Torquimedes

Scientist Bob: I have a theory about where new planes come from! Eggs. From space. Like this sketch. Engineer Bill: I could build something like that. Why does the baby plane look like a fish? Pilot Jeb: I can fly that. And I’ll do it from INSIDE the egg. But where do the eggs come from? Scientist Bob: My theory could answer both of those questions. Look at what I’ve just sketched around this other sketch. A Kurvy Bird is like a giant penguin that flies, eats fish, and lays eggs. In space. Engineer Bill: I can build that too. But I’ll need to add a cockpit to this end here, to fly the outer plane, then release Jeb to fly the egg and then the baby plane. Pilot Jeb: Nope, I’ll do it all myself. Just shift the egg up here and cut holes in those doors, and I’ll be able to see out to fly that part, and then drop out flying this part, then break out of there to fly the other part. Easy as one-two-three, lookout-for-debris! Happy Easter! KerbalX link Each of the three craft is a flyable, landable aircraft, but are balanced for their nesting stage. All are stock, tested in stock aero. Launch: Set brakes. Throttle full. Stage and wait for engines to spool up before releasing brakes. Do not stage again. Miss the ocean and climb into space. Fly safe. Operation via Action groups: 1. Lay egg. Engage RCS and use N as necessary. 2. Engage egg engine. Fly egg. 3. Crack open egg. 4. Release Kurchick from egg. 5. Engage Kurchick engine. Fly Kurchick.

CargoBurster Requirements: No cheats other than unlimited fuel and stock parts All stock parts, no cheats at all. Check. [*]the challange is to build a massive cargo plane. Cargo plane, check. [*]inside the the cargo bay put a small ship. Parasite, check. [*]fly the cargo plane to 600 [meters] and have the engine jettisoned Jet jettison prior to parasitic extraction, check. [*]then have the small ship deploy its parachute still inside the cargo bay Parasitic parachute, check. [*]then disconnect the small ship Parasitic extraction, check. [*]now have the cargo plane deploy its parachutes and you win Post-parasitic-extraction plummetary protraction, check. [*]when you do this send me a video or pictures CargoBurster life cycle documentary included with delivery of prototype, check. Dropping the engine had our engineers scratching their heads awhile, but we assured them the customer is always right, so they made it happen. During testing they realized this makes it much easier to extract the parasite. They did ask why the plane has to die in order for the cargo to fly, but they stopped asking when we mentioned the pilot korps is always recruiting. Operation: EVA a pilot from the cockpit into the PowerChute's External Command Seat. Stage to ignite carrier engine. Climb to 600m. Fly safe. Use action group 1 to open the cargo bay. Stage to jettison engine section. Stage to deploy PowerChute chutes and ignite PowerChute's engine. Use action group 2 to decouple PowerChute from carrier and deploy carrier chute. Switch craft to PowerChute and holler "YEE HAW!" KerbalX link. CargoBurster life cycle documentary best viewed in fullscreen HD.

Given: - A request to build a Moller Skycar - A challenge to land on the island runway without breaking 150m - A challenge to land a VTOL on the island hangar and then on the VAB I concluded if I can build a Skycar, surely it can complete both of those challenges easily enough, including the bonus of reaching zero altitude on the way. How hard could it be? Oh, the hubris of ambitious engineers... I was surprised that landing on the hangar was easier than the runway landing for the Low Flier Elite challenge. The tricky part was lifting off from the hangar, I initially forgot to set SAS correctly and nearly flipped over. Craft and aero are stock. Time of completion was 17:34. This video is an engineering demonstration of the craft completing the challenges. My pilots have not practiced the run to find the fastest time possible. I'm told the Benny Hill theme should be playing over the middle section of the video.

EDIT: 356 m/s Pure Stock. Incrementing meter by meter...

Given: - A request to build a Moller Skycar - A challenge to land on the island runway without breaking 150m - A challenge to land a VTOL on the island hangar and then on the VAB I concluded if I can build a Skycar, surely it can complete both of those challenges easily enough, including the bonus of reaching zero altitude on the way. How hard could it be? Oh, the hubris of ambitious engineers... The hardest part of this one was getting onto the end of the runway without busting the ceiling, which drove me to redesign the Skycar to make this easier. Even so it was an exercise in jet-lag VTOL bouncing around the berm at the end of the runway until I could get over the edge but under the virtual limbo bar. I'm told the Benny Hill theme should be playing over this section of the video. Lowest altitude: After using the retro jets to slow down, I took the time to dip into the ocean before climbing onto the runway. It looks like it settled half a meter into the water but the altimeter stops at zero. I thought it would be cool to jetski up onto the island and then hop up to the runway, but the engine pods shear off too easily. Flawless completion: The Skycar not only survived, but went on to complete the Island VTOL race in the same flight. This video is an engineering demonstration of the craft completing the challenges. My pilots have not practiced the run to find the fastest time possible. Craft and aero are stock. Time of completion was 8:07.

