Brief:
The following information was taken from The Launch Pad's website: THE Launch PAD's Lance missile is a 1/8.48 mid-power scale design for your choice of either the nuclear warhead armed version of the MGM-52 or the conventional warhead missile which uses slightly smaller fins. At 28.75" in length its "D" powered liftoff used to get it up and away in a hurry, and testing has been completed to certify this rocket for use with the Aerotech "E" or "F" power!

Construction:
The instructions are 3 pages long and are very detailed to guide you through the construction and finishing process. The kit is packed in a long plastic bag with all the components included. One very nice feature in the kit are the cardboard templates for the tail cone, nose shroud and wings. The kit is easy to build but does offer some challenges during the process. The first challenge is making the paper shroud for the tail cone. Take your time in forming the tail cone and you will be very pleased with the results. The wings are cut from balsa supplied with the kit and are surfaced mounted. Again, take your time and you will be pleased with the results. The final challenge is the paper nose cone extension. The plastic nose cone is extended by using a paper shroud to form the sharp point like the real missile. I have found that making the nose cone extension and filling the seam between the nose cone and the extension the be the most difficult part of building the Lance.

Finishing:
The kit is highly detailed when finished. Decals are not included with the kit. Detailing instructions are very explicit and easy to follow. The one detail feature I like the most are the rivets made by clipping the shafts from modeler's pins and using the pinheads. The pinheads are glued to the kit using CA and look very much like rivets under the paint! I painted the kit with Testors Flat Olive Drab. I used 3/4" vinyl letters and pinstriping for the white details.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I flew my Lance on Estes D12, Aerotech E-15 and Aerotech F24s. The D12 is great for small field flying. Recovery always seemed to be close to the pad. The E-15 was good in medium sized fields! The kit is very light and a slight breeze will really push it down range.

I flew my Lance on an F24 at Whitakers, NC and it was awesome! It roared off the pad and flew out of sight! A large field and minimal wind are required if you want to fly F's in the Lance. I use a Pratt Hobbies heatshield for wadding and I have had a 100% success rate for deployments. The Nomex® has gotten dirty but continues to perform its mission each and every time.

Motor retention is with an Estes-style clip! I learned the hard way that you can't just use the clip for an Aerotech reloadable motor. My first 24mm reloadable case blew out at apogee and is still lost to this day. Since that flight, I have been using masking tape to secure the motor clip and motor together and have had good success!

My Lance flies very stable in flight and flies very straight even on the lower impulse Estes D12 motors.

Recovery:
The shock cord is mounted to the inside of the body tube with a cardboard tab. If I were to rebuild the kit I would use a piece of Kevlar® wrapped around the motor mount! The Launch Pad designed motor mount has never failed but I still think that if I could do it all over again I would change the shock cord mount design. The shock cord is elastic and has a swivel attached to the end for attaching the parachute and nose cone.

The parachute is highly reflective mylar. The mylar is very light and very compact and fits well into the parachute compartment. Preparing the rocket for flight is easy and quick. Recovery is at a good decent rate and I have always recovered the rocket intact. My last flight on this kit was with an Aerotech F24. The rocket survived the flight but shows signs of wear and tear! The inside of the tail cone was blackened by the exhaust gases.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
The Launch Pad Lance MGM-52, and Launch Pad kits in general, are great kits if you like building mid-power scale military rockets. Pros: Quality of the instructions sent with the kit. Cons: Having to form paper shrouds for the tail cone and nose cone extension.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

* SPECIAL NOTE off of RMR from Chuck Barndt, President of The Launch Pad