Wanderfound

Either. Start from the surface or touch and go from orbit; your choice. If you survive, you can bump off the surface back into orbit and land on your next time around. You can even reach escape velocity before coming back if you want. But it has to be SSTMinmus (with refuel in Kerbin orbit only), and it has to touch down with the landing gear (not rover wheels) that it lands on. If people start building and flying specialised SSTM downforce skaters, more power to 'em. We'll see who wins, groundforce skaters or orbital skimmers. On the ground you don't have to worry about descent rate but from the "air" you don't have to worry about braking. Extra credit and possibly a separate leaderboard for good times in things that are just normal, practical spaceplanes rather than one-trick specialists, though.

Just watch out for the roll immediately after takeoff. It's rock solid after you've been flying a minute or so if you can get it leveled and set your trim, but you have to manage it continuously until it gets up to that speed. Low altitude Mach 8 = not designed as a slow-stall glider. A quickish but shallow landing is probably best on Kerbin. VTOL on Minmus is fun. PS Edit: the quickest way to load the economy cabin is to dump three loaded SP+ passenger cabins with a probe core on the runway, disembark the Kerbals then recover the transport before bringing out the Migration and boarding. Or just strip out the seats and pack it full of probes/rovers/station bits instead.

Well, at least aerodynamics shouldn't matter much on Minmus. Borrow a Goblin​ if you want. EDIT: On second thought, don't; no docking port. Longreach will do Kerbin to Minmus return on a single tank. Either Velociraptor can do it with a refuel in Kerbin orbit. Or put a docking port on the Goblin and fiddle with the wings.

Got my plane all prettied up and ready. Gofasta Red, of course.

Also on the way:

Can we loosen that rule a bit? I'm likely to lose at least one control surface to overheating if racing at that altitude.

Ooh, I like. And I just made a racing plane, too...

I'm not releasing it to the public yet, but just as a teaser: this is what I'm planning on taking to Minmus for the Ice Racing Challenge.

As the title says: add an in-game way to access these forums. I'm continually hopping between the two; it would be nice not to have to.

Might be an impermissibly tuned control surface somewhere.

Whoops, forgot that one. Will update to clarify.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86202-Better-SSTO-Spaceplane-Challenge-%280-23-5-0-24%29-Extended?p=1372294&viewfull=1#post1372294 should be educational as to what the heating limits are.