352 m/s Pure Stock

The challenge of building a Skycar is how closely one adheres to the aesthetics and scale of real-world models, which is severely limited with stock parts, including the lack of rotating axles. This craft is completely stock and operated in stock aero. Only informational mods were used during construction (RCS Build Aid) and operation (KER and Advanced Resource Panel). Paul Moller said “A VTOL aircraft needs an artificial stabilization system. It’s essential. ...If that system fails, or the engine fails, that vehicle crashes.†This model has 4 torque of SAS per ton, plus vernor thrusters tucked under each engine nacelle for fine-tuning landings. Moller also said “A VTOL, like a hummingbird, has a high metabolism, which means it requires a lot of energy. It is very difficult...to get a large amount of power in a small package.†This model uses a pair of jets tucked almost out of sight for hovering, a pair for forward thrust and another pair for retro thrust. Takeoff can be horizontal with the hover jets gradually lifting off, or vertical with the forward jets transitioning to horizontal flight. The Moller M400 has 8 engines, 4 computers, and 2 parachutes. This one uses 6 engines, 2 computers and 1 parachute. This parachute was tested many times and the pilots survived every time it deployed. They also survived many RUDs when the chute was not deployed. The Moller M400 “targeted performance†(never tested), and this model's actual performance: [FONT=courier new][COLOR=#000000] M400 vs v12.4 Top speed: 143 m/s-> 285 m/s[/COLOR] [/FONT][FONT=courier new][COLOR=#000000]Range: 207 km <- 150km[/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=courier new][COLOR=#000000]Ceiling: 9.75 km -> 12.5 km[/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=courier new][COLOR=#000000]Climb rate: 19 m/s-> 20 m/s at sea level[/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=courier new][COLOR=#000000]Cargo: 340 kg -> 3350 kg[/COLOR][/FONT] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial][FONT=courier new]Mass: 1 mt <- 18.5 mt[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR] KerbalX link: Moller Skycar v12.4

If you've unlocked the Science Jr and Goo Canister, you can mount multiples on a rocket or plane and land it in various biomes around Kerbin, even if you lack wheels. If you've unlocked the Mobile Lab as well, you can take just one of each experiment type you've unlocked. The Lab can reset those experiments to perform multiple times, and store multiple copies of the results, until you hit the limit of diminishing returns. Check this thread for ideas and sample craft if you haven't exhausted Kerbin's biomes yet. FYI the Science Alert mod is a very helpful way to know when you've arrived in a new situation where you can harvest more Science, and perform experiments from a handy control panel instead of having to click directly on each tiny part.

As a rule of thumb, a BasicJet can lift 15 tons off the launchpad. including its 1 ton weight plus fuel. As mentioned above, put the jets in a separate stage from launch clamps and give them a bit to spool up. If you use KER watch for TWR=1.0 to release the clamps. Try this: Start with an Engine Nacelle or Radial Engine Body. Add a tricoupler and 3 Basic Jets. Add 8 radial intakes, because the nacelle includes one. There's enough space to do this without part clipping. If you're not averse to mods, the Intake Build Aid really helps to balance the intake-to-engine mapping. Total mass of this unit is 3.7 tons, lift capacity is an additional 41.3 tons. The 40 units of fuel in the nacelle should propel you to 450 m/s at 20km or so where you'd run out of air anyway, so there's no wasted fuel mass when it's time to jettison. A bit pricey at 15k Kerbucks but it's a handy modular first stage. There's space to attach a parachute if you're using a stage recovery mod, or AV-R8s if you need more pitch control. I put a liquid stage on top of this (LT-30 plus 1200 units of fuel) with a radial coupler as a hybrid booster system. Total cost is about 22k Kerbucks and each hybrid booster delivers 5 tons to LKO. If you lack larger rockets and your PC can handle the part count, it's easy to slap these on radially as a modular launch system. KerbalX link

The Shadow is almost too real. Don't get a mod that turns it black. And don't add sound effects. Or I may never sleep again. The Dragonfly OTOH is adorable. Impressive aesthetics on both craft. Also impressive that you landed both of them by parachute on the island runway without damage, and then took off again.

