Wanderfound

It sounds similar to Baha's Improved Chase Cam ​mod. If they get it working smoothly, it will be a good thing.

Orbit with speed and precision: Kerbodyne Dolphin. Very fast, lovely flight handling. Flight test at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Dolphin/story Alternate format at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/slideshow/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Dolphin Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0rwq375mszd4nf/Kerbodyne%20Dolphin.craft?dl=0

Fun little challenge: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/110068-Itty-Bitty-Aeroplanes%21 - - - Updated - - - ...added a passenger cabin behind the docking port, and now it fails horribly at life. This has led me to ponder: a) Is there a rule of thumb about the minimum TWR to get a plane to orbit? FAR analysis says the revised bird is still completely steady in all sensible ranges, it takes off at ~110 m/s and the CoM and dCoM are aligned perfectly, but with 0.39 TWR ASL I just can't get the thing above 24km and mach 3.5. At this, it's got excess intake air, but the drag seems to equal the thrust, and it can't gain lift without a dangerous AoA. The successful plane above started with 0.47 TWR and has no such struggles. Is it ever worth having more than one shock cone intake per engine? Was experimenting with MK2 nacelles for two shocks and a radial engine body per rapier, but once again got to that magic 24km mark and couldn't go any faster or gain any altitude, despite only using 45% of its intake air. Was rather hoping to get to 30km and mach 4.5 on air, but maybe that's expecting too much? It's entirely possible that there's another design flaw holding me back - maybe suffering from too much wing surface? Anyhoo, thanks for any advice TWR required is itself dependent upon drag and lift, and intakes enhance flight ceiling rather than speed. Intakes let you run jets at higher altitudes, but the AoA required for a given altitude is a function of both speed and lift. Extra intakes are no use if you don't have the combination of speed and lift required to reach those altitudes. More lift = lower AoA. More speed = lower AoA. More AoA = more drag, too much AoA = can't fly there. While more wing increases lift (reducing AoA), it also increases weight and drag (reducing speed, increasing AoA). It's a balancing game. Ditching some wing would enhance speed by reducing weight and drag, but go too far and the increase in AoA required may outweigh the gains. It also depends upon piloting style; low-drag/low-lift ships need to build speed before climbing, high-drag/high-lift ships want to get up above the soup before accelerating. A low-lift/low-drag build allows higher speeds before rocket ignition, saving fuel. But they require more finesse in ascent path and are harder to land.

Take 2: -- Weight: -35pts Height: -35pts Length: -55pts Width: -43pts Entry: + 100pts Kerbal: +1pt Distance: Circumnavigated Kerbin, 3,769pts Total: 3,702pts All stock parts, FAR aero. Annotated flight at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Challenges/Microplane/Take%202/story

A warm-up attempt... 52pts for distance travelled, 1pt for crew, 100pts for entry, -29pts mass, -35pts height, -43pts width, -56pts length. -10pts total. As I said, more to come. (probably an "add a battery and fly sensibly" run up next...) Annotated flight test at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Challenges/Microplane/story Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/adsrjzmtdoihrwe/Kerbodyne%20Nano.craft?dl=0

Refuelled, but single stage and carrying 26 Kerbals, to Laythe (able to return, but I didn't show that), flying with FAR and DRE: http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Kerbodyne%2025/Kerbodyne%20Kosciuszko/story & http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Kerbodyne%2025/Kerbodyne%20Kosciuszko/Laythe%20Landing/story

An update to my standard fuel depot: Flight test at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Instant%20Infrastructure%202015/story Alternate format at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/slideshow/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Instant%20Infrastructure%202015 Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/rff371i1h9lzar6/Kerbodyne%20Instant%20Infrastructure%202015.craft?dl=0

Whenever someone posts something that I want to encourage. That can be a cool design or helpful tip, but it can also be a kind expression of thanks to another helpful poster or even a gracious retreat from previous bad behaviour. Make the forums better for everyone and you get rep.

