skepticon

[COLOR=#333333][Under construction - lots of work left to do here, still!] Welcome to the new thread! To inaugurate the switch to the new forums I'm doing something I've been meaning to do for quite some time - update and release everything I've been working on since 1.0! We'll also pay respects to those older designs have been retired, and for the first time ever I'm going to open up the aircraft hanger and give a brief look at some unfinished projects in various stages of development. [/COLOR][COLOR=#333333]But first, two small orders of business:[/COLOR][COLOR=#333333] [/COLOR][TABLE="width: 50%, align: left"] [TR] [TD][URL="http://imgur.com/GGejkRR"]HERE[/URL][COLOR=#333333] is our glorious SAD banner, may she ever fly as high as we can dream.[/COLOR][/TD] [TD][COLOR=#333333]Second, when flying any of these aircraft please make sure Aircraft controls are enabled (Capslock hotkey by default). Using default rocket controls instead will often result excessive over-correction and unanticipated lithobraking.[/COLOR][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/GGejkRR.png[/IMG][/TD] [TD][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Nfq4FXI.png?1[/IMG] Blue indicators are the correct setting for flying aircraft.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [COLOR=#333333] [/COLOR][COLOR=#333333][SIZE=5][SIZE=2]And now... on to the planes! [/SIZE][/SIZE][/COLOR][HR][/HR][COLOR=#333333][SIZE=5][SIZE=2] [B][I][SIZE=5]SAD Bureau Designs[/SIZE][/I][/B] [I]Original SAD concepts. [/I] [/SIZE][/SIZE][/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]Wild Whirlwind[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]33 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]YFipy[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0QkxDdEZsX1JGXzA[/URL] [/COLOR][COLOR=#333333][SIZE=5][SIZE=2] [/SIZE][/SIZE][/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]Stinger VTOL[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]49 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]0Y2LH[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_i9mp_pYiR0dHppSHQ2eXNTVXc[/URL] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]Silver Shadow[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]37 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]zhvee[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0enVXTkt5OWk4MVk[/URL] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]Icarus SSTO[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]38 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]rJIKx[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0a01LMjFfLTFyY1k[/URL] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]HALberd SSTO[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]64 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]T3Uiy[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0a1JOeWdtM1hJZ1k[/URL][/COLOR][COLOR=#333333] [/COLOR][HR][/HR] [COLOR=#333333][SIZE=5][I][B]SRA Series Craft[/B][/I][/SIZE] [I]Something resembling a...[/I] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]SRA PAK FA[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]51 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]TmeG3[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0Uy0wUGR1UVA5NFE[/URL] [/COLOR][COLOR=#333333] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]SRA F-22 Raptor[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]55 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]BQzIb[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0TkRzWUl5WEtIams[/URL] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]SRA F-14 Tomcat[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]49 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]rayQQ[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0SEl0dVUwSFh0eG8[/URL] [/COLOR][I][B][SIZE=5]SRA SR-71[/SIZE][/B][/I] [COLOR=#333333]39 parts[/COLOR] [COLOR=#333333]Introduction: [/COLOR](Coming soon.) Album: [imgur]PwEEW[/imgur] [COLOR=#333333]Control Groups:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Performance Grades:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Commentary:[/COLOR] (Coming soon.) [COLOR=#333333]Craft file: [URL]https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_i9mp_pYiR0SnBzdXNHLXBsUUE[/URL] [/COLOR][HR][/HR][COLOR=#333333] [/COLOR][SIZE=5][COLOR=#333333][B][I]Submersible Craft[/I][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [I]Boats and submarines.[/I][COLOR=#333333] [/COLOR][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/hGCfZq0l.png[/IMG][COLOR=#333333] :sticktongue: [/COLOR][COLOR=#333333][SIZE=5][B][I]Retired Airframes[/I][/B][/SIZE] [I]Aircraft whose time has come and gone. [/I][/COLOR][imgur]SmEYB[/imgur][COLOR=#333333] [SIZE=5][I][B]In the Hangar[/B][/I][/SIZE] [I]Unfinished projects in various stages of development. [/I][/COLOR][imgur]zPRvh[/imgur]

Bill was doing some high speed heat tolerance testing for the new cockpit radiators and decided to try a belly landing in the ocean. And then he just got carried away... [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Q9KuPcMh.png[/IMG]

If this can land on water, then anything can :) [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Q9KuPcMh.png[/IMG]

How many kerbals can one stuff inside one of these high density crew modules structural fuselages?

Have you tested them with the craft moving? I encountered similar problems to what you describe, but only stopped or at very low craft speeds. Once I was moving, the intakes generated sufficient air to feed the engines.

no ballast tanks, just bookend wheesleys. It goes about 50m/s underwater.

Actually, in air-breathing mode the performance is the same as 1.0.4. In closed cycle mode, I definitely noticed an ISP drop - I'm okay with it. The closed cycle thrust on the RAPIER was really, really strong before.

Wow, this is a great idea!

swing set? this is clearly a state-of-the-art kerbal gravity testing apparatus.

