EvenFlow

Soon (TM).

It's powered by 4x Panther engines like the majority of my replicas. It's a nice balance and allows highly detailed, sometimes a bit draggy replicas to achieve near-real-life performance. Yes, while the shape of the in-game swept wing is a pretty close match it is far too small. The Tomcat has a wingspan of over 19 meters and the stock, non tweakscaled wing is only about 4-5m in length sadly.

Overhauling the nose section of my Eagle, I'm trying to incorporate the Gravioli-detector cockpit glazing I used on my F-104 on it. It looks quite accurate, but the drag is turning out to be a big, big issue. Due to how the physicsless parts are handled in KSP, placing about 50-60 Gravioli detectors on a single part seems to f-up the drag values completely. The top speed of my Eagle dropped below acceptable levels (345m/s in level flight at sea level for all of my 4th gen fighter replicas) and now sits at about 336m/s even with the thrust limitations on the engines removed. I'm gonna experiment and try making it less draggy, but it's a tough endeavor. I'd be eternally grateful for any suggestions on how to bypass the drag model for these parts. I've already searched through the CRAFT file and cant seem to find any parameters which could somehow be related to drag calculations. Here's a WIP pic for hype and context.

Yup, it is off. As mentioned, due to fairing cross-sections being circular it's really hard to model the fuselage correctly. In the F-104s case the fuselage gets a bit more elliptical towards the nosecone, i.e. height/width > 1 and it's hard to model that in KSP while staying true-to-scale sadly. If we had some more control over the shape of our fairings this could have been possible, 1.25m diameter of the fairing base is kinda limiting my options in regards to shaping the fuselage accurately too. :p We need 0.625m fairings pretty bad btw.

Correct! Fixing it in the current version. Thank you so much for the feedback, this actually made me compare my model to the blueprints. It is still a tiny bit chubbier in the center fuselage section due to KSP part diameter limitations (0.625m fairings pls gib) but it looks far better with it's nose shape corrected and the canopy a tiny bit enlarged. It's worth keeping in mind though that the version of the F-104 you are showing above seems to be an early prototype of the Starfighter - the XF-104 which was a bit shorter and smaller than the production variants and could make the canopy look bigger in relation to the fuselage. Here's a picture for context. EDIT: Craft updated. c:

The F-104G was an export version of the original Starfighter built for the USAF in the early 60s. This aircraft saw extensive service with European countries, it was often used outside of it’s original role of a high speed interceptor, being assigned to low altitude ground attack missions which didn’t really suit it’s sluggish flight characteristics caused by high wing loading. It’s quirky flight characteristics and speed-focused, low lift design made it an exceptionally tough plane to fly in European conditions. Multiple accidents, often resulting in death of the pilot earned it the Widowmaker nickname among the German pilots. The Starfighter was a troubled, but a classic design and one of the first high mach interceptors in service. The G version features an additional dorsal fin for stability. This plane also features a jettisonable canopy activated either through staging or the abort key. Due to fairing drag issues present in 1.4.3. this planes speed is lowered. This is a game bug and will hopefully be fixed in the future. Have fun flying! DOWNLOAD LINK: https://kerbalx.com/EvenFlow/F-104G-Starfighter v1.0 - Initial release v1.1 - Major changes to the canopy and the nose section of the airplane, they have been made more proportional and pointy (thank you for the feedback selfish_meme!). Minor tweaks to the positioning of the undercarriage. Vertical stabilizer leading edge angle has been corrected to match the real aircraft.

Major overhaul released, since I've decided not to give it another thread I will just bump the existing one in case anyone wants to update their download.

So I've updated some visual aspects of my 'Cat. Will be updating it in a few minutes and since I've based it off blueprints I've decided I might as well show you how nicely it matches the real Tomcat when viewed in KVV after updates to the wings and wing gloves.

The Forrestal is delayed a bit since I want to get proper elevators working on it and they are really tough to get right, but in the meantime I've started building something else: Any guesses on what this might be? :> Coming soon, probably within the next two weeks or so.

So this thing: Is supposed to be landed on a boat apparently. So I took out my boats. Beginning with this one. Grisha-class corvette. 70m long and just a tad not flat enough. We need a longer boi for the task. Yeah, that's promising... But again, too short and not flat enough. Kanin-class destroyer, 120m long. a tiny flight deck for helicopters on the back but i don't really think an F-14 could qualify as a helicopter in any scenario. We need to bring out a bigger boi. About this much bigger: Forrestal-class supercarrier in the making, mere 320m long, 40m wide at waterline and up to 86m on the flight deck. Will try to make it not-too-much more part-heavy than my HMS Invincible carrier. Coming soon to international waters near you.

