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, matey, a real 1950s design for a futuristic rocket. Well, I just had t' build it!

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

T' kit is standard P.M.L. Aye aye! style, me bucko, although t' details are less well worked out than t' Bull Dog was. Ya scallywag! (It's easy t' tell this is a new kit.) T' centerin' rin' for t' recovery tube had a very large center hole. I should have re-cut it, matey, 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. 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 was very tight. I wore myself out sandin' t' pieces so that they fit reasonably. 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, me hearties, t' Lunar Express flew for t' first time. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! T' boost was straight and sure, without any uncertainty or instability on a J180. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I be sure that this kit be goin' t' suffer major damage on landing. Avast, me proud beauty! Those oversized fins with t' silly pods on t' tips are just fragile. However, only one fin pod broke off, and it can easily be re-attached. Ya scallywag! All in all, me bucko, a successful flight!

T' second flight be at Springfest '99 on March 21st. This launch is put on by L.T.R. Well, blow me down! at El Dorado dry lake outside Las Vegas. This time, me hearties, 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! T' tail section came down on t' parachute with only two pods broken off, matey, shiver me timbers, but t' nose and body section came down without a parachute and t' body tube pretty well smashed.

Well, ultimately it was me own fault. Ahoy! Avast! I should have known nay t' use t' P.M.L. Well, blow me down! Begad! elastic band, especially after I had this same failure on me P.M.L. Bull Dog. Arrr! But, ya bilge rat, t' P.M.L. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! elastic looks strong! Interestingly, 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.