Kerbal Express Airlines - Regional Jet Challenge

[keptin]

Kerbal Express Airlines is in need of updating its aging fleet of regional jets and turboprops. It's a big client, operating at hundreds of airports around Kerbin, and that means big fleet sales. Does your aircraft company offer the right kind of aircraft for the job?

 

Kerbal Express wants profitable aircraft. They're looking for aircraft that meet or exceed their requirements for fuel efficiency, speed, range, passenger load, ease of training, and cost of maintenance, for the right price that gives them the best return on investment. They also want a design that's flexible, offering variations of the same design for a variety of different routes.

The Rules:

• KSP version 1.3 or 1.2.2 (Craft file must import into 1.3 for judging).
• Stock parts + Airplane Plus (optional) only.
• The Mk1 and Mk2 Crew Cabins count as 8 Passengers
• Mk3 Passenger Module and Size 2 Crew Cabin count as 24 Passengers
• Small aircraft must have at least 1 pilot in a cockpit, and medium-large at least 2 pilots. No command seats.
• No reaction wheels.
• Air breathing engines only.
• No overly wacky designs or "spaceships", it must look like a modern aircraft.
• Minor clipping is allowed, within reason.
• A rolling runway takeoff is required.
• Takeoff & Landing speed of no more than 80 m/s (Use flaps to achieve this, if necessary)
• Flaps must be set to toggle on action group Custom 01
• Your aircraft must stay intact. [No drop tanks, etc.]
• Model variants may only have minor differences between them to be considered.
• 15,000m altitude limit.
• Mach 1 speed limit (343 m/s)
• TweakScale is allowed, just please don't ruin the spirit of the challenge with it.
• Submission Deadline: 9AM PST, 7/6/2017

What is a variant?

To improve your design's competitiveness, your company can submit a variant of the same design (See Wants section below). A variant is built on the same model platform with minor changes in design to give it, say, extra range, or extra passenger room. This is most commonly achieved by adding fuel tanks or lengthening the cabin, sometimes with minor changes to wing and emmpanage design. To qualify as a variant, it must generally have the same structural layout, meaning engines, gear, and lift surfaces must be in roughly the same location & design. Basically, if you make it too different, it will be considered a separate model/submission.

What Kerbal Express Air Wants, By Category:

For all categories, Range will be calculated by total fuel capacity divided by fuel burn rate at the recommended cruising speed & altitude.

Turboprop

• Range of at least 800km
• Cruising Speed of at least 130 m/s
• 24 Passengers, and optional 32 Passenger variant

Small Regional Jet

• Range of at least 1000km
• Cruising Speed of at least 220 m/s
• 32 Passengers, and optional 40 Passenger variant with an extended range of at least 1200km.

Medium Regional Jet

• Range of at least 1500km
• Cruising Speed of at least 240 m/s
• 72 Passengers, and optional variant with extended range of at least 2000km.

Judging Criteria:

Every submission that meets the requirements will be ranked w/ feedback from Kerbal Express Jet test pilots, but how well it ranks depends on:

• How well it meets or exceeds the category requirements
• How well it meets or exceeds the requested variant
• Cost of Aircraft
• Fuel Efficiency at recommended cruising speed & altitude
• Ease of maintenance; fewer parts and fewer engines are preferred

How to Submit (See Example Submission in post below). Your post must include the following:

1. The name of your aircraft company and model names for the designs you're submitting.
2. At least one screenshot of your designs.
3. A link to your craft files in your submission post. No PMing me.
4. The price of your aircraft times 1,000,000. (If $23,555 in-game, submit as $23,555,000. This is just for fun to make prices more realistic.)
5. The recommended cruising speed and altitude for your aircraft. This is the speed and altitude you've fine-tuned your designs for, ensuring the best balance of speed, range, and fuel efficiency. It's also what the test pilots will be testing your aircraft at for judging.
6. (Optional, but will help in review) Pitch your aircraft to the Kerbal Express Airlines executives, selling them on why it should be purchased for their fleet. Include any notable features (even if fictional).

==========================================================================

Challenge Submissions & Rank

Turboprop

1. Kramer - 50-100/150 Avery, A well balanced turboprop with good all-around performance and handling characteristics.
2.  
3.  
4.  

