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pTrevTrevs

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    Boxkite Tow Glider + Tow Plane: Easy and fun to fly! INDIVIDUAL DLS POSTED!

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    People keep saying good things about the tow plane's engines, I guess I had better patent the design!

    The separate craft files will be released as soon as I am able, if not today, then definitely tomorrow afternoon.

    For those of you who want to test the glider without the cable, how do you plan on doing it? Do you plan on mounting in on top of a plane, Approach and Landing Test style, or stick some SRBs on the sides to get it in the air and try and glide it back down when they burnout, or some other way I haven't thought about?

    Boxkite Tow Glider + Tow Plane: Easy and fun to fly! INDIVIDUAL DLS POSTED!

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    The CoM is moved pretty far back with that third engine, so a tricycle undercarriage would look ugly. Also, the way the craft is set up at launch (Boxkite attached to the end of the plane with fully retracted winch) makes it even more difficult to use a tricycle arrangement. I have tried several other methods, and launching them together is by far the easiest.

    Besides, I was going for a DC-3 look with the tow plane, and that plane doesn't have tricycle gear.

    WWII Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted · Edited by pTrevTrevs
    Autocorrect screwing with me again. Kill it.

    I got up to the cockpit of the Wellington, fairlyy satisfied with it, before I realized what I was getting myself into. Getting the shape of the nose right while using Mk 3 fuselages is pretty difficult. The A-20 should be easy, it's fuselage is only wide enough for one person to sit in the cockpit, and it doesn't have a large glass dome in its nose. Well, the model I tried to replicate doesn't, anyway.

    Boxkite Tow Glider + Tow Plane: Easy and fun to fly! INDIVIDUAL DLS POSTED!

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted · Edited by pTrevTrevs
    Download posted

    It's been a long time coming, and while it isn't exactly the craft I wanted to build at the beginning, I think I've still managed to work wonders with it.

    Introducing the Bristol Boxkite Glider!! :cool:C0YbPxY.pngIt is based on the Bristol Boxkite, a pre-WWI pusher biplane and one of the first aircraft to be produced in quantity. Due to KSP's lack of a sufficient engine for biplanes this small, I have converted it into a glider, and used a KAS winch to tow it to altitude and fly it down to Kerbin.

    The craft file comes with a tow plane based on the DC-3, but with several notable changes made to make it suitable for this job. A third engine has been added to give it the extra power it needs to haul a glider behind it, and small intakes have been installed on the wingtips to make it cooler.

    Below is a flight album of the first successful flight of the Boxkite and tow plane with (hopefully) witty captions inserted by Yours Truly:

    fiSQZJN.png

    Alright, it's not so much of a beautiful day, it's cloudy, it's getting dark, and i haven't even had my morning tea. Let's do this! :cool:

    LEgnN8c.png

    It turns surprisingly well, considering that it has another plane attached to it's tail with a cable. I hope Felix is okay with breathing in all that jet exhaust in front of him.

    1RiVIWg.png

    Here's an interesting photo of the tow plane taken by Felix in the Boxkite. the glider kept bobbing and weaving around at the end of its cable, and getting this shot was fairly difficult.

    CpCOf3T.png

    Turning back towards land with the Boxkite still attached. Landing in the sea voids the warranty, and Felix's health insurance doesn't cover shark attacks. :D

    17fWYaX.png

    Cable away!!! The glider will now begin a slow descent to the ground while the tow plane retracts it's cable and goes into a circular holding pattern around KSC before landing itself.

    Zc7Pymn.png

    The glider only weighs 2.4 tons, and is essentially a giant pair of wings, so naturally, it flies like a dream. I couldn't ask for a more stable, easy to operate flying machine.

    QSSk9Cp.png

    Front of the glider with Felix in the pilot's seat, very glad he doesn't have exhaust from three jet engines blowing directly onto his face anymore.

