Storm - Advanced Trainer

[Cupcake...]

CRAFT FILE(s):

https://goo.gl/Ra2enP

 

UPDATES:

12/11/16 - Aesthetic improvements.

15/11/16 - Basic fins added for improved handling, high altitude performance.

4/12/16 - Rescue Edition Added, standard version upgraded to include drop tank & a few small tweaks and improvements.

20/12/16 - Docking port moved to top of craft(s), landing gear re-positioned, re-balance.

11/1/17 - Visual Update.

Presenting the Storm advanced trainer, a high performance jet aircraft that'll sharpen your flying skills to a knife edge.

Built on the proven Squall air-frame the storm replaces the Junos with something altogether more manly.

The Storm is most at home in the upper atmosphere where you can super-cruise at Mach 2 for over two hours, all this with just 160 units of fuel! Using the afterburner will let you operate the craft above 20,000m and still get burn times of over an hour.

That's not to say you can't fly it very fast indeed at ground level!

 

CONTROLS:

1 - Toggle Main Engine
2 - Toggle Afterburner
9 - Toggle Gimbal
0 - Toggle Cockpit Doors/Speed Brakes
ABORT - Undock Fueling Port

 

PILOT NOTES:

A joystick is highly recommended, I'd also recommend installing Pilot Assist:

Don't pull back too hard or too early on takeoff as the landing gear only has limited clearance for the engine.

If you're planning a long range mission the faster you can gain altitude the better, you'll want an initial ascent angle of at least 45*.

At extremely high altitudes above 20,000m the craft is optimized to fly at high angles of attack in order to allow the rear intake to bite into the air and keep the engine fed with oxygen.

The craft is designed to be inherently stable and the nose will drop slowly when flying without SAS, you can use this to help tweak your pitch when cruising.

At extremely high speed (Mach 3) you will sometimes get control surface flutter, this can be fixed by temporarily disabling the SAS and then re-enabling it. At maximum speed using the afterburner you can disable the SAS entirely.

If you want to circumnavigate Kerbin I've found the ideal cruising height to be 15,000m.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Cupcake...

 

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by Cupcake...

[Dafni]

Oh wow, the Squall gets a big brother now. Nice. I had heaps of fun with the Squall already. Its a neat design.

That clipped Panther reminded me of the old style whiplashes at the first glance.

Thanks again for sharing, looking forward to practice my runway landings

[Karol van Kermin]

Oh wow! I was looking for a good aircraft and I eventually found one! Gonna practice my landing skills now!

Thank you very much for that brilliant aircraft!

[Cupcake...]

13 hours ago, Dafni said:

Oh wow, the Squall gets a big brother now. Nice. I had heaps of fun with the Squall already. Its a neat design.

That clipped Panther reminded me of the old style whiplashes at the first glance.

Thanks again for sharing, looking forward to practice my runway landings

Good luck! Let me know how you get on.  

5 hours ago, Karol van Kermin said:

Oh wow! I was looking for a good aircraft and I eventually found one! Gonna practice my landing skills now!

Thank you very much for that brilliant aircraft!

My pleasure.  

 

Cupcake...

[Thatguywholikesionengines]

Dang, Cupcake! Back at it again with the awesome crafts!

[Cupcake...]

Video is live folks, enjoy!

 

Cupcake...

[Majorjim!]

You using camera tools?

[Cupcake...]

5 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

You using camera tools?

I wish! I'm still waiting for the update like everyone else, however I've found a few stock work workarounds to use in the meantime. Plus the Time Control mod let me get some nice shots.  

 

Cupcake...

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Cupcake... said:

Time Control mod

I must test this! Cheers!

[Dafni]

Hahahaha, awesome little video, AGAIN!

Scenic route to the island runway??? My word! Great idea and perfectly executed too.

You truly never cease to amaze me, but it has to be said that those last few craft have been a joy to fly and even make me look like a pro pilot. Clipping the KSC buildings has never been so easy and so much fun.

 

Thanks a ton!

[Guest]

.

Edited December 13, 2016 by RevanCorana

[Heckspress]

Note to self: Decrease throttle before turning unless you're in the mood for some very expensive fireworks

[Cupcake...]

