Fliskits - Midnight Express (FRE01) Gallery

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Scotty Dog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
7,451
Reaction score
302
Figured I give it a try. My first cardstock rocket. Came up a little short on the seam. I think maybe cuz I used 80lb Glossy Card stock. Thats what I had. Got a little carried away with the color markers too. I had fun and its one more in the FLEET. Anywhoo- I could see myself doing some more of these.



post copied to gallery with permission
 

Attachments

  • Midnight.JPG
    Midnight.JPG
    82.1 KB · Views: 81
  • Midnight1.jpg
    Midnight1.jpg
    65 KB · Views: 83
  • Midnight2.JPG
    Midnight2.JPG
    55.9 KB · Views: 75
  • Midnight3.JPG
    Midnight3.JPG
    56.8 KB · Views: 81
  • Midnight4.JPG
    Midnight4.JPG
    60.4 KB · Views: 75
Last edited by a moderator:
OK - here is my Midnight Express that I recolored (in the computer, of course) to the Estes Goblin paint scheme - thus, the Midnight Goblin!
 
I have built more Midnight Expresses than any other single rocket design, and I've built them in a whole range of sizes, from MicroMaxx to high power. Here are a few of them.

In the first picture is an arrangement of TDD version MEs. From left to right they are a micro downscale, a mini-motor downscale, the original size and a 348% upscale.

Next is a closeup of the MicroMaxx downscale. It is just under 4.25" tall. The fin root is 19/32" and the fin span is 3/8". The nose cone is 1/2" tall and the body tube is 7mm in diameter. I have made several of them.

Next is a photo of my Mega ME. It is 41" tall, 2.6" in diameter and it has a 38mm motor mount. The body tube was made in four sections, and each section consists of 5 layers of cardstock, one layer of poster board and one layer of heavyweight photo paper. The top section is a payload section. The fins are solid basswood covered with photo paper. The nose cone is printed poster board with a layer of fiberglass added to the inside after the entire cone was constructed. I followed the established Midnight Express building methods as much as possible, so that, for instance, the nose cone shoulder is made out of several layers of rolled cardstock. The centering rings and bulkheads are hand-cut from basswood. The motor tube was rolled from cardstock, as were the 3 couplers for the 4 body tube sections. The recovery system, however, is not hand-made. It has a 15' length of tubular Kevlar for the harness, a Kevlar flame blanket, U-bolts and quick-links for attachments and a 32" SkyAngle parachute. I spent several hours every night for four months building this beast back in 2005. It weighs ~ 28-32 oz. fully loaded, depending upon nose weight (which is adjustable with fender washers). It has never flown, because I have not yet obtained my Level 1 certification.

The third photograph shows a couple of my micro Midnight Expresses standing in front of one of the Mega's fins. The fin root on the Mega is 6-1/8" long and the fin semi-span is 3-1/2". The fins are beveled (just as they should be), are 1/2" thick at the bottom and are mounted TTW. The nose cone is 4-15/16" tall.

Midnight Express family photo.jpg

Micro Midnight Express 2.jpg

Mega and Minis 2.jpg

Mega and Minis closeup.jpg
 
Back around the same time that I built the Mega, I also constructed 24mm and 29mm minimum diameter upscales of the Midnight Express, using the original color scheme. I gave them their maiden flights at my very first ever club launch in the spring of 2006. The 24mm ME had a terrific flight on a D12-5, but it had a recovery system deployment failure and came down in some dense woods at one end of the field. I searched but didn't find it. Subsequently my 29mm ME had an outrageous flight on an F25-9 that another club member gave me. It was the last launch of the day. We all watched it disappear into the sky and that was that; we never saw it again. The fellow who gave me the motor helped me look for it for 3 hours afterward but to no avail. It was my first ever composite motor flight and my first ever sacrifice to the rocket gods. :(

I had another MicroMaxx downscale of the original pattern Midnight Express; in fact it was the first micro version that I ever built. I foolishly tried launching it in my backyard one cloudy afternoon in the fall of 2006. The last I saw of it was a tiny squirt of tracking smoke silhouetted against the gray sky some 200' up and arcing over the back line of my property and into the woods behind it.