Absolutely! Feel free to, it's an honor for me. c: Also, thank you so much for developing DR. It's absolutely flawless and this thing would never exist without it.c:

Actually I'd go as far as to say that this Tomcat wouldn't be here if Servo didn't attempt it first. I always thought of the Tomcat as a near-unbuildable aircraft due to all it's technical complexity. I'd love to cooperate with Servo on some project in the future though. c:

The Tomcat has always held a special place in my heart. As a child, I used to rewatch Top Gun over and over and build scale models of the famed big fighter. Even today, I still believe it is one of the most beautiful and innovative airframes ever concieved and constructed. Even if it won't take it to the skies under US Navy roundels ever again, I have decided to give it a second life in the skies of Kerbin. Here is my replica of the F-14 Tomcat - the most successful variable-geometry fighter to ever enter service. INTRODUCTION: The "stock" part of the title is actually a bit complicated. In this replica, I've decided to opt for visual accuracy and performance over anything else, and thus I could not fit in a bulky stock bearing system that could handle the stresses on the wing surfaces properly. At the same time, a Tomcat without it's variable-geometry wings isn't a true Tomcat of course, thus, I've resorted to a different solution. Parts that make up the aircraft are completely stock and you are free to fly it out of the box. Swing-wing capabilities though are provided via a handy mod called DockRotate which I will include below. It doesn't add any parts or functionalities besides making the docking ports capable of rotation. I believe this is the best compromise I could manage. It allowed me to place the wing bearings in their correct position (I've actually read some blueprints to make sure they are correctly modelled) while maintaining the sleekness of the wing gloves themselves. The mechanism operated extremely smoothly and I'm very satisfied with the result overall. INSTRUCTIONS: The Tomcat has extremely comparable performance to my other jet fighters. Due to it's unconventional wing layout and behaviour it has a few small details worth knowing before you take it to the skies and buzz some towers. 1. Takeoff: This one is pretty straightforward. Don't use excess yaw and roll as in all planes in KSP when rolling, feel free to use flaps (AG6) and rotate at about 90m/s. Tailstrikes shouldn't be possible unless you have your tailhook extended which would be unusual for takeoff. 2. Landing: The Tomcat has some beautiful handling characteristics when landing. Remember to land with wings extended, with wings folded under 200m/s the aircraft may be very underresponsive, albeit in emergency situations landing with wings folded is absolutely viable as long as you keep your speed about 30m/s higher than usual. The stall speed depends on your fuel load but with about 50% of fuel (which is about what you will be landing with for the most part) sits at around 40m/s. Optimal approach speed sits at around 60m/s or whatever other speed that allows you to slowly lose altitude while maintaining mild nose-up attitude. AoA for touchdown should sit at about 10 degrees. You can extend the brakes (Brake buton), flaps (AG6), and the tailhook (AG5) if you need to bleed off speed. With drop tanks attached be careful not to slam down too hard as this can damage the tanks. 3. Overall flight behaviour: Some quirks the Tomcat has: Since it uses it's elevons for roll control it can sometimes take a few tenths of a sec to achieve it's max pitch rate if coming out of a roll. Keep that in mind if you need to pull up hard from a dive for example. Other than that just keep in mind that it's a big and heavy fighter. Also be aware that flight behaviour will change depending on the wing sweep: 20 degree sweep will favor turn rate and responsiveness at low speeds while folded wings will increase roll rate and energy retention at higher speeds. 4. Operating the wing mechanism. The wing mechanism is the central part of this replica. With DockRotate installed, AG1 and AG2 are assigned to increasing and decreasing the sweep respectively. Main guidelines are: - Only change the sweep when not maneuvering. After the wings are locked in position you are free to push the 'Cat as hard as you like. - Change the sweep at speeds of 240-250m/s and higher. Lower speeds will not break the pivots but they will put unnecessary strain on the wings. - Don't try to unfold the wings when they are already unfolded or fold them when they are already folded. One click of the proper AG will put them in their correct position. ACTION GROUPS AND FUNCTIONALITIES: Stage - Detach the drop tanks. Brakes - Deploys the airbrake, engages wheel brakes. AG1 - Toggle afterburners. AG2 - Wings folded (With DockRotate). AG3 - Wings unfolded (With DockRotate). AG4 - Toggle tailhook. DOWNLOAD LINKS: DockRotate (Optional, enables variable-geometry wings) (Thank you @peteletroll!): https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/170484-141-dockrotate-rotation-control-on-docking-ports/ CRAFT file: https://kerbalx.com/EvenFlow/F-14B-Tomcat Enjoy! v1.0 - Initial release. v1.1 - Some tiny details polished out, missing autostruts added where possible. v1.2 - Nose assembly smoothed out. v1.3 - Ventral fins aligned properly, strutting improved. v1.4 - Minor changes to the tail section to make it appear smoother. v1.5 - Changes to the tail section and nacelles to make them appear smoother overall. v1.6 - Aerodynamic improvements, top speed increased by about 5m/s overall. v2.0 - Major overhaul of the whole airframe. Airframe reinforced, wing gloves remodelled, wings refurbished to appear cleaner and more accurate, wing sweep corrected to match the real aircraft, horizontal control surfaces updated. I highly recommend updating your craft if you have downloaded a previous version. v2.1 - Aerodynamics improvements, antennas are now modelled better. v2.2 - Tiny changes to the positioning of the fuselage panels in some places to increase the overall smoothness. v3.0 - Complete rework of the nose section, the replica is now fitted with a cockpit which closely resembles the real F-14.

