Thunderbirds are GO!

[Logan.Darklighter]

To quote Howard Hughes from "The Rocketeer":  

"The sonovab***h WILL fly!" 

(and more importantly, it can LAND... )

Thunderbird 1 is now POSTED for your flying pleasure at Kerbal X! 

https://kerbalx.com/logandwj/Thunderbird-1

I worked out the final kinks in the design in terms of placement and balance of VTOL thrusters. I also made a modification to the fins on the back end. I wasn't getting enough control authority before. So I changed them from static fins with added control surfaces to all-moving control fins. And in the process cut the part count on the back fins in half. Bonus! 

WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

FOR EXPERT PILOTS ONLY!!

This is a VERY involved craft, and will require active managing of the fuel load to stay balanced. I really recommend TAC Fuel balancer to make that easier. 

Also - VTOL Operations are POSSIBLE without stabilization mods, but I HIGHLY recommend getting Throttle Controlled avionics and learning how to use it before trying to hover TB1 in for landing.

Normal landing and take-off is IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t let the wheeled landing gear fool you. At bare-minimum, if you want to take off from the runway you’ll need both the main rear engines AND the VTOL thrusters online to push her into the air before the gear begins to wobble at speed.

Don’t even THINK of landing without the VTOL thrusters. Not gonna happen. BOOM!

Speaking of the VTOL thrusters - IMPORTANT NOTE!!

You’ll need to do a CFG mod to the Yellowjacket thrusters in the Mk 4 spaceplane mod in order for them to have enough lifting power. Change the engine power rating from 80 to 280. Lower power might work. But I wouldn’t go below 160.

Also - the fuel and oxidizer in the rear tank right in front of the main engine - in the part that is composed of a B9 "Pre-cooler" - that is EXTRA ROCKET FUEL to get TB-1 above 10,000 Meters altitude on a vertical ascent. You need to USE that fuel up around the time you shift to horizontal flight. 

If you intend to flip TB-1 onto it's landing gear for a VTOL take-off, you need to REMOVE that fuel either by draining the tank or just using the part-switch to change it to "structural" before you launch onto the runway. 


I'm normally not one to brag, but this is without a doubt THE most complex build I have ever made that actually WORKS without any cheats! It was a b**tard to complete!  And I'm DAMN PROUD of it! 
 

Below - you can see how many windows I keep open for VTOL Operations. I DID say this thing is complicated to fly, did I not? 

Fins reconfiguring and gear pylons deploying: 

 

Aaaand down, safe and sound. 

 

Edited May 5, 2016 by Logan.Darklighter