Andetch

@Klapaucius I have a question. Must I actually disembark all the Kerbals? I have actually landed on all 3 islands before with some pretty large planes, albeit not it one trip. Thing is, mostly to disembark it involves transferring crew and this is tedious and creates a lot of la for me especially when filming. It is bad enough just dropping off 2 Kerbals on each island, let alone if I do it with my massive Mr Tiddles which has a passenger count of several 100! (Kerbals express airlines count is 800, not sure what the true count is)

A whole buttload of upwards facing electric engines might do It?

@ManEatingApefailed to mention that the SSTO pictured there almost has enough juice in it to get to a Duna encounter! So it shows that you don't need the high tech engines to go far!

Ya, it was a happy accident - didn't managed to flip the radial out switch off in time before the, but it did turn out that it cut the speed with the KSC in just the right place to land - really happy accident seeing as I was on a "free return" so it was pure fluke that the KSC was in the right place for landing!! I was expecting to aero-brake into LKO and then set up the landing but, meh, it worked, don't knock it! Oh, and I should also point out that even though I didn't on the video, this can carry a small satellite with it. How much does it need to weigh to qualify as payload?

Ok, this is so possible inside 20 game minutes - I am currently on a Mun encounter at just over 20 game minutes from launch. Just trying to iron out a few kinks - will probably have a video of this being done tomorrow

This is similar to Scott Manley's "Shoot the Mun" thing he did with a rail driver. He had to turn of the heat to do it because the capsule (bullet) was going to 10,000 m/s + pretty much instantly after he fired the magnets up!

I figured the drag model stuff was old, but the pretty pictures of COM/COT/COL are nice and still relevant, as is the wing stuff (I think?) Either way the pictures are nice and pretty.

@boolybooly The team here at Andetch X-Labs enjoyed our previous trip to the Dog and Booster so much, we decided we wanted to come again, but get better seats this time...... So we let the high tech team have a go. I am pleased to present the Skydart - My most heavily researched and developed SSTO. I put a lot of work tweaking this design. It lifts off at under 80 m/s a second, and arrives into LKO with 1,500 m/s of dV. There is a docking port equipped model in the late stages of development. The flight video I submit includes watching an eclipse (at 6:52) from The Mun's SOI on a "free return" trajectory" (so atmospheric capture was set up from the initial Mun burn, so I didn't need to use the engine again apart from assisting stabilization once deep into Kerbin's atmosphere) and a precision landing back at KSC (Just wondering, for those with making history, does landing at the desert airstrip also count? The runway there goes North-South making the approach a bit more interesting, and it is higher above sea level giving less time to recover and set up the approach dead stick - but still ample time) Enjoy the video (no sound track, only ambient KSP sound)

FAR is a great mod, and I really must start using it. The reason I didn't keep using it after my initial attempts was that it changes the way control surfaces are programmed and at the time I was obsessed with playing with my Flying Car design (it is a car that handles just as well on the ground as it does in the air!) and although it still worked with FAR, I couldn't work out how to get the control surfaces to do what I wanted so I went back. But pretty much on every challenge involving sustained atmospheric flight someone asks if there is a FAR category - I am surprised no one has came up with a FAR entry for this to be honest!

Nah I'm pretty bruised up as it is, and you could probably be doing better things with your time! And I still claim mine is better as it is still a functional flying plane rather than a capsule being thrown at speed! @Klapaucius (and also @neistridlar maybe CrazyJG needs to put a link to this in the OP of the new KEA) here is the link. Got some nice informative pictures for aircraft design.

Introducing the Skydart SSTO The finest SSTO to leave the Andetch production line yet! Introducing the Skydart. This SSTO has had the most R&D done out of any SSTO I have ever built. It works very well, and can arrive into LKO with 1,500m/s dV. It also has style! Video of the Munshot and Munar Eclipse coming tomorrow! https://kerbalx.com/Andetch/Skydart

Yeah, I have been inspired by your comments and been testing. Changing the angle of the wings makes it too unstable to take off it they go one way, and slows it down the other way (as it makes the nose sit just above centre prograde - good reserch for my next entry for Kerbal Express Airways) but using the overlay (not the tech readout that you have there, just the red lines) I am not getting any difference in the amount of red lines/size of lines. Putting a nosecone onto the node that is still available in the centre of the craft did reduce the drag line, but the weight made the craft slower (I think it was that?) Again, I salute your KSPertise! Good old KSP Not Quite Physics, eh?