Cum historia mutat valde.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u4YLIacGZo Releasing it in a few hours. Turned out quite nice.

Not really. A certain cat with it's tail missing. :>

Making a thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgNGtGI-XbM Dunn dunn dudu dudududu dum dun.

Without going into much detail as Nachbar and JimmyR seem to have provided enough evidence already I can confim that fairings seem to produce extreme amounts of drag in the current patch. Some of my spaceplanes which use fairings seem to be producing disproportional amounts of drag. Screenshot of the same craft with and without fairings at comparable speeds and altitudes: EDIT: I can also confim that this behavior seems unique to the current patch. The planes I mentioned were tested in previous patches and could achieve higher speeds (these drag artifacts were not present back then.)

Currently attempting to build a 1:1 scale stock Sea Dragon rocket. Just finished the first stage engine bell and it already gives you a sense of scale of that project.

F-117A Nighthawk I've decided to give this rectangular, highly draggy brick a try. Making the Nighthawk really is a problem of making a really unflyable shape flyable. After a ton of fine-tuning I've managed to make it quite manageable and neutrally stable without SAS. It definitely isn't as easy to fly as some of my fighters (Well, it shouldn't be really) and requires some practice to get used to it's input response delay and odd yaw behavior, but it is by no means frustratingly sluggish. It can pull 4-5G turns at 140-150m/s. At low altitude it tops out at approx. 160m/s and can hit 270-280m/s high up. It also features a functional internal bomb bay opened with AG2. It houses a payload of two GBU-10 bombs dropped through staging. Overall I'm pretty happy with the result as this has been a very experimental build for me. I hope you will enjoy flying it. CRAFT LINK: v1.0 - Initial release v1.1 - Intake grids moved to the front to appear more realistic, wing structure modified to appear smoother, strutting improved. https://kerbalx.com/EvenFlow/F-117A-Nighthawk

True. While getting the shape correct wasn't all that hard, getting it to fly and stay stable in all situations was the tough part. The lift vector was extremely unbalanced and drag was just horrible. Currently it can hit approx. 160m/s at low altitudes and go up to it's correct historical 1000kph (approx 280-300m/s) at higher altitudes. It is neutrally stable and is actually pretty manageable to fly. It does take an experienced pilot, since all the drag and wing surfaces make it respond to control inputs slower than your average fighter. It can pull 4-5G turns at speeds of around 140m/s though so it's not frustrating in any way. Completing the weapon systems now. It will get released in the next 48 hours most likely.

Anyone in need of a precision airstrike?

This is the first production version of the Flanker which uses AL-31F turbojets without thrust vectoring. Variable nozzles were introduced on the Su-30 AFAIK. The tailplanes are indeed all-moving which really wasn't easy to achieve considering there are no stock fins which would both fit the scale and the shape of Flanker's tailplanes. Radar isn't included since this is a pure stock version (I could probably put in a little replica inside though since there is plenty of space in the nosecone, you just gave me a great idea!), but the nosecone fairing can easily house a BD armory radar!

Sukhoi Su-27S Flanker-B So I've decided to make another jet replica before finishing off my B-29 and as I wanted an adversary for my F-15C Eagle, this choice seemed only natural. The Flanker was the USSR answer to the incredible performance values the F-15 Eagle achieved. Designed as a pure air superiority fighter, it's designed for dogfighting and neutralizing state-of-the-art aerial threats. The key to it's effectiveness lies primarily in it's high maneuverability, even at low speeds. It's a good match for the Eagle: It is a bit slower in terms of top speed and acceleration at all altitudes while also topping the Eagle slightly in terms of maneuverability. The Flanker was fine-tuned to be relatively similar in performance to the Eagle so I highly encourage to download both the Eagle and the Flanker, slap some Pilot AI on it and put them against each other in a gloves-off dogfight. Have fun flying the Flanker! CRAFT LINK: v1.0 - Initial release. v1.1 - Wing strakes were smoothed out and flight performance was adjusted and improved to be more realistic. https://kerbalx.com/EvenFlow/Su-27S-Flanker

The Tomcat looks absolutely incredible. I may be in love with that canopy. Meanwhile I've been working on some custom canopy replicas too! And something to intercept them with. Actually it's things.

Yeah, the TWR with reheat is well above 1.0, somewhere around 1.2 if I remember correctly so vertical climbs are absolutely possible!