Wait- Was That Important?

I've added the various new entries- I'm glad to see this challenge getting interest! It's really actually pretty fun despite the simplicity of it. @alakael I didn't award you the "A Winnar is You" because it specifies landing safely (otherwise you'd get more points for crashing than actually landing), and also put your craft in the modded section as an important portion of your plane consists of modded parts. @zing I can't award you the Precision Pilot achievement because it specifies landing on the runway, not just taxiing on to it. If you think the award is worth it, you can take flight and land on the runway again to get the achievement, but I doubt the time you're awarded will be more than time spent. However, I did add it to the "Big Mother" leaderboard. This isn't terribly important, but I'd like to be notified if people want to enter for the engineering leaderboards, like "Baby Plane" and "Phallic Symbol" categories. It saves me some time when entering them. Keep 'em coming, and fly safe! EDIT: Sniped, by Kalawang! Kal, I didn't see your thread on the first two pages, as I stated in the OP, otherwise I would've just bumped that. My thread also has different rules (higher height limit, more categories, achievements) and I did actually complete the challenge myself.

EDIT: derp, I can't read apparantly The SR-2 Normandy added under the "cheats" section. A very impressive craft and beautiful looking mod, hopefully some day you deign us worthy to release it Bimu !

For the sake of competition and satisfying Sal_vager, I just completed my first circumnavigation. Directly after takeoff, using the three engines to burn to its cruising altitude of 27.5km. Outboard two engines shut off to conserve fuel while the plane climbs. Astern shows the engines and batteries. Note the kethane scanner: no kethane equipment is on board, but it makes that nice map there in the lower left corner. Descending after a long cruise, with three engines on to boost speed and burn off fuel. Hold on to your hat, Milhat Kerman. Coming in to land, perpendicular to the runway of course. And I wimped out/ lagged out from landing on the runway. Ah well, close enough. The Kethane scanner exploded too for some reason. Base time was 3358 seconds. I achieved "A Winnar is You", "Monolithic", "Speed Demon (sixth picture)", and "See Any Penguins?", earning me a total bonus score of -78 seconds. I didn't provide the end flight dialogue, but the pictures tell enough of the story Thus, my score is 3280 seconds. Remember, lowest wins!

Update: the bonuses for the rovers and ion planes are now more enticing, but I'd really need to see some comparison to actual spaceplanes to figure out the numbers.

The achievements are really sort of arbitrary and for bragging rights. I'll balance them later if I feel that it's important, but really the point of the challenge is for spaceplanes, etc. Intakes can be stacked and clipped, as I'm sure many will be. Droptanks are allowed, but note that you will not get the "Monolithic" achievement if you so choose to use them. Again, detachable landing gear are allowed. I suppose you'd still qualify for the "Monolithic" achievement as I did specify "tanks" but at the same time I doubt you'd be able to land safely to earn the "A Winnar is You" achievement.

This chart is very, VERY wrong. It takes closer to 1000 dV from a Kerbin-like Kerbol orbit to get to Duna than 110. If anyone wants an updated, more accurate version, it's here: http://i.imgur.com/dXT6r7s.png Black is making a low orbit from sea level, Green is establishing an orbit around a body after making a transfer, Blue is an in-system transfer, Black is an interplanetary transfer.

No, and I expect most of the fastest entries to be unmanned, but I'll include the manned ones in the OP as well.