Hmm, interesting, as I found on my attempt that by moving the engine/tank/nosecone assembly inside the intake part it reduced the drag (or increased the speed) significantly. Also, when I removed the nosecone pieces from the tank parts it slowed it down again (increased drag). Adding more engines also helped, as long as they were moved to align with the existing ones. The other big difference was using the fairing as the nose (it still appears to be drag free).... I know the early KSP had a very illogical aerodynamics engine, but has it been improved since? I am on 1.4 now.....

At least flying with a lower fuel count will increase the speed

So...... another wing/engine assy to be added - merge them all together so it is one to reduce drag (maybe?) and optimize the air intakes so there is only just enough (again to minimize drag, you have some subsonic intakes there that are probably only adding drag at high speed), and empty the tanks so it only has enough fuel for one run (you notice mine launches with 60 out of a possible 1,400 units of fuel) to increase the TWR and I am sure you will be hitting 600+ soon

Lol, my 801 m/s has 24 engines! And a passenger count of 1!! May I suggest adding MOAR ENGINES!

@Klapaucius it is the first 2 seat model!

So what you're really saying is that this is like a rollercoaster and the pilot is optional, hahahaha! I'm going to squeeze another 20 m/s from mine

It's easy enough to do (a damned-sight easier than squeezing an extra 25 m/s from my initial design, now I gotta get 20 m/s more from the current speedbird) - it just so happened he was posting on the thread at the exact time I was putting up mine so the query and answer are right next to each other, within seconds!

@swjr-swis already blew my complaint out of the water! Notice that there is EVA propellant showing in the resources tab. This only happens with a Kerbal in EVA or a Command seat. I should have been smart enough to see it myself really... You can test it easily enough by putting a command seat on top of a capsule with a rocket on it and go EVA to the seat and fire up the rocket engine from the seat. It will show the EVA Prop. Makes me wonder why there is a probe core in the design though... but anyway.... I will have to settle for 2nd again until Nesty comes around to beat me some more....

And may I congratulate you for also winning the "Understatement of the Thread Award" - that is so steep your craft is more rocket than plane! Shame the resources tab isn't open though, would have liked to see the fuel amount you used in your climb!

Dayam..... Good point - I take back my question and bow to the KSPertise of the #1 craft!

In response to the above, I would like to clarify - The tanks clipped(moved) over each other other in my entry are all empty and act only as attachment points for engines - and each also has a nosecone on them also (I wonder if removing the nose cones will make a difference? Hmmm, back to testing)

@RealKerbal3x see my new submission. 801.3 m/s with some 170 metres to go before impact with the sea (I could maybe squeeze another few m/s from this) - You can also see from the last image that I successfully pulled out of the dive, so no Kerbal had to make the ultimate sacrifice for me to get ahead of @neistridlar The design had to be changed a bit, for streamlining purposes - and I have shamelessly clipped parts together, but there you have it. My answer back! https://kerbalx.com/Andetch/Juno-Speed-A I also would like to ask one other thing - with the current #1 on the manned craft - I see there is a command seat inside the fairing, but how do we know there is actually a kerbal in there piloting? The craft also has a probe core, so does it really count as manned if the seat was empty? I belive if a Kerbal is in the seat, even with the fairing it affects the aerodynamics, and weight. no? (Not wanting to be really petty here, but...... I want my top spot back! Even if only for a few moments!) May I request a re-run of his entry with the probe core removed/proof there is a kerbal in there? Otherwise it seems to me that it is an unmanned craft.

I see the WIP parts and the diver thing.... I have not experimented with diving yet on KSP, other than when I smack into the water at hyper-sonic speeds! I am interested in the parts when they're done. I don't envy you having to do all those reviews too!