I'm going to have to change my entry. Kerbodyne submitted the Epinephrine because our engineers felt that it was the greatest spacecraft that they had ever constructed. But then they surpassed themselves. NEW! IMPROVED! Kerbodyne Migration Presenting the new release from the Kerbodyne SSTO Division’s Kerbal Transportation Solutions range: the Kerbodyne Migration. Capable of transporting twenty six Kerbals (two crew, four first class passengers, eight business class passengers and twelve economy passengers) in style, speed and comfort (well, in the first class compartment, anyway). Half a dozen quick, inexpensive trips to the Mun and back and you won't just have a Munar base; you'll have a Munar town. Also available in conversions for use as an infantry transport, paratroop intruder, medium bomber, aerial command and control centre, combined crew/cargo delivery vessel, flexible research explorer or large executive jet. Kerbodyne. Quality you can fly. * Action group 1 toggles Aerospikes. * Action group 2 toggles inner RAPIERs. * Action group 3 toggles outer RAPIERs. * Action group 4 toggles RAPIER mode. * Action group 6 toggles intakes. * Action group 7 toggles boarding mode. * Action group 8 toggles docking mode. * Action group 9 triggers scientific instruments. * Action group 10 toggles Vernors. Used for low-grav VTOL and emergency recovery. Keep toggled off at other times. * Conventional RCS remains for your docking needs. * Providing less legroom in economy class could substantially enhance the carrying capacity. * Hopefully they'll soon fix the bug that prevents you from loading command chairs with Kerbals in the SPH. In the meantime, walk. Part Count: 200 Wet mass: 47.947 t Dry mass: 26.142 t Price: from √151,496 * Also available: Wanderfound's Custom Edition. Features Mechjeb Flight Instrumentation, TAC-LS supplies and Extended Trim functionality: action group 5 sets trim to current inputs. https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvms9evo7vjtckg/Kerbodyne%20Migration%20Custom%20Comfy.craft?dl=0 Also requires Shimmy's Throne and Kerbpaint for aesthetics. If you're willing to use such tactics, you can clip infinite life support supplies into the forward bay without using the debug menu. Kinda defeats the point of TAC-LS, though. The flying instructions are so simple that they could fit on one of Jebediah’s post-it notes. 1. Take off. 2. Set pitch to 20°. 3. Go to space. Don’t turn on the Aerospikes until the oxygen runs out. Save the Vernors for when you need them: spin recovery and low-grav VTOL landings. Appreciates attention to roll just after takeoff, but becomes completely stable once up to speed. 110kN of precisely balanced low-grav VTOL capability. Economy Class. Switching to docking mode. Spoilers for descent and landing. Easy take off. Simple ascent profile (profile showing here slightly lower than norm for flight testing purposes. 20° recommended for normal use). Perfect transonic stability. Hands-off piloting with SAS alone after getting up to minimum flight speed. Enough power for a horizontal ascent: note the low angle of attack and lack of control surface activity. Accelerates rapidly. Outer engines shut down to extend air-breathing capability. Switching to closed-cycle propulsion. Aerospikes activated. Finally start to see some heating effects. Exceptionally smooth aerodynamics leave the Kerbodyne Migration immune to speeds that would tear lesser craft to shreds. Getting quite warm now. Whoops. (note: shock heating damage inflicted as a deliberate flight testing procedure. Will not occur if customers follow a sane 20° flightpath as instructed. Kerbodyne takes no responsibility for customer losses while flying above Mach 7 in the lower atmosphere) Still flies perfectly stably. There go the other ones. (note: both losses due to temperature, not aerodynamic failure. The Kerbodyne Migration airframe is perfectly solid unless intentionally abused) Still good. Mach 8, let’s throttle off and see how we’re doing. Not bad. I wonder what will happen if we hit the gas again? Out of gas, maybe the RCS will work. And that’s it, starting to slow down. Oops. I wonder how much RCS we have left? Requires SP+ and FAR/NEAR. Obviously untroubled by Deadly Reentry. Combines exceptionally well with Shimmy's Throne: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/66220-Bond-Aerotech-Shimmy-s-Throne-1-3-1-F100-jet-engine-Updated-15-AUG-14 Craft file available from https://www.dropbox.com/s/gpwx7x5lyu9yr06/Kerbodyne%20Migration.craft?dl=0

I must confess that I hadn't noticed the stock aero part. I fly stock so rarely that anything I say on this could be disastrously wrong. Still, just in case there are some parallels between stock and reality: short bodied small planes are harder to get right than long bodied small planes. It's like a white water kayak vs a sea kayak; the short one is more manoeuvrable, the long one is more stable. I don't see any SAS, and this is the sort of plane that in reality wouldn't fly without advanced fly-by-wire computer assisted avionics. With the Vernors, I understand if you'd rather avoid them as a bit too brute-force, but they do work just as well for rescuing spins as they do for intentional aerobatics.