Small Regional Jet

1. Kembraer ZO-135, While unconventional in design, the Krembraer ZO-135 performed excellently, besting the competition in every way.
2. Pizio & Hartmann Co. - Bluebell A+, Well featured, and meets all of our requirements at a reduced price.
3. Osprey Regional Jet ORJ400/500, A well-rounded aircraft, meeting our requirements in all areas.
4. Kerbolde Supersonic Jet - AAA072-1, An efficient, high-performance aircraft, but its supersonic speed significantly restricts its use over populated areas.
5. ScarsTarsProducts - Vulture-01, A beautiful looking aircraft with excellent flexibility, but it burns fuel like a mofo.
6.  
7.  

Medium Regional Jet

1. One More Booster Co. - Kerb Ferry 72, Sturdy for cargo use, but its high fuel burn rate and steep price make it expensive for commercial passenger use.
2. Kramer. - 150-100 Baltimore, Expensive, inefficient, loud, and too big. The Baltimore fails to be competitive on all fronts.
3.  
4.  

Edited July 6, 2017 by keptin

[MILN12R]

Damn, you've gone in-depth with this and I like it! If only I could actually create planes that.. work. Anyhow, I look forward to testing whatever everyone else submits! 

[keptin]

Example Submission for copying:

OSPREY REGIONAL JET - ORJ400/500

ORJ400: https://u66999462.dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66999462/Osprey Regional Jet ORJ400.craft

Price: $21,845,000

Cruising Speed: 275 m/s

Cruising Altitude: 12,000 m

======================================

ORJ500: https://u66999462.dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66999462/Osprey Regional Jet ORJ500.craft

Price:$23,195,000

Cruising Speed: 270 m/s

Cruising Altitude: 11,000 m

The key to the Osprey Regional Jet's success is its flexibility. With a line of variants ranging from the light ORJ200 to the fully featured extended range ORJ1000ER, a single model of aircraft can take the place of several, reducing equipment and training costs.

 

Edited June 28, 2017 by keptin

[Guest]

Ill give it a try tomorrow. 

[keptin]

1 hour ago, MILN12R said:

Damn, you've gone in-depth with this and I like it! If only I could actually create planes that.. work. Anyhow, I look forward to testing whatever everyone else submits! 

@MILN12R Check out this tutorial I made! It might help: 

 

[JuicyJeff]

Very nice, will have to try it out when I'm not so sleep deprived

[ScaryTerry]

I LUV IT!!!! This is the challenge i've waited for! I'm probably going for a small regional jet. Thanks man for the nice challenge!

Can we send you the craftfile via KerbalX too?

Edited June 28, 2017 by ScaryTerry

[keptin]

48 minutes ago, ScaryTerry said:

Can we send you the craftfile via KerbalX too?

Sure, as long as the link is your post. I just don't want a bunch of submissions filling my inbox. Nobody has to worry about people copying their designs; I'll put a stop to that if it becomes a problem.

Edited June 28, 2017 by keptin

[ScaryTerry]

21 hours ago, keptin said:

Example Submission for copying:

OSPREY REGIONAL JET - ORJ400/500

ORJ400: https://u66999462.dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66999462/Osprey Regional Jet ORJ400.craft

Price: $21,845,000

Cruising Speed: 275 m/s

Cruising Altitude: 12,000 m

======================================

ORJ500: https://u66999462.dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66999462/Osprey Regional Jet ORJ500.craft

Price:$23,195,000

Cruising Speed: 270 m/s

Cruising Altitude: 11,000 m

The key to the Osprey Regional Jet's success is its flexibility. With a line of variants ranging from the light ORJ200 to the fully featured extended range ORJ1000ER, a single model of aircraft can take the place of several, reducing equipment and training costs.

 

Is the cruising altitude really that high? xD

 

[ScaryTerry]

Vulture-01 ^{By ScarsTarsProducts}
Small Regional Jet

1 Pilot, 32 passengers, Mk1
Aircraft: https://kerbalx.com/ScaryTerry/Vulture-01

Cost: 22'946'000

Images:
https://gyazo.com/61b716b374659f047eb90c14a1f4845a
https://gyazo.com/71ef25d947c09b3cddb917c1e70c5cc9

TakeoffSpeed: 80-90m/s
Normal flight hight: About 3km-4km (with 3/4 thrust) (LF: 0.19/s)
Max flight hight: 8-9km
Range: 1200LF units/ 0.19  ≈{\displaystyle \approx } 1000min flight time (just theoretically) (pls check cause im not sure if right)
Top Speed: Mach 1.05 (3km)
 

The Vulture has an elegant design and impresses with a big range and high speeds, its reverseable engines make landing and maneuvering on land much easier. Its Belly and Front are mostly made out of  strong, structural Fuselage which allows it to be used as an Cargo plane too. In a few weeks the Vulture-02, which is an only-cargo version of the 01 will be available. It will also be possible to transform an 01 directly into the Vulture-02.

