LethalDose

Solar Panels FTW Now I just have to remember to OPEN THE LITTLE B*STARDS after getting out of the atmosphere and before hitting the time warp.

Actually, HarvesteR has already thought of the wind tunnel facility. Check the 5th or so post on this thread here.

I could be wrong, wouldn't a "center of drag" be conditional on the craft's angle of attack and velocity? For example, wouldn't a spaceplane's center of drag would be different if it was flying level at 300 m/s vs level and falling straight down? In a static environment like the VAB/Hangar, I feel like a static "dot" that wouldn't mean much. They could just add a wind tunnel building to test these things, though. Settings could allow for different atmospheric densities, velocity and allow typical flight controls to alter direction. It would be a handy way to see just how fast you can be going when you deploy your chute without snapping it off, adjusting flight characteristics, etc. Totally with you on the first point: PLEASE give us total mass on the construction. Haven't had a need for the second one yet.