Quite fond of my new one; hopefully they'll fix it so you can pre-load command chairs in the SPH soon. NEW! IMPROVED! Kerbodyne Migration Presenting the new release from the Kerbodyne SSTO Division’s Kerbal Transportation Solutions range: the Kerbodyne Migration. Capable of transporting twenty six Kerbals (two crew, four first class passengers, eight business class passengers and twelve economy passengers) in style, speed and comfort (well, in the first class compartment, anyway). Half a dozen quick, inexpensive trips to the Mun and back and you won't just have a Munar base; you'll have a Munar town. Also available in conversions for use as an infantry transport, paratroop intruder, medium bomber, aerial command and control centre, combined crew/cargo delivery vessel, flexible research explorer or large executive jet. Kerbodyne. Quality you can fly. * Action group 1 toggles Aerospikes. * Action group 2 toggles inner RAPIERs. * Action group 3 toggles outer RAPIERs. * Action group 4 toggles RAPIER mode. * Action group 6 toggles intakes. * Action group 7 toggles boarding mode. * Action group 8 toggles docking mode. * Action group 9 triggers scientific instruments. * Action group 10 toggles Vernors. Used for low-grav VTOL and emergency recovery. Keep toggled off at other times. * Conventional RCS remains for your docking needs. * Providing less legroom in economy class could substantially enhance the carrying capacity. * Hopefully they'll soon fix the bug that prevents you from loading command chairs with Kerbals in the SPH. In the meantime, walk. Part Count: 200 Wet mass: 47.947 t Dry mass: 26.142 t Price: from √151,496 * Also available: Wanderfound's Custom Edition. Features Mechjeb Flight Instrumentation, TAC-LS supplies and Extended Trim functionality: action group 5 sets trim to current inputs. https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvms9evo7vjtckg/Kerbodyne%20Migration%20Custom%20Comfy.craft?dl=0 Also requires Shimmy's Throne and Kerbpaint for aesthetics. If you're willing to use such tactics, you can clip infinite life support supplies into the forward bay without using the debug menu. Kinda defeats the point of TAC-LS, though. The flying instructions are so simple that they could fit on one of Jebediah’s post-it notes. 1. Take off. 2. Set pitch to 20°. 3. Go to space. Don’t turn on the Aerospikes until the oxygen runs out. Save the Vernors for when you need them: spin recovery and low-grav VTOL landings. Appreciates attention to roll just after takeoff, but becomes completely stable once up to speed. 110kN of precisely balanced low-grav VTOL capability. Economy Class. Switching to docking mode. Spoilers for descent and landing. Easy take off. Simple ascent profile (profile showing here slightly lower than norm for flight testing purposes. 20° recommended for normal use). Perfect transonic stability. Hands-off piloting with SAS alone after getting up to minimum flight speed. Enough power for a horizontal ascent: note the low angle of attack and lack of control surface activity. Accelerates rapidly. Outer engines shut down to extend air-breathing capability. Switching to closed-cycle propulsion. Aerospikes activated. Finally start to see some heating effects. Exceptionally smooth aerodynamics leave the Kerbodyne Migration immune to speeds that would tear lesser craft to shreds. Getting quite warm now. Whoops. (note: shock heating damage inflicted as a deliberate flight testing procedure. Will not occur if customers follow a sane 20° flightpath as instructed. Kerbodyne takes no responsibility for customer losses while flying above Mach 7 in the lower atmosphere) Still flies perfectly stably. There go the other ones. (note: both losses due to temperature, not aerodynamic failure. The Kerbodyne Migration airframe is perfectly solid unless intentionally abused) Still good. Mach 8, let’s throttle off and see how we’re doing. Not bad. I wonder what will happen if we hit the gas again? Out of gas, maybe the RCS will work. And that’s it, starting to slow down. Oops. I wonder how much RCS we have left? Requires SP+ and FAR/NEAR. Obviously untroubled by Deadly Reentry. Combines exceptionally well with Shimmy's Throne: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/66220-Bond-Aerotech-Shimmy-s-Throne-1-3-1-F100-jet-engine-Updated-15-AUG-14 Craft file available from https://www.dropbox.com/s/gpwx7x5lyu9yr06/Kerbodyne%20Migration.craft?dl=0

One: that's a short bodied plane. Yaw and pitch control come from the nose and the tail; the closer they are to CoM, the less leverage they have. Two: off-vertical tails look cool and can work, but they complicate the aerodynamics. Try some properly vertical stabilisers. If you've got ground clearance enough, consider ventral fins. Three: no cargo bay that I can see. Even on specialist speedsters, a small cargo bay is very useful. You can use it to shield all sorts of unaesthetic and unaerodynamic things. Stick one of the half-length bays behind the cockpit and fill it with batteries, SAS units, solar panels, lights, TAC-LS supplies, etc. Also may be handy for emergency crew transport or salvage. Four: what are your control surface tweakables set at? Five: if you want to do crazy aerobatic things, I highly recommend sticking Vernors all over the place and toggling them on and off when needed. Also good for stabilising occasionally temperamental ships.