    XNpK0bz.png

    Slowly gliding... slowly, slowly gliding... It can stay at this attitude forever unless it hits the ground or something. I took this opportunity to switch to the tow aircraft and turn it around to keep it from going out of physics range.

    Jo9rpSR.png

    Back over land again. If you look extra closely, you can spot the tow plane and it's contrails in the background.

    JwEiujA.png

    Coming in close to the ground now. Slowing down isn't a problem, the Boxkite's regular flight speed is about 30 m/s.

    vUqN0bq.png

    Final approach, here goes nothing...

    VEaxTID.png

    Touchdown and stop! It slows down fairly well, I didn't slam on the brakes because i was worried about it tipping over. Maybe it can land at the Island, maybe it can't, I'll have to test that.

    ROdQXaU.png

    Now it's the tow plane's turn. I love the longer physics range, without it, these guys would have been toast!:D

    4hpo4mQ.png

    Gear down, engines at idle, final approach! The Boxkite is in the background, it's that small speck above the tow plane.

    HNYOVM0.png

    Ooh, yeah, look at that screenshot.

    fDNoCvY.png

    The tow plane rolls to a stop after several bounces. This thing definitely cannot land at the Island, and maybe not even at KSC's own Runway, it rolled forever before stopping.

    Flight Instructions

    1. Right after lloading the craft, extend the KAS winch to desired length. YOu may want to unplug and re-plug the winch in undocked mode so you can control the Boxkite separately. I used a 10 meter cable for takeoff, and extended it to 12 meters once I was in the air, but it ought to work with different lengths as long as the glider's wheels can touch the ground.
    2. Ascend to desired altitude, keeping an eye on the Boxkite. You don't want it to smash into the ground.
    3. Fly to desired landing spot, if you want to land at KSC, you can just fly out over the ocean a little bit and then turn around.
    4. Point towards landing spot, but release the cable while still far enough away for a landing run.
    5. Switch to glider, perform any desired aerobatic stunts.
    6. Begin descent to ground. Keep the glider's nose pointed just below the horizon to keep enough speed to avoid stalls. If it starts to go too low, raise it up and climb a little bit.
    7. Shortly before reaching ground, flare a little to get rid of any excess speed.
    8. Try and land at around 20 m/s.
    9. Use brakes as needed, but be careful not to tip it over, it doesn't have a fancy tricycle undercarriage.
    10. Land tow plane. you may want to switch back and forth between the two during the glider's descent to keep the tow plane from going out of physics range. Remember, the tow plane doesn't have a tricycle undercarriage either, so be careful with the brakes.
    11. Celebrate your magnificent flight and let me know what you think of it!

    Download here: http://kerbalx.com/pTrevTrevs/Boxkite-Glider-+-Tow-Aircraft

    Tow Plane without the glider (Stock): http://kerbalx.com/pTrevTrevs/AP-341-Super-Skytrain

    Glider without the Tow Plane (Also Stock): http://kerbalx.com/pTrevTrevs/Boxkite-Tow-Glider

    Make sure to give me some feedback and rep if you enjoyed!! :)

    Work-in-Progress [WIP] Design Thread

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted · Edited by pTrevTrevs
    Weird duplication bug

    After about an hour and a half of figuring out the best way to hook up a cable between the tow aircraft and the Boxkite, i got a chance for one rather short test flight:

    5FjUymM.jpg

    Alright, it's a beautiful day, let's make history! :)

    lN5U1Y9.jpg

    YES!!! It's working!!! The piece of trash actually flies!!! :cool:

    9RBYkoT.jpg

    Uh oh, it's getting a little too high. Need more power!!

    4m8bYyO.jpg

    Yep, needed more power on the tow plane. I think a third engine on the tail might be sufficient. ;.;

    woFSGn2.png

    It still flies, even when it's tow plane bites the dust. The frustration is real.

    The Delta II is nearly done as well.

    BZIJEx2.png

    The second stage needs more DeltaV, but it was still sufficient to insert this 10 ton fuel pod into a 300km orbit:

    kR8xEG5.png

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