Edited June 28, 2017 by ScaryTerry

[keptin]

30 minutes ago, ScaryTerry said:

Is the cruising altitude really that high? xD

Yep! The higher it is, the thinner the air, and better fuel economy.

[Andiron]

Thanks for the challenge, Keptin. Here is my craft :

Pizio & Hartmann Co. presents its new Small Regional Jet, the Bluebell A

 

Technical Specifications :

• 1 pilot and 32 passengers
• Weight of 13.92 tons
• Length of 18.3m; Width of 20.9m; Height of 4.8m
• Range of 2200km
• Cruise altitude of 8000m (or 26000 feet)
• Cruise speed of 860km/h (or 239m/s)
• Take-off speed of 55m/s
• Price of 19,215,000$

File on KerbalX : https://kerbalx.com/Andiron/PH-Co-Bluebell-A

With a design inspired by the Bombardier Dash-8 (production license pending) and two very fuel-efficient jet engines, the Bluebell A is a good compromise between speed, range and economy. Its huge wingspan allows the plane to have short take-offs and landings (STOL), thus it can land on most airports all around Kerbin.

[keptin]

Awesome first entries! I'm heading to bed, but will ensure the test pilots give all submissions a thorough review tomorrow! I totally couldn't wait. First aircraft review is up!

All players are welcome to submit multiple entries!

Edited June 29, 2017 by keptin

[keptin]

Test Pilot Review: ScarsTarsProducts - Vulture-01

Figures as tested:

• Fuel: 620/1200 kal
• Cruising speed: 308 m/s
• Cruising altitude: 4000m
• Fuel burn rate: 0.15 kal/s
• Mass: 15.298t

Review Notes: We really enjoyed our experience with the Vulture-01. Firstly, it's a beautiful aircraft. The under-wing engine layout reduces cabin noise--that'll make our passengers happy. And the conventional design with 54 parts will be relatively easy to maintain and integrate into our existing fleet. Having the room for 1200 kallons of fuel gives the Vulture-01 great versatility for longer range, although few of our regional short-haul routes require ranges above 1200km. For our tests we filled her with 620 kallons of fuel for a range of roughly 1120km. The Vulture-01 handles well when half-fueled, although she wants to nose down hard when you let off the stick. We suspect her center of mass is a bit too far forward of the center of lift. Cruising speed is a peppy 308 m/s @ 4000m. She's a tad heavy for a 32-passenger aircraft, which might contribute to her underwhelming fuel efficiency at 0.17 kallons/second at the tested speed and altitude. Though, its recommended low-altitude at 4000m is likely to blame. We tested her at her ceiling altitude of 9000m, but still had trouble getting the fuel efficiency below 0.15 kallons/second. ScarsTarsProduct's offering of a cargo variant, as well as the available passenger-cargo conversion kit gives the model great flexibility, allowing us to sell or lease the aircraft to a wider range of airlines should our passenger needs on short-haul routes decline.

Our verdict: If ScarsTarsProducts can improve the fuel efficiency of the Vulture-01 into the 0.08-0.10 range, they might have a hit on their hands.

@ScaryTerry

Edited June 29, 2017 by keptin

[keptin]

Test Pilot Review: Pizio & Hartmann Co. - Bluebell A

Figures as tested:

• Fuel: 500/854 kal
• Cruising speed: 250 m/s
• Cruising altitude: 8000m
• Fuel burn rate: 0.09 kal/s
• Mass: 12.170t

Review Notes: Pizio & Hartmann Co.'s Bluebell A meets our expectations on all accounts. The above-wing design makes the aircraft exceptionally stable and easy to fly--this is great for our younger pilots with less training. We love how well featured it is: landing lights, nav lights, plus integrated ladder a big plus. At 59 structural parts (not including accessories: lights, solar panel, and ladder) it will have low maintenance costs. Having the room for 854 kallons of fuel gives the Bluebell A great versatility for longer range, although few of our regional short-haul routes require ranges above 1200km. For our tests we filled her with 500 kallons of fuel for a range of roughly 1380km. The Bluebell A handles well when fully fueled, although she wants to nose down when low on fuel. We suspect her rear fuel tank is acting as a ballast, making her a bit nose heavy when empty. Cruising speed is a good 250 m/s @ 8000m. She's light for a 32-passenger aircraft, which contributes to her good climb performance. While she has good takeoff performance, her lack of flaps give her a higher than desired landing speed, especially for short runways. The inverted rear-gear steering system provides exceptional taxiway maneuverability, but it has the undesired effect of making the aircraft sidestep on landing, which could result in a crash. Disabling this system proved to eliminate the issue. It's very affordable at $19,215,500 per aircraft; we'll see a return on our investment sooner than we expected. We're excited to see if Pizio & Hartmann Co. intend to build a 40-Passenger variant, regardless, the Bluebell A will be a fine addition to the fleet.

