foobar

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd slap another prop on mine.

Yeah, well that was just the final cut. Here's some shots from the blooper reel:

1.3.1 stock bearing propeller plane: https://imgur.com/a/i2P3w 07:25 - 2:00 (Top Gun) - 1:00 (No Strings Attached) = 04:25

Thanks! I think not having a reaction wheel was definitely a mistake, but Bill survived. Thrust vectoring from the Spark and a TWR of 4 got me off the ground without much fuss.

My latest Jool 5 craft ... 69 parts, 28,835 kg and 63,606 kerbucks ISRU SSTO with a minimal Tylo lander: Challenge: 1st Level STOCK, Low Mass/Cost Version and mods: KSP 1.3.1 with KER, TAC Fuel Balancer, Trajectories, Better Burn Time and Chatterer Full album: https://imgur.com/a/YM3tc

Yep, procedural fairings. I just used an upside down interstage fairing on top with another interstage fairing attached to the interstage node of the top fairing. If you customize the fairing shape you can get them to meet halfway.

Interesting mission, thanks! I used TweakScale + FireSpitter to create an RTG-powered quad-copter weighing 504kg. Each copter has 4 science experiments and a surface scanning module and can fly indefinitely at ~90% throttle. I took 4 of them to Laythe with a total launch mass of 97T. Interesting maneuvers include a gravity brake around Tylo directly into an aerocapture at Laythe. I didn't set up any relays or even use CommNet. Full album: https://imgur.com/a/sh89o

Interesting challenge! I successfully completed "expert mode" with 6 SRBs. I may give it another go. I didn't try very hard to reduce mass and I missed the part about entering/leaving orbit in a single burn. I thought the craft actually had to complete an orbit.

My entry: 2,570 dV in LKO. Sorry for the lack of ascent pics ... this was more of a test flight, but it was a pain to get into orbit with a TWR of .4 and I don't want to do it again.

100 points I think.

Working on a proof-of-concept ... TIL planes with giant holes in them can get to space no problem. Honestly didn't think this would work. I'll follow up with a real mission.

I enjoy building replicas and would like to participate, but the goal of fewest number of parts is totally at odds with building replicas. How are we supposed to find this completely arbitrary sweet spot between cockpit + engine + wings and an accurate replica?

All my mods are broken, so I decided to do my first stock Jool 5... Single launch, 1 kerbal, $264K, 452 tons at launch. Mods used: KER, BetterBurnTime.

My modded entry: 145 points I believe (133 from goals, +10 for landing within 500m of the NAM and +2 for taking a short drive).

Looks like your stuff is stock though! Stock parts always tend towards creative frankenrockets, which I find really entertaining. I "cheat" with my laundry list of parts mods ... I think the only stock parts on that rocket are the quad adapter, landing gear and ladders.

My entry: I don't think any of my mods are unbalanced. 0 deductions and a runway landing = 100

Mun STS-1 completed: Mods used: KER, KJR, B9, Near Future, Planetary Base Systems, Trajectories, SpaceY, Mk2 expansion, etc.

50 tons, no big deal. Pretty sure @Nefrums managed to land a class D a bit earlier in the thread. I only made one attempt and decided it was too tedious to try for anything larger.

STS-9 complete. Not my preferred way to land a potato, but it worked out in the end. Mods used: lots of parts mods (B9, NearFuture and such), TweakScale, KJR, KER, Trajectories.

STS 5-8: Mods used: lots of parts mods (B9, NearFuture and such), TweakScale, KJR, KER, Trajectories, docking port alignment indicator.

STS-4 (reworked a bit after some tips from @Nefrums): Mods used: lots of parts mods (B9, NearFuture and such), TweakScale, KJR, KER, Trajectories, docking port alignment indicator.

Thanks for the tip. Does less tilt translate to less torque change throughout the launch? Seems like with any tilt at all, the main engines are unusable after separating the fuel tank. In terms of mass, I haven't tested anything beyond the 40T fuel pod. It probably can't do much more than that without using larger engines ... the TWR is barely enough to keep it in the air at launch. But more space means I can fit oddly-shaped things and side-by-side payloads, which is nice.

I reworked my shuttle again for STS-3. This Mk4 version has more cargo capacity and handles less like a brick. Mods used: lots of parts mods (B9, NearFuture and such), TweakScale, KJR, KER, Trajectories.

I slightly re-worked my shuttle and successfully completed STS-2a+b: Mods used: lots of parts mods (B9, NearFuture and such), TweakScale, KJR, KER, Trajectories.