The Challenge: Circumnavigate Kerbin going no higher than 45km. You will be ranked according to time, so be sure to include images including the flight clock! You can land on or near the runway, but it has to be within 2km of the KSC. The Rules: 1.) All mods and plugins are allowed, but may be differentiated into various scoring categories. Outright cheats will be laughed at and may or may not be added to the leaderboards. 2.) Do not go to space today! This is a challenge for atmospheric vehicles only. Orbiting Kerbin from a rocket is easier than flying around it. 3.) You must post various screenshots with the UI on to be scored: 1 at any point in flight, and 1 of the landed craft and post-flight information box. You should feel free to post more images, but those two are the only ones required. Also post craft files! 4.) You must list the mods and plugins used. 5.) Appropriate craft information should be included for extra scoring purposes (mass, etc.), but is not necessary 6.) I reserve the right to deny any entry for any reason or lack thereof. I promise I won't be a jerk about it, but if you're blatantly cheating I'm not going to pull teeth to get you to admit it. The Details: This was a popular challenge before the great forum wipe, and I looked back two pages to find it. Not being able to see that specific challenge (the only other circumnavigation challenge was locked for necro-ing where I looked), I've decided to start my own. I will update the OP with those who complete it. I know this isn't the toughest challenge, but for veterans it's a fun way to compete for the various achievements and for newbies it's a great way to get started into spaceplane engineering. Good luck! Edit 5/21: I know Captain Kalawang, an entry in this very challenge, has bumped his month-old thread after entering here. However, they both have different rules and, while they're structured similarly, differ in a few key ways. It's totally up to you whether you enter in this one, the other one, or even both! If your entry's valid, I very much suggest posting in both threads. A good rule of thumb: whatever's valid in the other thread is certainly valid here. This challenge is a bit more broad in scope than the other. Good luck, and safe flying! The Acheivements: List these in your entries, I'll judge if it's accurate or not 1.) Oh, so close: crash landed in the KSC zone (-4s) 2.) A Winnar Is You: completed the challenge and landed safely (-5s) 3.) Precision pilot: landed on the spaceplane runway (-6s) 4.) Wrong way, champ: landed on the spaceplane runway heading West instead of East (-7s) 5.) I SAID WRONG WAY: circumnavigated West instead of East (-10s) 6.) Monolithic: no decoupling or breaking off of tanks (-11s) 7.) Speed demon: hit a top speed of over 1,500m/s (-12s) 8.) Speed angel: hit a top speed of over 2,000m/s (does not stack with previous acheivement)(-20s) 9.) Wings? Where we're going we don't need wings: craft has no lifting surfaces (-25s) 10.) Wait, what do you mean you can't put the gear down: craft has no landing gear yet loses no parts on landing (-30s) 11.) Jets? Those are like wheels but for air, right?: craft has no jet engines (-35s) 12.) Going green: Kerbal has no cockpit yet remains with the craft the entire time (-40s) 13.) See any penguins?: polar instead of equatorial (-50s) 14.) Road trip: use a rover instead of a plane (-600s) 15.) Electric Boogaloo: Craft uses ion power only (-1200s) Stock Leaderboards: 1.) Alakaël with (So close, Monolithic, Angel) 1973 seconds in the Circum Thing 2 2.) keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Angel) with 2179 seconds in the Constellation-ID 3.) Teirusu (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Angel) with 2204 seconds in the I Wish People Would Name Their Planes So I Don't Have To 4.) Keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 2338 seconds in the Constellation-IC 5.) Torham234 (Winnar, Monolithic, Angel) with 2568 seconds in the Lark VI 6.) Keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 2815 seconds in the Constellation-IB 7.) palker (Winnar, Precision, Champ, Monolithic) with 3465 in the Around Kerbin 8.) ZingidyZongxxx (Winnar, Wrong Way Champ, I SAID WRONG WAY, monolithic, angel) with 3617 seconds in the Unnamed and Backwards Craft 9.) the_bT (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Demon) with 3813 seconds in the Griffin XR 10.) Kerbies_are_my_Minions (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision) with 3946 seconds in the Eleventh Unnamed Plane, That Kinda Looks Like A Blackbird SR-71 Modded Leaderboards: 1.) 1096bimu (So close, Precision, Monolithic, Speed Angel) with 2069 seconds in the Fourth Unnamed Plane So Far I Mean Come On 2.) tavert (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Angel) with 2253 seconds in the Little Baby Plane Entry 3.) Akalaël (So Close, Monolithic, Angel) with 2312 seconds in the Circum Thing 4.) Wait, Was That Important? (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon, Penguins) with 3280 seconds in the Kerbin Cruiser Mk. II 5.) Torham234 (Winnar, Monolithic, Wrong Way) with 3809 seconds in the Lark V 6.) Cheating Leaderboards: 1.) 1096bimu (Winnar, Precision, Wrong Way, Angel, No Wings, No Gear, No Jets, Going Green, Penguins) with 2098 seconds in the SR-2 Normandy 2.) One Big Mother (largest craft by mass): 1.) the_bT (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Demon) with 3813 seconds in the Griffin XR Little Baby Plane (smallest craft by mass): 1.) tavert (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Angel) with 2253 seconds in the Little Baby Plane Entry Phallic Symbol (largest craft by overall length): 1.) Captain Kalawang (Winnar) with 6108 seconds in the XXGC-5109 "The Circumnavigator" It's Not Fat, It's Big-Boned (largest craft by width, perpendicular to direction of flight): 1.) Keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 2338 seconds in the Constellation-IC Just Pretty Cool (personal selection): 1.) All Other Entries: 1.) Alakaël with (So close, Monolithic, Angel) 1973 seconds in the Circum Thing 2 2.) 1096bimu (So close, Precision, Monolithic, Speed Angel) with 2069 seconds in the Third Unnamed Plane So Far I Mean Come On 3.) 1096bimu (Winnar, Precision, Wrong Way, Angel, No Wings, No Gear, No Jets, Going Green, Penguins) with 2098 seconds in the SR-2 Normandy 4.) keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Angel) with 2179 seconds in the Constellation-ID 5.) Teirusu (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Angel) with 2204 seconds in the I Wish People Would Name Their Planes So I Don't Have To 6.) Akalaël (So Close, Monolithic, Angel) with 2312 seconds in the Circum Thing 7.) Keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 2338 seconds in the Constellation-IC 8.) Torham234 (Winnar, Monolithic, Angel) with 2568 seconds in the Lark VI 9.) Keptin (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 2815 seconds in the Constellation-IB 10.) SuperFastJellyfish (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision, Demon) with 2906 seconds in the Magellan I 11.) Vaisman (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 2946 seconds in the Tenth Unnamed Plane, People Should Take More Pride In Their Work If You Ask Me 12.) Kolt (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision, Demon) with 2969 seconds in the Eighth Unnamed Plane, What Is This An Orphanage For Planes? 13.) Kuris (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision, Demon with 3043 seconds in the Ninth Unnamed Plane, This Is Some Real Soviet-Style Stuff Right Here 14.) PolecatEZ (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 3192 seconds in the Albatross 15.) Wait, Was That Important? (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon, Penguins) with 3280 seconds 16.) GROOV3ST3R (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision) with 3397 seconds in the Kerbin Navigator Mk5 Long 11.) palker (Winnar, Precision, Champ, Monolithic) with 3465 in the Around Kerbin 12.) ZingidyZongxxx (Winnar, Wrong Way Champ, I SAID WRONG WAY, monolithic, angel) with 3617 seconds in the Unnamed and Backwards Craft 13.) BlueFox801 (Winnar, Monolithic) with 3680 seconds in the Seventh Unnamed Plane, I'm Starting To Think There's a Conspiracy Here 14.) Torham234 (Winnar, Monolithic, Wrong Way) with 3809 seconds in the Lark V 15.) the_bT (Winnar, Precision, Monolithic, Demon) with 3813 seconds in the Griffin XR 16.) Kerbies_are_my_Minions (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision) with 3946 seconds in the Eleventh Unnamed Plane, That Kinda Looks Like A Blackbird SR-71 17.) KinkyFerrets (Winnar, Monolithic, Precision) with 4243 seconds in the AND WE'RE OFF 18.) Pursuedtank (Winnar, Monolithic, Demon) with 5008 seconds in the Twelfth Unnamed Plane, I'm Done With This 19.) blackcap76 (Winnar, Monolithic) with 5138 seconds in the Sixth Unnamed Plane, It Must Be a Fad Or Something 20.)Wyseman76 (Winnar, Monolithic, Wrong Way, Precision) with 5383 seconds in the Fifth Unmanned Plane, Fantastic 21.) Captain Kalawang (Winnar) with 6108 seconds in the XXGC-5109 "The Circumnavigator" 22.)