Our verdict: The Bluebell A meets our expectations and will make a great short-haul aircraft. It's well featured, and despite its exceptionally dangerous sidestepping issue, we're ready to order ten aircraft immediately, and potentially more should Pizio & Hartmann Co. address the notes in our review.

Updated Review of the Bluebell A+ and B variant: Pizio & Hartmann Co's latest arrival, the Bluebell A+ improved upon the existing design with landing flaps, further reducing landing and takeoff speeds. This had made the Bluebell a suitable aircraft for the short landing strips of the island areas where Kerbal Express Airlines operates. With the further addition of the larger-capacity Bluebell B, the Bluebell series is versatile and well suited for KEA's short-haul division. Both, oddly, still seemed to have the dangerous rear-steer sidestep issue, causing the aircraft to drift dangerously on the ground, but we see this as a minor lethal flaw, as disabling the system as before seems to solve this issue. KEA is ready to place an order of 40 aircraft (30 A+, 10 B), with flex contract option for an additional 10 Bluebell A+'s.

@Andiron

Edited July 1, 2017 by keptin

[Andiron]

Thanks for the review, it's really well done ! We modified our plane to fix the problems; the steering system has been disabled and we added some flaps to have more drag and lift during landing. The landing procedure has also been improved and thrust reversal can be used to slow down the aircraft before touch-down (with the Brake action group).

Pizio & Hartmann Co. presents its new Small Regional Jet family, Bluebell

Technical Specifications for the Bluebell A+ :

• 1 pilot and 32 passengers
• Weight of 14.12 tons
• Length of 18.26m; Width of 20.92m; Height of 4.76m
• Range of 2200km
• Cruise altitude at 8000m (or 26000 feet)
• Cruise speed at 860km/h (or 239m/s)
• Take-off speed at 55m/s
• Price of 21,122,000$

Technical Specifications for the Bluebell B :

• 1 pilot and 40 passengers
• Weight of 16.16 tons
• Length of 20.14m; Width of 20.92m; Height of 4.82m
• Range of 2300km
• Cruise altitude at 9300m (or 30500 feet)
• Cruise speed at 900km/h (or 250m/s)
• Take-off speed at 65m/s
• Price of 22,891,000$

Files on KerbalX : https://kerbalx.com/Andiron/PH-Co-Bluebell-A+ and https://kerbalx.com/Andiron/PH-Co-Bluebell-B

With two bigger, but still efficient, engines provided by our partner Rigau-Ros S.A., the Bluebell B is a jack-of-all-trades to bring your clients faster and further away. With its low stall speed at around 140km/h (or 40m/s) and thrust reversal engines, it's capable of landing on most airports or airstrips all around Kerbin.

[Regor]

Seeing as bow amazing i am at making planes [sarcasm], I will give iy a try tommorow

[qzgy]

As a question, is it ok if I do this in 1.2.2? Everything still should transfer over fine...

[keptin]

@qzgy As long as the craft file imports into 1.3, then I'm ok with it. I've updated the rules to reflect this.

Edited June 29, 2017 by keptin

[aerodis]

I have lots of little airplanes like this. Some of them are on kerbalX, just research aerleeker and you'll find them. I'll do one especially for the challenge.

[sevenperforce]

Presenting the Empress Dart, a top-of-the-line choice for airlines with deep pockets and picky passengers!

This sleek aircraft boasts a luxurious first class adjoining the flight deck, completely separate from the two coach cabins. 

Official publications suggest that the canards on the nose decrease drag and improve awesomeness factor, but this is disputed.

Passengers can enjoy zipping along at low-altitude cruise. With a range of well over 2,500 km, it's fast and efficient.

At a top speed of just under Mach 1, it's a great choice for high-profile express routes.

The pricetag of $126,770,000 may seem steep, but this bird is powerful and stately.

With lift flaps, it can take off and land at under 80 m/s with no problems at all!

Craft file here.

EDIT: I just realized that the rules say a Mk2 Passenger Cabin counts as 8 passengers. Uh...oops!

