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SSTOs! Post your pictures here~


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If any of you are able to test this craft with docking to something in orbit and screenshotting it and posting it here, I would love you long time!!!!

Pretty much I don't know how to randevu in space and would love to see this SSTO docked to something xD

OK, I got you covered. But before I dive into the pics, got a few questions...

1. Why did you use a Jr. Docking Port? They make it wobble a lot if trying to move the plane with a planetary transport or something.

2. Why did you use fuel from rocket engine tanks instead of jet fuel tanks when using the jets?

3. Why did you put the CB Antenna's on the bottom of the plane? That make it hard to land without snapping them off.

Comments:

Very well flying plane.

Balance is spot on.

Plenty of fuel to get to orbit and maneuver around.

Docking port when selected "control from here" does not align with target port when docking. (No wonder you had trouble docking. I had to do it via visual instead of flying the ball.)

Now for the pics...

Climbing to top of atmosphere with jets.

4182C150AA3C48FCDB4049701387F29F76D275C5

Obtained orbit.

0E630CDB5B038A20C36AEF625023F4E103A8389D

Approaching target to dock.

ED0BFB2F933E04F03394C0A16521F8EA1DAB3DF5

First alignments.

6FCD8AAB6F6BDE1FF50C2F2ADCBB254E3F2CA767

Aligned.

0A05F7A3A33A07B28903ADF97D19DBB010C65912

Just a bit more.

AA6335D7F326EED54384BB96F1A72A5C4FE196D4

Done.

8420EACAD86970BBA8C9B5A12FE81416421FEF02

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OK, I got you covered. But before I dive into the pics, got a few questions...

1. Why did you use a Jr. Docking Port? They make it wobble a lot if trying to move the plane with a planetary transport or something.

2. Why did you use fuel from rocket engine tanks instead of jet fuel tanks when using the jets?

3. Why did you put the CB Antenna's on the bottom of the plane? That make it hard to land without snapping them off.

Comments:

Very well flying plane.

Balance is spot on.

Plenty of fuel to get to orbit and maneuver around.

Docking port when selected "control from here" does not align with target port when docking. (No wonder you had trouble docking. I had to do it via visual instead of flying the ball.)

Now for the pics...

Climbing to top of atmosphere with jets.

4182C150AA3C48FCDB4049701387F29F76D275C5

Obtained orbit.

0E630CDB5B038A20C36AEF625023F4E103A8389D

Approaching target to dock.

ED0BFB2F933E04F03394C0A16521F8EA1DAB3DF5

First alignments.

6FCD8AAB6F6BDE1FF50C2F2ADCBB254E3F2CA767

Aligned.

0A05F7A3A33A07B28903ADF97D19DBB010C65912

Just a bit more.

AA6335D7F326EED54384BB96F1A72A5C4FE196D4

Done.

8420EACAD86970BBA8C9B5A12FE81416421FEF02

OMG I LOVE YOU!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!! ♥(•̪ââ€Å’ââ€Â•̪)

I so need to learn how to do this!

xD

I used the Small docking port because I didn't think I needed a large one xD

The two antenna should be retracted while landing~

I have since replaced the 4 engines on the outer wings to have their own jet fuel and the two inner engines take fuel from the main tanks... I guess it's still a work in progress as I keep fiddling with it, It's not as fast on Jets as my previous SSTO, but as you said, it's balanced, my previous one could get to orbit, but on re-entry it would tumble uncontrollable.

Thanks for doing this, It made my day : >

Edited by KissSh0t
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Your quite welcome. I enjoyed doing it.

Only suggestion I can make at this point is put the docking port as close to the COG as you can. On the top is fine. This way, if you want to push it to Laythe, then it won't try to spin your pusher much.

