Torquimedes

Prototyped a little something I started a long time ago, after my stock X-Wing squadron, when you had to build your own hinges. Couldn't figure out how to fit the docking ports inside it to lock the wings in place after rotation. Now it takes longer to paint it green than to make the wings work! (It's a Klingon Bird of Prey, for those too young to have seen one in person.)

Solar panels are physicsless now? That's a shame. I used them in my butterfly hinge when I needed 90 degree rotation inside a Mk1 fuselage. They worked reliably enough for a light load, but due to the aforementioned sketchiness of landing legs as pistons, I never used that hinge again. That would make an awesome video!

That is a gorgeous craft. I wish I'd thought of using airbrakes as external actuators that can visually blend into the wings. I had "repulsorlift" VTOL engines and LOTS of torque (powered by RTG) in my X-wings for times like this. Also spammed the full-throttle button while falling more or less like a brick, waiting for the wings to dock, but not spinning. Didn't look nearly as good as this bird though. Are those drills on the wingtips? How on earth do you swing that much weight without breaking the hinges? I may have some engineering studies to catch up on.

As always, your dedication to aesthetics produces a work of art compared to my mechanical experiments. Best o' luck with your internal mechanism. I decided to make mine fit inside the largest single-piece container at my disposal (Mk3 bay) due to the required distance dockingports have to travel before they'll redock, and needing the strength of the regular-size dockingport. Big Six ended up 191 parts while I was trying to minimize part count.

I believe I have just witnessed another (r)evolution in Kerbal aeronautics. Outstanding! And the prototype is a beauty too.

Dock me for the chute to keep it fair for everyone else. I'm in it for the fun of it. I just didn't have time to develop a perfect flight profile to stretch the fuel that far. And it was funnier this way. Just look at the photo where they flame out. :-)

May the Fourth be with you! I didn't have time to build a proper airspeeder, so I converted my smallest X-wing by removing the probe cores and airfoils and installing a pair of seats. I also replaced the astromech with an emergency chute. Vertical takeoff from KSC: They landed on the island airfield... ...and returned! ...to the same continent. Same country? County? Well, they didn't make it to the runway, but they definitely made it "back" before running out of fuel and landing with the emergency chute. I included a photo with aero overlay on to demonstrate that the airbrakes do not contribute any lift. The only aero forces are body lift and drag. Scoring: "Eye of the Needle": Complete the challenge of flying to the island runway and back. 1000 points awarded. This depends on how you define "back"... "Hop on!": Carry a second Kerbal to ride in tandem with your driver. +100 point bonus. "Wet Nellie": Complete the challenge with a craft that is submersible. +500 point bonus. It is a submersible craft, as shown in the album, but I did not submerge for the island trip. "Physics Defiant": Use excessive part clipping. 250 point penalty. Up to you. There are 36 parts in a length of 3m. Pure stock, no tweakscaling.

Pure stock? That is a gorgeous little sub!

Folks have built trailer hitches out of almost-docked ports, allowing rotation but held in place by their magnetic attraction.

I built a pair of SSTOs for the "Mastery of One" challenge, which means none of the parts match. No symmetry, including engines wings and wheels, which were the really fun bits to balance.

May the Fourth be with you! [TEASER] Teaser for upcoming youtube with all three articulated stock X-wings in action.

May the Fourth be with you! [TEASER] Teaser for upcoming youtube of all three X-wing models in action. Had to inline the image because IMGUR borked the embedded version.

Thanks, but they don't appear to be free to use on youtube. Anyone else?

Does anyone know of royalty-free music that sounds vaguely like a John Williams soundtrack?

I got around to converting the Monoplane Mk1 to an SSTO. KerbalX link Mass 12.41t Cost 42,312.0 Crew Capacity 4 Part Count 19 Size 5.32 x 3.21 x 14.02 Then I built a Mk2-Mk3 spaceplane out of unique parts. Had trouble getting from the runway up to turboramjet speed, until I added the STO Panther. That is one finicky bird to fly. I was amazed it worked at all. KerbalX link Mass 32.55t Cost 42,490.0 Crew Capacity 4 Part Count 29 Size 10.18 x 6.87 x 19.12