It's a fair call on the trainer; the design is optimised for straight-line speed. As I mention at the start of the demo video, if you want it to turn sharply at low speed you need to take advantage of the VIFFing ability. With the Dragonfly, though...given that it's able to generate G-forces sufficient to snap the fuselage in half, I think it already has enough wing... (the 11G showing is post-snap, the meter was pegged a second earlier)

Another staged spaceplane design: Kerbodyne Sabotage. Test flight at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Sabotage/story Alternate format at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/slideshow/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Sabotage Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/4r9gc6zi5p57lrp/Kerbodyne%20Sabotage.craft?dl=0

The most popular of the big ones was the Dropbear. That's getting a bit long in the tooth now, though; it could probably use a tuned-up 2015 edition.

Has anyone done the Mk3 bits yet?

Very much no.

What do you want it to do? Long range, bulk cargo, sporty toy? Dragonfly X (http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/90747-Kerbodyne-SSTO-Division-Omnibus-Thread?p=1652100&viewfull=1#post1652100) is probably the best of the light atmospheric ones.

Need a seriously long range cargo spaceplane, but don't want to have to fly some Mk3 behemoth? Can't be bothered with all of that reentry and landing nonsense? Hate having to lug useless wings through vacuum? The Kerbodyne Sabot. Staging isn't just for rockets. Annotated flight test at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Sabot/story Alternate format at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/slideshow/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Sabot Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/20cgixkub5ljo65/Kerbodyne%20Sabot.craft?dl=0

IIRC, there were also a few missiles launched in this manner; there was an anti-satellite missile launched from a zoom-climbing modified fighter jet. (wiki wiki) ASM-135 ASAT from an F-15.

Fine by me. BTW, I use Open Broadcaster Software for screencaps, and VideoPad Video Editor to edit and add the voiceovers that I record on my iPhone. OBS is free, and Videopad has a free trial (and a reasonable pricetag).

I never claimed to be an ace pilot. What's your trick to accurate VTOL landings? I can put it on the pad, but I usually have enough residual lateral speed that I roll off the edge before I can stop.

Sounds fun, but I doubt it'd make it to stock. Might make a good mod, though.

With ease. While the wings are thin, they're relatively long, and the whole ship is very lightweight and low-drag. It easily reaches orbit on a tiny fuel supply. You only need broad wings if you're lifting heavy loads or want to do high-G subsonic aerobatics. - - - Updated - - - It's easier (and usually more fun) to go small, but you can do it big: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/100849-Biome-Hopper-Challenge-%28Open-for-v0-90%21%29?p=1562196&viewfull=1#post1562196 You can also get plenty done if you can make a Munlander small enough to fit in a Mk2 bay (0.725m parts are your friend here). They don't need a lot of fuel if you use the spaceplane nukes to pull them suborbital before deploying; just don't forget to reorbit the spaceplane before switching to the lander... - - - Updated - - - Egg.

Kerbodyne Karnifex. Size ain't everything. Flight test at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Karnifex/story Alternate format at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/slideshow/Kerbal/Beta/Kerbodyne%20Showroom/Karnifex Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ksj6huivj26x606/Kerbodyne%20Karnifex.craft?dl=0

Finally managed to put a VTOL on a helipad! Kinda...

No idea what's going on with the nacelles. The main cargo bay clipping problem is if the cargo is clipped through the walls: if it is, the ship will explode into a hundred pieces when the cargo undocks. The Initiale was deliberately built with underpowered control surfaces to make it difficult to flip out of control. This means that it requires a bit more stick to lift off than most, and sometimes needs to be held at full stick (mostly at high altitude) rather than letting SAS hold pitch for you. Powering up the control surfaces will fix this, but also make it easier to lose control through rough piloting. Most ships will surge a bit when suddenly held at full stick, especially at low speed / low altitude. Sometimes you can just push through the surge and the plane will stabilise on a steep curve up; sometimes you need to moderate your control input (if flying keyboard, tap the keys, don't hold them) to avoid surging in the first place. A quick surge at take off is normal and nothing to worry about, but after that you want to quickly settle into the desired climb angle. If it's surging/wobbling without control inputs, you need to fix your PID settings.

A demo with the VTOL Trainer:

A spaceplane Munlanding demo: - - - Updated - - - Cool. Gonna take it down for a landing on the ice flats?