 

Edited June 29, 2017 by sevenperforce

[kerbinorbiter]

https://kerbalx.com/KerbinOrbiter/AB-1

Price: 72,026,000

cruse speed: 230 m/s/514 (just off a Boeing 737 200) (and its also 2m/s off the max speed so just run it at full)

cruse altitude: 4.69km (15, 387 Ft)

range: a lot.

take off speed: 70 m/s

Crew: 66

notes:

be carfeul on landing and it will turn during take off that is normal let it turn it will take off quickly

no action groups slow down with throttle adjustments 

Company: Pimenova Aviation 

Name: AB-1

Edited June 29, 2017 by kerbinorbiter

[Eidahlil]

KERBOLDE SUPERSONIC JET - AAA072-1

Gallery:

Spoiler

For the connected world of today Abstract Aerodynamics presents a jet to get you there faster. The Kerbolde is sleeker, more stylish, and much more high-tech than what you are flying now. It also features modern features such as protective black paint on leading edges, slender delta wings and USB charge ports for every seat. Cutting edge engine technology offers performance unrivaled by contemporary designs, and while we are uncertain what are its actual performance limits, the restrictions imposed by laws, regulations and manufacturer's warranty will leave you satisfied. Trust us.

Price: $22 999 999

Order link: https://kerbalx.com/juzeris/Kerbolde

Specifications:

Part count: 22; Wingspan: 10 m; Length: 15.2 m; Height: 4.5 m; Weight empty: 12 t

Capacity: 8 32 passengers; Crew: 1 pilot and 2 automated drones to serve sandwiches.

Recommended cruising parameters: speed - 970 m/s, altitude 15 000 m

Average parameters at recommended cruise: fuel consumption: 0.18 kallons/second, pitch: 0 degrees; cruise time: 40 minutes; range: something like 2300 km, if you really save that fuel; example cruise below:

Spoiler

Estimated fuel to achieve cruise: 120 kallons

Takeoff speed: 60 m/s; Touchdown speed: 35 - 120 m/s

Features: Ladder - no; Landing lights - yes; On board espresso machine - no; Pressurized interior - yes; Wing flaps - no; Air brakes - yes.

Flight on one engine: yes (at half power, can maintain altitude, but requires angling the plane)

Maximum allowed speed: 1 000 m/s (exceeding voids manufacturer's warranty, but our test pilot had something like 1430 m/s and survived)

Recommended fuel load on takeoff: 600 kallons or 3 metric tons (another 400 can be loaded into the engine enclosures, but our engineers say superimposing aka clipping loaded fuel tanks is dangerous, scientifically implausible and generally frowned upon. Don't do it.)

Variants:

Here at Abstract Aerodynamics we believe that everyone who chooses to fly Kerbolde should get the full Kerbolde experience and thus offer only the one true Kerbolde model. Also we tried making it longer, but the truth is it just does not look as good.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Eidahlil

[Rosvall]

 

The One More Booster Co. Presents...

The Kerb Ferry 72!

 

This plane is One More Booster Co.'s newest model in the Medium Regional Jet class airplane. 
The Kerb Ferry 72 got its name after an emergency landing at sea during testing in rough weather. Pilot Jeschel Kerman found 
that the plane could easily takeoff from the water. Although this feature was never used after the incident it made for a good name.

The Kerb Ferry 72 features space for 4 crew members, 72 passengers, and a decently sized cargo bay. The main wings are angled 
"rather aggressively" to achieve a level cabin when cruising while also keeping fuselage drag at a minimum. Though it is not exactly
small it handles very well and is very capable in smaller more difficult airports.

(Can be modified to carry more fuel if required since engine tanks are structural)

 

Technical Specifications :

• 4 pilots and 72 passengers
• Weighs 45,895 tons
• Cruise altitude of 7,000 m
• Cruise speed of 310 m/s (increases slowly during level flight at 7,000 meters trending towards 345 m/s)
• Range of just over 2,500 km
• Take-off speed of 65 m/s
• Price of 139,230,000$

Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/download/craft/30582

KerbalX link: https://kerbalx.com/Rosvall/Kerb-Ferry-72

Edited June 30, 2017 by Rosvall

[keptin]

Hello everyone! There are some amazing new submissions that the test pilots will get to as soon as they can. Please be sure to read the rules for the challenge and submission guidelines. Submissions not meeting both will not be considered valid entries.

I see we have our first supersonic aircraft. It's certainly within the rules, but since the intent of this challenge was to create subsonic aircraft, I'm adding a new rule that requires aircraft to operate below mach 1. KSP doesn't account for the cost of advanced materials, engineering, and supersonic regulations over populated areas, but this challenge will. I'll let any supersonic entries submitted so far to be allowed, but consider that loophole closed.