I just got done landing it back at KSC. I was a bit tail heavy on gliding. I could have moved some fuel forward but I couldn't easily get to the tanks that had the remaining fuel and you didn't provide any landing instructions, so I decided you knew best and probably didn't need the fuel moved. I managed to get down and land on the runway but I did knock off the 4 most aft engines in the flare. Still, Bob survived and walked away to tell about it. :)

It's a much better flying and to orbit plane than I have ever built. I've tried a few but you have obviously put a lot of time and love into this one. So, you definitely the better plane builder. Not only that, it looks awesome. Great Job. When you get it tweaked, you should offer it again. I look forward to flying your next version.

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Your quite welcome. I enjoyed doing it.

Only suggestion I can make at this point is put the docking port as close to the COG as you can. On the top is fine. This way, if you want to push it to Laythe, then it won't try to spin your pusher much.

I just got done landing it back at KSC. I was a bit tail heavy on gliding. I could have moved some fuel forward but I couldn't easily get to the tanks that had the remaining fuel and you didn't provide any landing instructions, so I decided you knew best and probably didn't need the fuel moved. I managed to get down and land on the runway but I did knock off the 4 most aft engines in the flare. Still, Bob survived and walked away to tell about it. :)

It's a much better flying and to orbit plane than I have ever built. I've tried a few but you have obviously put a lot of time and love into this one. So, you definitely the better plane builder. Not only that, it looks awesome. Great Job. When you get it tweaked, you should offer it again. I look forward to flying your next version.

Yeah, Landing is a bit tricky.. I've knocked off those 4 engines too xD I found coming in with a bit of speed instead of gliding to land works a bit better, Still not perfect though, I sort of wish there were longer landing legs :/

I like the tip about the Docking port being center to mass, I didn't think of that, will have to do that when I tweak it some more.

I will post it here when I get around to it : >

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SSTO Type 23 Diamond R3

This is a rebuild of the previous Type 23 Diamond R2 SSTO, The R3 is much easier to land, Unlike the R2 where the rear 4 engines would hit the ground xD

One thing to note is that when it is low on fuel it will want to pull up when controlling it manually, while I was landing and taking screenshots at the same time I was fighting with it to stay level, but it is controllable :x

Craft File >> http://www./?86076ta86698mkv

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I call this Icarus... I'm not sure why, as it really can't get anywhere near the sun. Exactly 100 parts, about 38t at launch.

This is an older design; the latest revision moved the engine nacelles outboard some, and relocated the monopropellant tanks to make the door accesible, but I don't have any good screenshots of it.

icarus0.png

The docking port shown didn't actually work with my space station, so I had to move it forward a ways.

icarus1.png

It's almost all stock parts; I added a custom radial-mount drogue chute for spin recovery, but that's it. You can see them spent, just to the sides of the tailplanes, here.

icarus2.png

I can land it, but only on empty tanks. It doesn't have great pitch authority at low speeds on a full tank, though I think the problem is actually more with the structural linkage at the cockpit and the main fuel tank.

icarus3.png

It has a few basic problems. Its center of mass doesn't line up quite right with the aerospikes' center of thrust, so I wind up needing to burn RCS to hold the nose down if I need to thrust more than 25% or so in orbit. It's also nearly impossible to keep it straight on descent, and can't recover from spins without the spin recovery chutes. I've yet to make a successful reentry without the spin recovery chutes.

That aside, it flies pretty nicely in atmo both full and dry, and glides well. My flight pattern goes something like this: 60 degree climb to 12 km; 10 degree climb to 1.2 km/s (usually about 20 km); rocket-assisted jet flight until flame out (usually about 22 km); 45 degree insertion burn. It's currently only functional as a personnel transport or as a lifter for comparatively light cargo (I've lifted a 1.5t probe with it, but couldn't manage to a 2.5t rover), and its range is limited to LKO. I feel like I'm missing some crucial bit on spaceplane design, or else I've fallen into some awkward middle ground between "tiny little single engine bits" and "giant planes as big as the runway with dozens of engines" that the stock parts don't really support. Ah, well; it was a fun development!

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[...] I've fallen into some awkward middle ground between "tiny little single engine bits" and "giant planes as big as the runway with dozens of engines" that the stock parts don't really support. [...]