Perhaps someday I'll try launching another one. :wink:
 
Yeap! ya gotta love a micro midnight express. Flys like a dream and if you add a little 1/2" teflon streamer you can see it no matter what the sky conditions;)

MM 332a-sm_Micro Midnight Express on pad_05-26-07.jpg
 
Yeap! ya gotta love a micro midnight express. Flys like a dream and if you add a little 1/2" teflon streamer you can see it no matter what the sky conditions;)
Absolutely! The issue with mine was that it arced over the front line of trees and descended into the woods. (Some of my other micro rockets have met an identical fate.) There was no way that I was ever going to find it back there in the dense growth. I hope that the bears had fun with it.
 
I thought I'd share my computer colored midnight express that I call "Rainbow Express." The red, yellow, and blue vertical stripes alternate between the fins.

picture.php
 
Here's mine..

It's upscaled to 2X and has a deuce motor mount.

ME_Deuce_2.jpg
 
I've worked over the Midnight Express pattern to make it into a Mercury Redstone model. It still needs a bit of work.

picture.php


picture.php
 
Will do. I plan to give it a shot May 5th at our monthly launch. I'm very confident that it will fly to perfection. I've put a bit of silicone rubber in the cone to help with the stability.
 
Welcome to the Fliskits Midnight Express (FRE01) Gallery on TRF.

This gallery showcases the Fliskits Midnight Express (FRE01) and those rockets derived from it. Particularly appropriate in this thread are the following:


Fliskits: Midnight Express: FRE01



as well as any upscales, downscales, clones, kitbashes or other derivative works. Even Goonies qualify!



 
Last edited:
Fliskits Midnight Express (FRE01) Basic Information.

fliskits.gif
Fliskits

MODEL NAME: Midnight Express Also known as:

NUMBER: FRE01

Introduced:
Final Year:
Designer: Jim Flis

Type: Sport, Cardstock
Motor Mount: 1x18mm
Recovery: Streamer
Stages: 1
Length: 11.75"
Diameter: 0.736"
Span: 2.73"
Weight: 0.3 oz

Mfg. Description: The Midnight Express is a new spin on an old idea, "Paper Rockets". Building a model rocket entirely out of common paper card stock (except for the recovery device). There have been paper rockets used at conventions and even sold as kits. The "new spin"? You can download this kit as a pdf file, print it and build it.

And it's FREE!
Complimentary!
No Cost!
Chargeless!
(get the picture?)

The Midnight Express is constructed from simple patterns that fit onto a single 8 1/2" X 11" sheed of card stock (recommend that you use #60 or thicker). You can use glossy or flat finish, depending on the look that you prefer.

Also note that there are two pattern downloads. One pattern is pre-printed to match the image on the left. The second pattern is blank, giving you the freedom to decorate your model as you see fit!

In addtion to the downloaded pattern and instructions, you will need the following components to stabalize and launch/recover your Midnight Express model rocket kit:

12" - 18" Shock Cord material
18" Crepe Paper Streamer
12" Cotton Button Thread
Masking Tape or small tape disk
Clay Weight

(Fliskits 2013 Web Ad)


Advertising Liveries

fliskits-midnight%20express%20fre01-2013%20web.jpg
2013 Web Ad


Plan Images(s)

fliskits-midnight%20express%20fre01-plan%201.jpg
fliskits-midnight%20express%20fre01-plan%202.jpg
fliskits-midnight%20express%20fre01-plan%203.jpg


Instruction Header(s)

fliskits-midnight%20express%20fre01-instr%201.jpg




First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also:
TRF Build Threads

TRF Applicable Threads

LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.
 
Last edited:
After two flights my Midnight Express is getting a little long in the tooth. But it's all good, since I was expecting it to be blown apart by the ejection charge on the first flight.:D
0126201530.jpg
 
Back
Top