I love it! The comic, the reference... these comics are awesome, I check the website every day.

>Goes to furthest planet in the system >"Then I decided that wasn't enough" Also, what's the total mass to orbit of that monster?

This is an excellent summary. Probably the best presentation of information I've seen in this thread.

I saw someone asking for this a month ago, but nothing came from it until now. I can't wait until it's ready!

Why the Buran? I know that it's a pretty shuttle, but I would point out that if you're trying for historical accuracy then the actual US shuttle would be in order. Are Launch Vehicles included for the resupply ships as well?

Just saying, I think there should be a separate forum for .config edited files, so actual original creations and simple changes to existing ones aren't blended together.

I love these! Reminds me of my old config edited spherical tanks using the 0.18.4 Stayputnik probes, but I really love the texture on these! For reference, KSP needs more spherical fuel tank mods.

These are the best things I've seen in a very long time about KSP. I can't thank Rareden enough for coming to the forums and doing things like this- it looks incredible! On another note, I really like the now current picture of the plane. It looks what KSP should be!

I like all of these suggestions, but feel that I must point out that Kerbal Engineer Redux has all the information MechJeb does without the autopilot, a feature the devs have seemed to want to avoid.

1.) I got banned for killing the server owner in BF3 with a jet 2.) I got banned from XBL for creating an account (got an email and everything saying that I was "banned" the next day, then a rather nice apology from a concerned lady named "Cathy" about their mistake)

I've said this for one other SSTO, but this is a wonderful looking SSTO that's functional and realistic. I lament that much of the Ship Exchange forums has become, "VTOL SSTO Seaplane and Bonus Gimmick!" I'm not saying it's all like that, and in most cases it's interesting to see how people accomplish the difficult engineering feat. Regardless, this one's definitely for me!

It looks cool! How many parts overall is it, do you think?

My only question would be how will you replenish the spare parts? Do you have some sort of .config witchery to convert Kethane or another resource into spare parts?

When shortly thereafter he'll presumably be resurrected in an identical blaze of glory, only to die again when glory turns to fire? On another note, I was planning on attempting to make an emergency reentry pod for my big reusable ships, in the case that they begin to break up/ crash, to save at least the expensive and highly trained pilot.

I built this guy using the Mk. 3 cockpit expansion mod and KW. It's retired now, however. The fact that the Mk. 3 parts can't carry 2.5m parts at the least and the difficulties in flying shuttles, not to mention flying planes (which I'm hopeless at) make it too dangerous for me to use.

It's certainly Ferram. I believe it's the fact that the pod has less drag and thus can go faster in the atmosphere, yet the Deadly Reentry mod doesn't realize that there's less drag so still calculates a corresponding rise in heat. It's one or the other, I'm sure those problems will be addressed eventually.