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! Blimey! One o' t' first that I downloaded be FlisKits' Midnight Express™. Arrr! I downloaded t' Pre-printed Pattern Sheet in t' PDF format from FlisKits. I printed it on 110lb Card Stock (Georgia Pacific brand purchased from WalMart). I also downloaded and printed t' instruction set. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Then got busy.

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

You will need t' provide a recovery system includin' a shock cord and streamer. You will also need clay nose weight. FlisKits recommends a 12-18" shock cord, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 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, me bucko, razor cutlass (hobby knife), arrr, white glue, an 1/8" dowel (for shapin' t' launch lug), me hearties, a short length o' BT-5 body tube, me hearties, and 3-4 expended engine casings (for shapin' t' body tube).

CONSTRUCTION:

Without gettin' into all t' details o' building, arrr, ya bilge rat, I cut each o' t' rocket pieces out o' t' pattern sheet and followed each step in t' instructions. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! 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! FlisKits points out that it is common t' have a gap near t' point. Ahoy! Good because I did.

T' fins are challengin' because o' t' number o' cuts and folds. Ya scallywag! T' fins are nay simply a doublin' over o' t' paper, me bucko, rather, they are built up and have a flat root and trailin' edge. Begad! T' leadin' edge is sharp, givin' t' fins an airfoil finish. Begad! Blimey! 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. This is accomplished by linin' up 4 motors and wrappin' t' tube around them. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Worked great. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' tube has a glue strip. Well, blow me down! It is cut out separately from t' body tube, arrr, me hearties, glued on t' inside edge o' one side and set aside t' dry. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Then t' other side is glued t' t' tab, aligned and makin' t' same level as t' first side. Well, blow me down! 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. It be attached usin' t' 3-fold paper method (outlined in t' instructions) t' t' body tube. Blimey! It be glued into t' tip o' t' nose cone per t' instructions. Begad! Then after that be dry I added Plast-i-Clay Modelin' Clay for t' nose weight. Ya scallywag! 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. Arrr! Blimey! I cut this from a roll o' Nomex® that I had purchased from t' now defunct Rogue Aerospace many years ago.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this rocket 5 points. Aye aye! I understand it is "free", 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. My weighed 0.4 ounces. Ya scallywag! What's 0.1 ounce betwixt friends? They recommend t' A6-4, me bucko, A8-3, B6-4, and C6-5 for motors.

My first flight was on an A8-3. Avast! Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Arrr! Everythin' be ready.

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

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

T' third flight was a week later on a B6-4. Ya scallywag! This time when it was goin' up, arrr, thar was a very tight spiralling-wiggle. Blimey! When t' trackin' smoke was seen, shiver me timbers, matey, 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. There colors on t' body tube show some stains, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Brin' trackers because it goes on a B motor.

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