Just had a thought. You know what would be utterly awesome as a bonus SP+ part when it goes stock? Loading ramps. Parts with doors that open to the side or underneath so that you can drive rovers on and off them. Please, Sir Porkjet, is this a thing that can happen?

Quite fond of my new one; hopefully they'll fix it so you can pre-load command chairs in the SPH soon. NEW! IMPROVED! Kerbodyne Migration Presenting the new release from the Kerbodyne SSTO Division’s Kerbal Transportation Solutions range: the Kerbodyne Migration. Capable of transporting twenty six Kerbals (two crew, four first class passengers, eight business class passengers and twelve economy passengers) in style, speed and comfort (well, in the first class compartment, anyway). Half a dozen quick, inexpensive trips to the Mun and back and you won't just have a Munar base; you'll have a Munar town. Also available in conversions for use as an infantry transport, paratroop intruder, medium bomber, aerial command and control centre, combined crew/cargo delivery vessel, flexible research explorer or large executive jet. Kerbodyne. Quality you can fly. * Action group 1 toggles Aerospikes. * Action group 2 toggles inner RAPIERs. * Action group 3 toggles outer RAPIERs. * Action group 4 toggles RAPIER mode. * Action group 6 toggles intakes. * Action group 7 toggles boarding mode. * Action group 8 toggles docking mode. * Action group 9 triggers scientific instruments. * Action group 10 toggles Vernors. Used for low-grav VTOL and emergency recovery. Keep toggled off at other times. * Conventional RCS remains for your docking needs. * Providing less legroom in economy class could substantially enhance the carrying capacity. * Hopefully they'll soon fix the bug that prevents you from loading command chairs with Kerbals in the SPH. In the meantime, walk. Part Count: 200 Wet mass: 47.947 t Dry mass: 26.142 t Price: from √151,496 * Also available: Wanderfound's Custom Edition. Features Mechjeb Flight Instrumentation, TAC-LS supplies and Extended Trim functionality: action group 5 sets trim to current inputs. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fy0qbhc5tzuypuv/Kerbodyne%20Migration%20Custom.craft?dl=0 If you're willing to use such tactics, you can clip infinite life support supplies into the forward bay without using the debug menu. Kinda defeats the point of TAC-LS, though. The flying instructions are so simple that they could fit on one of Jebediah’s post-it notes. 1. Take off. 2. Set pitch to 20°. 3. Go to space. Don’t turn on the Aerospikes until the oxygen runs out. Save the Vernors for when you need them: spin recovery and low-grav VTOL landings. Appreciates attention to roll just after takeoff, but becomes completely stable once up to speed. 110kN of precisely balanced low-grav VTOL capability. Economy Class. Switching to docking mode. Spoilers for descent and landing. Easy take off. Simple ascent profile (profile showing here slightly lower than norm for flight testing purposes. 20° recommended for normal use). Perfect transonic stability. Hands-off piloting with SAS alone after getting up to minimum flight speed. Enough power for a horizontal ascent: note the low angle of attack and lack of control surface activity. Accelerates rapidly. Outer engines shut down to extend air-breathing capability. Switching to closed-cycle propulsion. Aerospikes activated. Finally start to see some heating effects. Exceptionally smooth aerodynamics leave the Kerbodyne Migration immune to speeds that would tear lesser craft to shreds. Getting quite warm now. Whoops. (note: shock heating damage inflicted as a deliberate flight testing procedure. Will not occur if customers follow a sane 20° flightpath as instructed. Kerbodyne takes no responsibility for customer losses while flying above Mach 7 in the lower atmosphere) Still flies perfectly stably. There go the other ones. (note: both losses due to temperature, not aerodynamic failure. The Kerbodyne Migration airframe is perfectly solid unless intentionally abused) Still good. Mach 8, let’s throttle off and see how we’re doing. Not bad. I wonder what will happen if we hit the gas again? Out of gas, maybe the RCS will work. And that’s it, starting to slow down. Oops. I wonder how much RCS we have left? Requires SP+ and FAR/NEAR. Obviously untroubled by Deadly Reentry. Craft file available from https://www.dropbox.com/s/gpwx7x5lyu9yr06/Kerbodyne%20Migration.craft?dl=0

