Of t' new P.M.L. kits for late 1998, one really stood out: t' Lunar Express. Arrr! This rocket is a forward-to-the-past type o' rocket, arrr, a real 1950s design for a futuristic rocket. Well, ya bilge rat, I just had t' build it!

As an aside, I get tired o' all t' kits lookin' basically t' same. Ahoy! T' standard 3FNC (three fins and nose cone) look gets old pretty quickly. Begad! P.M.L. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! did a nice job o' producin' an interestin' kit with appealin' aesthetics. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Now, we'll see if it can fly more than once!

T' kit is standard P.M.L. Avast, me proud beauty! style, me bucko, although t' details are less well worked out than t' Bull Dog was. Aye aye! (It's easy t' tell this is a new kit.) T' centerin' rin' for t' recovery tube had a very large center hole. Avast, me proud beauty! I should have re-cut it, but I decided t' use t' one which came with t' kit and fill up t' gap with epoxy.

T' motor mount is built around t' Qwik-Switch system and I built t' rocket as described in t' instruction. Arrr! Blimey! However, unless you actually plan t' use 38mm motors in this rocket, I'd suggest usin' a slightly longer motor mount tube (an extra inch should do it) and skip t' brittle plastic betwixt t' top o' t' motor mount tube and t' centerin' ring.

T' fit o' t' pieces be very tight. Aye aye! I wore myself out sandin' t' pieces so that they fit reasonably. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There are two breaks: one right above t' fin can for t' recovery system and one where t' nose cone fits into t' short center section (for settin' up t' altimeter.) Hopefully, t' second iteration o' these kits should have addressed these problems.

On February 13, 1999 at t' February ROC launch in Lucerne Dry Lake, t' Lunar Express flew for t' first time. Well, blow me down! T' boost be straight and sure, without any uncertainty or instability on a J180. Begad! I be sure that this kit was goin' t' suffer major damage on landing. Avast! Those oversized fins with t' silly pods on t' tips are just fragile. Arrr! Ahoy! However, only one fin pod broke off, me hearties, matey, and it can easily be re-attached. Avast, me proud beauty! All in all, matey, me hearties, a successful flight!

T' second flight be at Springfest '99 on March 21st. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This launch is put on by L.T.R. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! at El Dorado dry lake outside Las Vegas. Aye aye! Blimey! This time, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I decided t' fly it on a K185, again a low-thrust long-burnin' motor.

This time, t' rocket didn't survive as well as on its first flight: separation! Blimey! T' tail section came down on t' parachute with only two pods broken off, arrr, but t' nose and body section came down without a parachute and t' body tube pretty well smashed.

Well, ya bilge rat, ultimately it be me own fault. I should have known nay t' use t' P.M.L. Avast! elastic band, especially after I had this same failure on me P.M.L. Arrr! Bull Dog. Blimey! But, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' P.M.L. elastic looks strong! Interestingly, shiver me timbers, on me Bull Dog t' elastic broke where it was tied around a quick link, but on t' Lunar Express it just broke in t' middle.