KTP-120 TaskMaster

[kapteenipirk]

This is now my first official build in 1.1 (not that anyone cares).

I wanted to have a go at creating a cargo aircraft that actually works really well and has less than 200 parts.

And i did just that, and even more.

You might be asking that why now, why create a low part count plane now that we have a chance of creating really big and complicated crafts.

you'll find out.

 

On with the aircraft itself.

I got partly inspired by the stock Stearwing A300 and also by all the bugs on the previous build of KSP.

Basically the bugs on that version made it impossible to build really big aircrafts because the wings fall off, nor could we make small crafts because the landing gears spazz out. With those issues in mind, i created a smaller than usual cargo-plane.

At first i tested to see that does the Stock craft still work, after this test tough, i noticed that........wait a second, the space-plane hangar floor isn't weird anymore, wings aren't falling off and the medium gear wasn't spazzing out. I went to the main menu and noticed that it was a new build of KSP.

Yes, the game got updated and the new version has fixed the bigger bugs.

 

The aircraft is quite the beast indeed. It's not as big as most of my designs but is big enough to full-fill pretty much any role ever.

Performance wise it does really well.

Top Speed: 280 m/s

Cruising speed (2/3 thrust): 200 m/s

Minimum takeoff speed: 45 m/s

Stall speed: 50 m/s

Length: 39.1m

Wingspan: 38.1m

Height: 10.4m

Mass: 69,9 tons

Parts: 175

Carrying capacity: propably around 80 tons of cargo.

The aircraft is very easy to fly and feels very responsive with or without SAS on.

It's made to full fill various different roles:

1. Cargo-plane.

2. Troopship (soldiers and their stuff).

3. bomber. It does have a bomb-bay believe it or not, right after the crew tank.

Versions for the future:

1. Tanker aircraft. Just need to modify one of my fighters and do some testing after that.

2. AWACS. need to get BD-armoury back.

3. Gunship. See above.

Mainly we use this aircraft with our newly developed pallet system.

But our commandos are have also started to use it, since it can carry 16 commandos, their stuff, a scout vehicle, and some bombs and other support weapons.

So, not only can it transport them into the field it can also do some damage itself.

 

The pallet system.

Here is the main cake itself, a fully working and reliable pallet system for all your tactical airdrop needs in rough terrain/situations.

It pretty much allows you to drop anything into the field without needing to land the plane itself.

It comes in two main variants:

1: the standard cargo pallet. This one is used for carrying all kinds of cargo to the field and even more, like for example: fuel, crew, science equipment etc.

These are just some examples i've made.

You can make your own to suit your needs.

You just have to detach the end panel and replace the middle with anything you can fit. I don't suggest making them any longer than that tough, there might be a lot of issues involved.

I think, that in theory, this could also be used for Duna missions as well (you need to attach some drogue shutes), but i'm not sure.

 

2. Rover pallet. You can load small rovers into this one.

I built this one around the rover that i made. sadly the rover could not be turned into a subassembly.

Because of this, i built a cargo-aircraft around the pallet in around 10 minutes.

NOTE: the attachment node in this one is the small strut on top of the panel, not the separator.

INSTRUCTIONS.

1. You will need to attach a separator to the cargo-bay attachment node and then the pallet to that. Please put on the end of the cargo-bay.

2. Some struts might be nice, to keep the thing from wobbling around.

3. Remember to make an action group for the pallets landing gears, if they are retracted during drop, things will explode.

4. Always remember to point your nose slightly up, or otherwise your plane will plummet to the ground, and your pallet will hit the roof of the cargo-bay and things will explode.

5. A slower speed will always help, but i have been able to make successful drops with the rover pallet at speeds of up to 200 m/s.

6. The rover pallet will always land on it's side because of the placement of the parachutes. To fix this, it has vernor thrusters, so use them keep the thing straight.

7. After touch down, tell the pallet to recover itself, otherwise you will be stuck inside the pallet.

NOTE: More versions of the aircraft coming later on.

 

KSB-15 scout buggy:

As a bonus, i'm adding this one here as well. It has a tendency to want to flip over when doing high speed turns, also the wheels explode more than enough.

Plus it's not that great at high speed, but it does look pretty cool tough

We just welded together the front end of a very old V-12 racing car and the back-end of a more modern military scout buggy.

 

There it is for you, the KTP-120 TaskMaster, an aircraft for many roles. i hope you enjoy it .

Download link: Comes with all the versions and all the different pallets (only subassemblies). It also, as a bonus has the KSB-15 scout buggy.

KTP-120 TaskMaster: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l6g8ozntk4ak6ob/KTP-120%20TaskMaster.zip?dl=0