I found that 150 Liquid Fuel (one jet fuel tank) and 2.5 to 3 Intakes per Turbo Jet, 1020 Liquid Fuel + Oxidizer (6 FL-T400) per LV-T30 Rocket Engine and 2 Turbo Jets per LV-T30 work well. Stick on plenty of wing to make it leave the ground and your good. At least if you use one or two sets. I have some problems getting a plane with 4 sets to orbit, not quite sure what the problem is yet, but I suspect lack of sufficiently big control surfaces.

I posted a SSTO Spaceplane using two sets (4 Turbo Jets and 2 LV-T30) a few pages back, here is a plane I made today that uses one set. Because it is pretty light and has 4 Intakes per Turbojet, I have almost double the jet fuel I need. Handy for returning to the KSC after botched re-entrys. It is also stable enough to be flown to orbit and back without ASAS. In fact it has to because ASAS is not installed :P

83 parts, the Horbro Mk I:

utd3A17.jpg

(Might have a bit more Wing Area than absolutely needed, but whatever...)

Earlier Prototype without RCS or Solar panels. Also lacks the Yaw stabilizers:

SBBqekE.jpg

(You know who that is...)

Edit:

One more Pic, docked with Jaeger Station Fuel Depot:

pc9AamU.jpg

My flight plan with almost anything is pretty much 60° until 17-20k (depends on how many intakes you have) then slow climb until 1100 - 1300 m/s, always with one eye on intake air levels. Ignite Rockets, switch half of the turbo jets off if applicable. Before air runs out kill Turbo Jets and close Intakes, 40° pitch until Apoapsis is > 40k or so, Prograde until it's at target height. Circularize, done.

Edited by the_bT
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I made a very small SSTO that can reach orbit with less then 100 liquid fuel spent. Got up too a 120km orbit with 104 liquid fuel spent. Gets up to a circular orbit on it's jet engine. Then it has two of the smallest rockest in the game to give it the last nudge. The SSTO comes complete with rcs thrusters and a docking hatch ofcourse. And enough mono fuel for docking manoeuvres.

ikQt3Nl.jpgDsoLohn.jpg

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I'm old schooling it. No mods (except TAC fuel balancer), no embedded or double wings, transport size / hoping to carry a useful payload. Spent the day on modifying my "Delta Mark II". I would say I got close to orbit one time. Fun !!

l7ot.png

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I really want the craft file for this. Could you share? Please?

No problem, here's the .craft file, it's a very steady ride as long as you use SAS, but it has incredibly tight fuel tolerances. This thread briefly explains how to get it into orbit, but if you haven't played around with SSTO spaceplanes much, it might be a bit frustrating to get the hang of it. Once you figure it out though, it's very stable so it makes it easy to repeatedly get it into orbit.

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SSTO%20MK2%20LONGSWORD%201.png

SSTO%20MK2%20LONGSWORD%202.png

i call it the "ssto mk2 longsword"

it can reach lko of 72000m (72km) with just barely enough fuel left to circularize. the excess fuel can then be spent getting you to a nearby space station for docking and refueling. i was able to refuel this thing and fly it straight to duna orbit. havent managed to land the thing on the surface, anywhere else than kerbin, however.

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No problem, here's the .craft file, it's a very steady ride as long as you use SAS, but it has incredibly tight fuel tolerances. This thread briefly explains how to get it into orbit, but if you haven't played around with SSTO spaceplanes much, it might be a bit frustrating to get the hang of it. Once you figure it out though, it's very stable so it makes it easy to repeatedly get it into orbit.

Thanks! I've been struggling with my own SSTOs, trying to make a small, economic and low part count spaceplane that could take 3 kerbals to my space station in Kerbin orbit. So far I got this:

screenshot554.png

It flies well, but I had to tweak a bit the ISP of the rockets so they'd be able to get it into orbit, and I feel like a cheater.

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