Mun/Minmus rocket for beginners

[Scarecrow88]

Not sure if there is a market for rockets aimed at beginners, but this craft is simple to fly and has plenty of fuel to achieve a return flight to either of Kerbin's moons.

Craft download file

Genesis

Flight profile:

First 2 stages are for achieving Kerbin orbit

3rd stage is for transfer and orbit around your chosen moon

Final stage is the lander, which is a single stage design, able to land and then return to Kerbin

If you don't like discarding stages while they still have fuel available, the second stage can be used for the first part of your transfer burn, and the 3rd stage can be used for your de-orbit and initial deceleration burns during the landing phase.

One thing to note is that the engine on the lander is not particularly powerful, so allow time/altitude for it to slow the lander down from orbital velocities.

Only one action group key is used, key 4, to toggle the ladder on the lander.

[Columbia]

Reminds me a lot about Apollo..

Nicely done!

[Kerbart]

Looks great! I'm wondering... what if you move the FLT-100's slightly lower and tilt them 5-10° inward. That'll give the landing gear some extra spread (always good for beginners who might not have killed their horizontal velocity all the way). And then put the interstage fairing a bit higher, and make the top of it connect with the capsule, enclosing the landing gear? Not sure if it would work, just a thought...

[Scarecrow88]

Looks great! I'm wondering... what if you move the FLT-100's slightly lower and tilt them 5-10° inward. That'll give the landing gear some extra spread (always good for beginners who might not have killed their horizontal velocity all the way). And then put the interstage fairing a bit higher, and make the top of it connect with the capsule, enclosing the landing gear? Not sure if it would work, just a thought...

It's a possibility, though I'm not overly happy with the way the stock fairings work as they can be a pain to connect the way you want them to sometimes. I've gone for the easy route and basically used them to cover the engine/decoupler sections.