with one bein' rolled and glued into t' nose cone and t' other bein' positioned in t' bottom o' t' rocket.

I used 32 inches o' 1/32" Keelhaul®©™® for me shock cord. Begad! It was attached usin' t' 3-fold paper method (outlined in t' instructions) t' t' body tube. Ahoy! It was glued into t' tip o' t' nose cone per t' instructions. Ahoy! Avast! Then after that was dry I added Plast-i-Clay Modelin' Clay for t' nose weight. Arrr! I added enough t' get t' Center o' Gravity (balance point) t' where t' instructions indicated.

I added a 24" x 3/4" Nomex® Streamer. Ahoy! I cut this from a roll o' Nomex® that I had purchased from t' now defunct Rogue Aerospace many years ago.

Overall, me bucko, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this rocket 5 points. Ya scallywag! Begad! I understand it is "free", me hearties, matey, me hearties, but with t' quality o' instructions, it must be a 5.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

FlisKits indicate that t' Midnight Express™ should weigh in at 0.3 ounces. Well, blow me down! My weighed 0.4 ounces. What's 0.1 ounce betwixt friends? They recommend t' A6-4, me hearties, A8-3, shiver me timbers, B6-4, me hearties, and C6-5 for motors.

My first flight be on an A8-3. Avast! T' motor is friction fit into t' motor mount until it hits t' thrust ring. I added a couple o' balls o' waddin' and rolled t' streamer. Blimey! Everythin' was ready.

Tryin' t' get a picture be funny. Even though betwixt me son and I we have worked out a fairly good system we still missed it. Begad! Avast! Well, me hearties, matey, ya bilge rat, actually I got t' trail o' smoke. Aye aye! Aye aye! It was a good flight though. Blimey! Straight and seemingly stable. Ejection seemed early and down it came.

That was fun, so we did it again with a B6-4. Begad! This time it went quite high (for a rocket this size) makin' it hard t' see. Arrr! Begad! I saw t' trackin' smoke and t' ejection. Avast! T' ejection be clearly before apogee. Aye aye! We caught t' streamer flutterin' in t' sky and was able t' recover it successfully.

T' third flight be a week later on a B6-4. Aye aye! This time when it was goin' up, thar was a very tight spiralling-wiggle. Arrr! Begad! When t' trackin' smoke be seen, it did seem t' be startin' an apogee arc. Avast! Recovered.

T' nose cone shoulder is showin' a little wear, but in general t' rocket is holdin' up well. Well, blow me down! There colors on t' body tube show some stains, me hearties, matey, but this is from t' snow meltin' on it.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this rocket 5 points. T' flight o' t' Midnight Express™ is very good. Brin' trackers because it goes on a B motor.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 5 points. Avast, me proud beauty! Again, me hearties, this is a "free" rocket. So as such expectations are set a bit low. Well, blow me down! T' expectations are shattered with t' exceptional 4 pages o' instructions and t' flight o' this rocket. Blimey! It provides a unique rocketry buildin' challenge as well. Aye aye! Begad! And FlisKits even allows you t' download a blank pattern set so you can "style" it your own way! Nice job FlisKits!