There's a fair bit of UI polishing to be done. * Not being able to quickload/quicksave wherever you want. * Having to go through multiple loading screens to properly fix staging/action groups/crew/etc niggles noticed just before launch is immensely irritating. * Lack of the sort of basic things like KAC, EE, RCS-FB, etc. * All of the places where you have to use special tricks or spend ten minutes fiddling with the mouse to get the VAB/SPH to do what you want it to. * Ditto for the map screen and manoeuvre nodes. * No obvious cue as to which direction a planetary orbit is going along its orbital path in map screen. * Hassles switching focus and target. * Overly fiddly node controls. Watching encounters flicker in and out of existence as you shift the mouse on the micron scale is not a fun facet of gameplay. * Auto-shrinking nodes in crowded orbits requiring zooming in to reactivate. * Checking and changing action groups in flight. * Right-click menus. * Slow fuel transfers. * Multiple screens, loading waits and clicks to exit. But I have faith in Squad; it'll get there.

I thought that I'd stripped it back down to stock, but obviously I missed something. What exactly was the error message? Mumech or something else? See http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/90747-Kerbodyne-SSTO-Division-Omnibus-Thread?p=1370535&viewfull=1#post1370535 for the SP+ one, BTW. -- EDIT: I've had a look, and I can't see any obvious non-stock parts on it. I definitely didn't leave the Mechjeb flight data thingie on, which is normally what has happened when this comes up. I'd be interested to see the error message; although the plane is flawed in it's current state, probably all it needs is to have some deltas and wing boards slapped on top and bottom of the engines so it works as a lifting body. I've replaced the file at the download link just in case it was a bad upload.

