Low tech spaceplane & high alt jet challenge.

[Proterus]

1.   Crafts must be able to safely land without parachutes.

2.  Crafts must not require any building upgrades to build.

3.  Crafts must be stock.

Category A.

Reuseable SSTO spaceplane limited to tech level 4.

Bonus points if it's crewed and if it has scientific instruments on board.

Category B

Reuseable SSTO spaceplane limited to tech level 5.

Bonus points if it's crewed and if it has scientific instruments on board.

Category C 

Airbreathing Crewed crafts capable of reaching >20,000 meters required to have a thermometer and barometer on board. (intended to be used for contracts)

 

 

 

Here are my entries, Category A:  (okay I used a level 5 fuel tank, but I had a low enough part count that I could have replaced the fuel tanks with the shorter ones).

Not even gonna share the craft file for this rather unimaginative design, this craft is capable of getting into orbit but it requires the operator to be rather precise. this one has all of the low tech science on board.

Note I had to tilt it at an an angle and it was just barely short enough to fit the required 15m dimensions but upon startup if you hold the a key it will reorient itself in the right direction. (it seemed harder to get into orbit in vertical takeoff).

 

Again, this is not optimized but it does reach orbit, not too proud of this one, here's one more to prove I landed it:

 

Here's my Category C entry:

Now this one I consider much more useful, this will enable you to complete any of the survey contracts I've seen:

This thing will literally fly itself up to 22,000 meters just by hitting the prograde button.

 

I posted this earlier now that it's a contest I will try to fly it again to post a higher height, here is the craft file:  it's exactly 30 parts and doesn't even have a front wheel.

http://pastebin.com/raw/eQWfQM6T

 

[Proterus]

So  since when I made the falcon I didn't understand how part clipping worked and that you could rotate and translate engines around and they would work properly so now that I put 9 engines instead of 7 I just hit 29,600 meters with the upgraded version, that's on a full tank of fuel too!

 

 

Edit:  This time I took most of the fuel out, clipped the fuel tanks together and got up to 31.8 km!

Edited December 21, 2016 by Proterus
I broke my record!