First, great idea for a thread! I'm working on an SSTO designed to be easy to fly for manual pilots (ie, no mechjeb). Its finished, and I've tested it myself, but would like feedback from others on just a couple areas. I should also mention that many parts of this design owe their inspiration to Rune and other SSTO designers. Like the White Dart, this craft splits apart easily into thirds to change out your payload for various uses. What I want feedback on: How is the positioning and orientation of the cargo bay & docking bay lights? Are they usable for orbital docking? How is RCS performance when performing a docking maneuver? General feedback on ease of use or problems encountered is also appreciated. Flight instructions: 1. Press T, Z, Capslock, 1, 4. 2. Press 4 again as you lift on the runway (flying empty this is about 70m/s). Press G to raise gear. 3. Accelerate horizontally to 200m/s. 4. Cycle 4 to raise your inclination to 25 degrees. I recommend very short cycles of about 5 degrees at a time. 5. At 4,000m press 2. You may or may not drift up to 30 degrees inclination naturally. Its fine either way. 6. At 25,000m press 3. Your apoapsis indicator should be reading ~60,000m now. 7. When your apoapsis reaches 71,000m press 3 to kill thrust and set autopilot to Prograde to negate drag. 8. When you reach apoapsis circularize orbit. 3 can be used in place of X to all thrust quickly. Control groups: 1. Primary air breathers 2. Secondary air breather/primary vacuum engines 3. Change mode for 2 4. Toggle lift control surfaces 5. Cargo bay & light 6. Docking bay & light 7. Solar panel 8. Start fuel cell 9. Disembark group - Extend ladder, engage brakes, kill torque, stop fuel cell. 0. Toggle air intakes Craft file: X55 SSTO Candidate

Stop trying to summon the Kraken, Thingymajigy. You're going to doom us all.

I'm on the fence about this change. On one hand, it makes sense, and it looks cool. On the other hand, a lot of ships already rely on the short engines - most VTOL designs would be wrecked by this change, for example. Now that wouldn't be such a big deal if you gave us a stock hinge...

When you and a friend absolutely need to get to space as fast as possible...

what has science done?

So it turns out that using the Circular Intake + either the Engine Nacelle or Engine Pre-cooler you can clip them in such a way that the only the inside textures fight and it ends up giving you the appearance of a working fan intake. In the example below I've also clipped in a ram-air intake to show how this can be combined for very stylish fighter jet intakes. I highly recommend downloading the craft file and checking this out in game - it looks really great! Craft file: Tech Demonstrator

Great craft, great variety. I laughed out loud when I saw the 'peaceful' soviet combine, and I love the Tricurvatron.

Something resembling a PAK FA - It flies quite well right now, but I'm waiting for the new parts to finalize the design. Very curious if the Panther engines will be able to go supersonic...

Threw something together real quick - can just get over 1,400m/s (not sustained) and return to land. The engine nacelle intakes are much more resilient when it comes to over-heating. Basically at this point, your entire ship is going melt evenly.

I really like the design. You've basically got crew living quarters and huge fuel tank seamlessly blended into the piggyback module. Very well done!

Probably, but I don't have any near-term plans to build an F-22 replica - feel free to use the design if you'd like. It is probably possible to make those engine elevons yaw-functional so that they would block the inside engine while turning - with part heating it may be a lot more trouble than its worth however. - - - Updated - - - I'm glad everyone really enjoyed this thread! I know posting a craft without any screenshots and barely any information seems like the stupidest idea on a craft-sharing forum, but it sounds like people appreciated the silliness of it all, so i feel like it was worth it. My basic gist was just to do a flying wing; it sort of naturally evolved to be similar to the B-2 Spirit. If they ever fix the elevon orientation bug then I'd be able to put enough fuel in it for a stealth refuel tanker. Yes, it looks like the spaceplane hanger lift calculations aren't currently working right with occluded or clipped lifting bodies or wings - this is just the most egregious example of such so far. And for those disappointed I didn't test it in FAR, sorry about that - I doubt I will ever use anything other than stock physics and stock parts. Feel free to attempt to tweak the design for FAR functionality if you'd like, and if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.

well, those zeppelins were known to spontaneously combust from time to time

hmm, that's odd. I didn't post it that way.

Kerbal engineers have recently recovered a craft of ███████ origin (possibly █████) which had been frozen in ice on Kerbin's tundra near the █████ ████. After thawing, the craft ███████ up and flew ██ ███ ███, being guided back to KSC spaceplane hanger via ██████████ ██████, ████████ ███████████, or ███████ ██████ █████. Craft possibly █████ - ███ has named it █████. Craft images: Technology on board is ███████ or more beyond Kerbal state-of-the-art. Visual appearance and high mass indicate strong gravitic affinity and surface adhesion, but craft flies easily - kerbal scientists claim this is due to '███████' technology and begin testing 'other things which shouldn't fly' by dousing them in jet fuel and throwing them at each other. All █████████-shaped items now classified Top Secret including ██████, ███████, and ██████████. Engineering report shows lift equations generate negative values, but craft files effortlessly: No visible means of propulsion, but fuel consumed at a high rate. Launch sequence confusing - on take-off █████ applies (█████ at 100m/s which makes the craft go ██. Invisible on all █████, at night, and in sufficiently dense ███ (especially with the ██████ off). Controls: (1) ██████ ██████ ██████ (2) ██████ █████ ███████ (3) ██████ ██████ ██████ (4) ██████ █████ ███████ Excess fuel capacity detected, but all attempts to feed █████ more fuel end with catastrophic failure. After consulting the oracle, the circle of wizards has declared this is a B.U.G., with the explanation 'control surfaces attached on delta wings which are themselves attached intersecting or forward of the center of mass will have their action direction inverted' - whatever that means. Stupid wizards. Craft file (69 parts): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_i9mp_pYiR0M2NLd0tNaFNYNGc/view?usp=sharing

you could probably make a really sweet zep using the new fairings and the max bounds trick.

I take one of these contracts early on, before I have access to the part in the tech tree, and just never complete the contract so I can keep using the small gear bay on all my planes. Its so much better than the fixed gear.