Quite fond of my new one; hopefully they'll fix it so you can pre-load command chairs in the SPH soon. NEW! IMPROVED! Kerbodyne Migration Presenting the new release from the Kerbodyne SSTO Division’s Kerbal Transportation Solutions range: the Kerbodyne Migration. Capable of transporting twenty six Kerbals (two crew, four first class passengers, eight business class passengers and twelve economy passengers) in style, speed and comfort (well, in the first class compartment, anyway). Half a dozen quick, inexpensive trips to the Mun and back and you won't just have a Munar base; you'll have a Munar town. Also available in conversions for use as an infantry transport, paratroop intruder, medium bomber, aerial command and control centre, combined crew/cargo delivery vessel, flexible research explorer or large executive jet. Kerbodyne. Quality you can fly. * Action group 1 toggles Aerospikes. * Action group 2 toggles inner RAPIERs. * Action group 3 toggles outer RAPIERs. * Action group 4 toggles RAPIER mode. * Action group 6 toggles intakes. * Action group 7 toggles boarding mode. * Action group 8 toggles docking mode. * Action group 9 triggers scientific instruments. * Action group 10 toggles Vernors. Used for low-grav VTOL and emergency recovery. Keep toggled off at other times. * Conventional RCS remains for your docking needs. * Providing less legroom in economy class could substantially enhance the carrying capacity. * Hopefully they'll soon fix the bug that prevents you from loading command chairs with Kerbals in the SPH. In the meantime, walk. Part Count: 200 Wet mass: 47.947 t Dry mass: 26.142 t Price: from √151,496 * Also available: Wanderfound's Custom Edition. Features Mechjeb Flight Instrumentation, TAC-LS supplies and Extended Trim functionality: action group 5 sets trim to current inputs. https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvms9evo7vjtckg/Kerbodyne%20Migration%20Custom%20Comfy.craft?dl=0 Also requires Shimmy's Throne and Kerbpaint for aesthetics. If you're willing to use such tactics, you can clip infinite life support supplies into the forward bay without using the debug menu. Kinda defeats the point of TAC-LS, though. The flying instructions are so simple that they could fit on one of Jebediah’s post-it notes. 1. Take off. 2. Set pitch to 20°. 3. Go to space. Don’t turn on the Aerospikes until the oxygen runs out. Save the Vernors for when you need them: spin recovery and low-grav VTOL landings. Appreciates attention to roll just after takeoff, but becomes completely stable once up to speed. 110kN of precisely balanced low-grav VTOL capability. Economy Class. Switching to docking mode. Spoilers for descent and landing. Easy take off. Simple ascent profile (profile showing here slightly lower than norm for flight testing purposes. 20° recommended for normal use). Perfect transonic stability. Hands-off piloting with SAS alone after getting up to minimum flight speed. Enough power for a horizontal ascent: note the low angle of attack and lack of control surface activity. Accelerates rapidly. Outer engines shut down to extend air-breathing capability. Switching to closed-cycle propulsion. Aerospikes activated. Finally start to see some heating effects. Exceptionally smooth aerodynamics leave the Kerbodyne Migration immune to speeds that would tear lesser craft to shreds. Getting quite warm now. Whoops. (note: shock heating damage inflicted as a deliberate flight testing procedure. Will not occur if customers follow a sane 20° flightpath as instructed. Kerbodyne takes no responsibility for customer losses while flying above Mach 7 in the lower atmosphere) Still flies perfectly stably. There go the other ones. (note: both losses due to temperature, not aerodynamic failure. The Kerbodyne Migration airframe is perfectly solid unless intentionally abused) Still good. Mach 8, let’s throttle off and see how we’re doing. Not bad. I wonder what will happen if we hit the gas again? Out of gas, maybe the RCS will work. And that’s it, starting to slow down. Oops. I wonder how much RCS we have left? Requires SP+ and FAR/NEAR. Obviously untroubled by Deadly Reentry. Combines exceptionally well with Shimmy's Throne: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/66220-Bond-Aerotech-Shimmy-s-Throne-1-3-1-F100-jet-engine-Updated-15-AUG-14 Craft file available from https://www.dropbox.com/s/gpwx7x5lyu9yr06/Kerbodyne%20Migration.craft?dl=0

I thought I'd mentioned in the notes, but I might not have: the Vernors are for emergency spin recovery, vectored-thrust aerobatics and low-grav VTOL landings. Any time you're not doing one of those things you should have the Vernors toggled off; balanced conventional monoprop RCS is on hand if desired, but is usually not necessary except for docking. Thanks for the review, Hodo.

Okay: this is still a work in progress. It flies and would get to orbit if you were patient enough, but it needs further tweaking before it's a properly good plane. But attempting to flight test this thing has reminded me of how much I hate flying in stock aero, and I'm getting a bit over it. But you still might find it a useful place to start from. It's nearly there; it just needs tweaking. https://www.dropbox.com/s/bilfqy70t9hhg53/Work%20in%20Progress.craft?dl=0 Not an official Kerbodyne product.

Easy ways to get √ once you're established: * Put a satellite in orbit with a radio, a thermometer, a battery, a solar panel and a probe core. Disable the probe's internal battery to use as emergency reserve. Every time a "science from space" contract appears, send in a temperature scan. * Put a satellite in orbit with a dozen cheap detachable drone-equipped rescue pods for orbital crew pickup. * Leave a Kerbal on the Mun to build a forest of flags. When you're just starting: * Many contracts include a cash advance. Accept, ignore, spend. * Ground tests: girder, Stayputnik, test item, 100% recovery. Test rockets unfuelled. * Splashdown tests: probe core, test item, parachute, RT-10 with 90% of fuel removed and thrust limited. Pop, splash, test.

Well, that solves my next question about funds. Stock prototype nearly done, looking to be about √160,000. One pilot, sixteen passengers. In current configuration, powered by one turbojet and eight RAPIERs. I'm having to do serious violence to my instincts to make something suited for stock aerodynamics, though.