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Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Page

AKA: hcmbanjo
Location: Orlando, FL
Club Memberships: NAR
Favorite Rockets: Estes Goblin
Personal Home Page: www.oddlrockets.com
Club Home Page: www.R-O-C-K.org
RocketReviews.com Pages:
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2025-02-08

Engines Score!

Blog
While I wait for the Black Star Voyager paint to dry - before the decals . . . I spotted some engines for sale on the Facebook Rocketry Yard Sale...Buy, Sell, Trade page. Orlando area, local pick-up only. I contacted the seller and asked about the 14 packs of "T" motors and one pack of C6-3s. I have plenty of A8-3 and C6-5s. More than half price off! I don't check rocket listings ... [More]

New 2025 Estes Catalog Is Posted

Blog
On Y.O.R.F., Turbofireball let us know and Earl posted this PDF link: CLICK HERE Look for the Red NEW bullet points to find the latest releases. [More]

2025-02-07

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 33, Gloss Black

Blog
After waiting 48 hours and some final sanding with 800 grit, The final gloss black paint was sprayed. Probably a good thing I blackened the inside surfaces early on. This is a tough one to get an even coat on, lots of inside corners. The masking tape was removed to see the metallic black on the vanes. The contrast probably wasn't worth the extra effort. It shows up much better in direct ... [More]

2025-02-06

Using Scissors On Kevlar? TIP

Blog
There's some talk on the forums about scissors. Some builder have mentioned using common household scissors to cut Kevlar! Household scissors are meant to cut paper and fabric. Growing up, I can remember hearing may Mother saying: "Where are my good scissors?" They wouldn't remain the "good scissors" for long after cutting a few lengths of Kevlar. Kevlar is said to be five times stronger than ... [More]

2025-02-05

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 32, Launch Lugs

Blog
I didn't (really) forget the launch lugs. I was concerned about being able to sand and smooth the fillet ridges where the lower fin half center tips are close. The lower lug would be in the way of the sanding. I marked the lug positions with pencil and scraped away the black paint down to the body tube surface. The scraped area is slightly shorter than the length of the launch lugs. The width is ... [More]

2025-02-04

New Painting Wands

Blog
I'm overdue for some new painting wands! These are painting handles that slip into an engine mount and lock in the engine mount. You'll need dowels, 7/16" in diameter to slide into used 18mm engine casing. Cut the dowels to about 15" long. No reason to knock out the clay nozzle, the dowel end rests against the nozzle. The dowels will be friction fit inside the engine casing. Draw a pencil line ... [More]

2025-02-03

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 31, Sanding the Black Paint

Blog
I'll be spending the next few days smooth sanding the black paint. Concentrating on the fillet ridges, I'm light sanding with a well worn piece of 400 grit. I don't want sanding scratches to show in the final coat of paint. This model will be sprayed with gloss black. It will show every spot of glue, balsa grain and speck of dust. [More]

2025-02-02

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 30, Black Paint

Blog
Here's the vanes sections, sprayed with the black metallic paint. Masking the vanes was a pain. It reminds me of a beehive - too many small pieces of tape! The main body and fins were sprayed with gloss black. I peeked under the tape to see if there was much difference between the metallic black and gloss black. In all honesty, it wasn't enough of a contrast to justify all the extra ... [More]

2025-02-01

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 29, Filling The Fin Halves Joint

Blog
The joint got a coat of CWF and sanding. Notice you can't see the U support piece, it's hidden inside the joint. I wrapped a paper towel around the vanes previously painted with the metallic black. I carefully sprayed some filler primer only on the joint. After that dried, it was sanded with 400 grit on a block. I was concerned about any misalignment of the joint but after sanding, the fit was ... [More]

2025-01-31

Estes Black Star Voyager Build, Part 28, Fin Joint & Inside Brace

Blog
These fin braces will be seen, so they got a coat of CWF and sanding. I still had to sand more, making the braces smaller to fit inside the joint. On the far left is the original fin size right off the balsa sheet. The brace next to it is a bit smaller for a concealed fit. Like the inside of the fin surfaces, the outside face was blackened with the felt tip, brush pen. I didn't use much glue, ... [More]

2025-01-04

Estes Mini Bertha Clone

Flight
- Estes A3-4t - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Estes Blue Origin, New Shepard

Flight
Stable with a B6-4, not so much with a C6-5. Flew a bit south over the trees. Recovered by other club members with the pole. No damage! - B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Semroc Snake Jumper

Flight
Launch wasn't vertical and veered off to the south. Landed in trees, given up for lost. - B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

2024-12-07

Centuri Vector V

Flight
My Centuri VECTOR V clone was first in the air with an Estes A8-3. On the left is an Estes Viking, the kit used to make my clone. Altitude was estimated to be around 225 feet. Reefed 12" chute recovery. - A8-3 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Odd'l Rockets Stealth

Flight
Stable and true. Broke off one of the smaller winglet fins, not recovered. - B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Odd'l X-15 Goony

Flight
A favorite is my Goony X-15 . Part are from a Quest X-15 parts pack but built around a shorter BT-60. Great stable flight using an older Chinese made Quest B6-4 motor. Estimated altitude was 325'. - German Made Quest B6-4 - ROCK Monthly [More]

ASP Micro Wac Corporal

Flight
This is the ASP MMX CORPORAL , a well performing MMX bird. It was easy to follow the Mylar streamer as it descended. - 1/8A-1 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

Semroc Centurion

Flight
Very stable, slow lift off. Ejection blistered the paint right above the baffle inside. - B6-4 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

2024-06-29

Odd'l Rockets Little Green Man

Flight
A little wobble on the way up. Not much altitude but recovered safely. - B4-4 - Muncie AMA Field [More]

2024-04-06

Quest MMX Saturn V

Flight
The larger fins really didn't help much, it was unstable after it cleared the short launch rod. - 1/8A-1 - Orlando R.O.C.K. [More]

2015-04-19

Rockets By Style / Kit-Bash/Modified

Photograph

Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Orange (Q Cobalt Kitbash)

2014-11-09

Rockets By Style / Kit-Bash/Modified

Photograph

MX-774 Kitbash on an Estes A8-3. Bunnell Blast, November 8, 2014

2012-09-22

Saturn Press Saturn V - Step 17

Build Entry
The outside curved lines of the Engine Fairing Shrouds were cut from the cardstock with scissors. The interior Fin Slots were cut with a knife and straight-edge. [More]

Saturn Press Saturn V - Step 16

Build Entry
The A Frames and Fins were pressed together. The C Frames are pressed into the A Frames and Fins. Be careful handling the Fin paint while assembling. Silver or metallic paints are easy to dull with fingerprints. After all were assembled dry (no glue) I applied white glue to all the joints with ... [More]