13 hours ago, Dafni said:

Hahahaha, awesome little video, AGAIN!

Scenic route to the island runway??? My word! Great idea and perfectly executed too.

You truly never cease to amaze me, but it has to be said that those last few craft have been a joy to fly and even make me look like a pro pilot. Clipping the KSC buildings has never been so easy and so much fun.

 

Thanks a ton!

My pleasure, glad you're enjoying the designs.

 

Cupcake...

[Cupcake...]

Heh folks,

              I've done a few small aesthetic improvements to the design with the grey strip on the control surfaces now blending seamlessly into the engine & rear fuel tank.

This is also a good opportunity to plug a wonderful MOD that's been bought to my attention recently by @Beetlecat:

Using it I was able to fly a Storm right the way round Kerbin with fuel to spare.

I've found the ideal cruise speed to be 600m/s which will get you over 2 hours of burn time above 15,000m.

 

Good times.

 

Cupcake...

Edited November 11, 2016 by Cupcake...

[Cupcake...]

I've just added a new (and hopefully final) version of the Storm for your downloading pleasure.

The main changes are the addition of two basic fins to the rear of the craft which have allowed me to push the front wing forwards while moving the center of lift back for improved handling.

The extra lift will let you fly higher for longer with a maximum cruise time of just over 2 hours 15 mins flying Mach 2.

Not bad for a 3 ton craft!

 

Cupcake...

 

[Firemetal]

If you aren't using camera tools, how do you change your camera focus? I thought that was a non-stock feature! Also nice craft as always.

Fire

[Cupcake...]

10 minutes ago, Firemetal said:

If you aren't using camera tools, how do you change your camera focus? I thought that was a non-stock feature! Also nice craft as always.

Fire

You can change the FOV in stock using the mouse wheel. Saying that there is a new 1.2 version of camera tools out in the wild.

 

Cupcake...

[Firemetal]

8 hours ago, Cupcake... said:

You can change the FOV in stock using the mouse wheel. Saying that there is a new 1.2 version of camera tools out in the wild.

 

Cupcake...

Yes but you say that camera tools isn't updated yet in one of your pictures, the camera focus is not on the ship but looks as if it is on the flight records tab. Further more, I've seen the streamer Ej_sa move his camera focus and he is completely stock. No mods! Is there a way to do this without modding the game?

Thanks,

Fire

[Cupcake...]

9 hours ago, Firemetal said:

Yes but you say that camera tools isn't updated yet in one of your pictures, the camera focus is not on the ship but looks as if it is on the flight records tab. Further more, I've seen the streamer Ej_sa move his camera focus and he is completely stock. No mods! Is there a way to do this without modding the game?

Thanks,

Fire

Try holding down the middle mouse button and moving the mouse.

 

Cupcake...

[Firemetal]

Ahh. I will.

Thanks.  

Fire

[Firemetal]

41 minutes ago, Cupcake... said:

Try holding down the middle mouse button and moving the mouse.

 

Cupcake...

Alright. By middle mouse, you mean mouse wheel right? Well that just zooms in and out. The mouse I use doesn't really make it easy to hold down the middle mouse either.

Fire

[Cupcake...]

4 hours ago, Firemetal said:

Alright. By middle mouse, you mean mouse wheel right? Well that just zooms in and out. The mouse I use doesn't really make it easy to hold down the middle mouse either.

Fire

Sorry I meant the mouse wheel.  You might be able to re-map the controls if it's tricky to hold down?

 

Cupcake...

[Dafni]

I had a good flight with the Storm yesternight. It handles great and flies for a very long time. Great craft!

[Cupcake...]

13 hours ago, Dafni said:

I had a good flight with the Storm yesternight. It handles great and flies for a very long time. Great craft!

I took it for a bit of blat round Laythe yesterday and the craft's performance there is just ridiculous. I think we're talking about 3.5 hrs of flight time sucking about as much fuel as a cigarette lighter!

Full album link: http://imgur.com/gallery/HRQIx

I really should setup a proper base on Laythe.

 

Cupcake...

Edited November 18, 2016 by Cupcake...

[Heckspress]

Nobody's answering me on the mod thread, but how exactly do you turn off pilot assistant?