Ever landed a rocket in the highlands instead of the beach near KSC because the displayed trajectory doesn't account for re-entry drag? Or crashed a plane but wish you could retrieve it for full recovery of funds, minus the exploded bits? We might all need to deliver heavy mining equipment across Kerbin when resource harvesting is added to KSP. These cranes harness the lifting power of the Basic Jet, augmented by the Rockomax Mk55 to fill gaps in the jets' throttle response. The Mk55’s large gimbal range helps stabilize touchy VTOL operations and acts as a panic button to abort missed approaches. Effective range depends on how much rocket-panic is invoked, since they share LiquidFuel with the jets. Control POV is vertical, allowing SAS-Radial to automatically settle into a stable hover, freeing the pilot to concentrate on precise translation and manage their sink rate. Craft are tested and intended for keyboard operation in a completely stock game. Models are defined by payload capacity and mission type: Gosling delivers payloads up to 18 tons, Gull retrieves them. Goose delivers payloads up to 45 tons, Pelican retrieves them. Albatross delivers payloads up to 60 tons, Vulture retrieves them. Retrieval cranes handle payloads using a Klaw. They can launch from the Pad and grapple a payload from the Runway for delivery abroad if you don't wish to add a docking port to the payload. Delivery cranes are loaded as a subassembly and attached to a docking port on the payload centerline. They feature a pendulum joint that allows a larger pitch axis for more lateral speed. The pendulum, docked with the payload, acts as a separate craft from the crane. It includes solar panels to provide power to undock from the payload after delivery, along with a disconnected emergency battery for night operation. The first model is named Gosling because the pendulum joint was inspired by Firefly's Serenity. Some people may juggle geese, but Krazy Ivans are not recommended with these craft. Action groups for all cranes: 1 Toggle rockets 2 Toggle intakes 3 Arm Klaw 4 Release Klaw or docking port Gosling Delivery Crane KerbalX link Mass: 11,677 Cost: 16,240 Parts: 35 Endurance: 18 ton payload deliverable 50-100km from launch point on Kerbin Approx one minute of rocket assist is available. Put craft file in Subassemblies folder Load payload in SPH/VAB Attach subassembly to docking node on the centerline, close to directly over CoM if possible Right-click the OKTO2 under the left intake, Control from here. Engage SAS, set vector to Radial. Throttle zero and stage to ignite engines. Tap 1 to toggle off rockets. Stage to decouple pendulum. Throttle up and launch on jets. Fly safe. Because the control POV is vertical: AD roll to vector thrust toward the desired left/right translation. QE yaw inversely. Think of Q as pushing on the left side to swing it forward. Tap WS gently to move faster/slower toward your delivery. Use throttle to control climb/sink rate. Use 1 for bursts of rocket assist if you sink too fast for the jets to spool up. When you’ve delivered the payload, set throttle to zero if it is level, or just below liftoff thrust if it is not. Switch craft to the pendulum and use 4 to undock. If it refuses, enable the emergency battery. Switch back to the crane and fly it back to KSC. Fly safe. Gull Retrieval Crane KerbalX link Mass: 11,022 Cost: 13,857 Parts: 26 Endurance: 19 ton payload retrievable 50-100km from launch point on Kerbin Approx one minute of rocket assist is available. Kerbal not included, operation is unmanned. But I couldn't keep Jeb from flying this thing anyway. Engage SAS, set vector to Radial. Throttle zero and stage to ignite engines. Tap 1 to toggle off rockets. Tap 3 to arm the Klaw. Throttle up and launch on jets. Fly safe. Because the control POV is vertical: AD roll to vector thrust toward the desired left/right translation. QE yaw inversely. Think of Q as pushing on the left side to swing it forward. Tap WS gently to move faster/slower toward your delivery. Use throttle to control climb/sink rate. Use 1 for bursts of rocket assist if you sink too fast for the jets to spool up. When you reach the payload, carefully hover over it as near the CoM as possible. The Klaw will automatically grapple the payload. Off-center and off-angle grappling is possible with careful liftoff and landing. Rightclick klaw and free pivot. Throttle up jets to gently lift off. If SAS cannot hold the radial vector, tap 4 to release the claw and doubletap 1 if you need a burst of rocket to lift free. GOTO grapple. Fly back to KSC for recovery or other another site for delivery. Fly safe. Tap 4 to release the payload after delivery if it is not intended for recovery.

I'd like to submit the lowest speed with the highest payload ratio. (I know that last bit doesn't count.) This was more of a relay than a race. I used this challenge to test my hybrid skycranes, so I flew the course twice. It's a fair test of VTOL operations over a moderate distance. That hangar roof is trickier than it looks with a bulky payload on a variable slope. The 12 ton Gosling delivered an 18 ton payload from the runway to the island hangar, undocked and returned to the VAB. (Time: 25:21) I'm certain I could shave at least 5 minutes off that, considering the Gull's time is under 20 minutes, and the Gosling's hinge joint allows more pitch range for lateral speed. The 11 ton Gull flew from the runway to the island hangar, then picked up the 18 ton payload and brought it back to the VAB. Time: 19:18

This series of aircraft is intended to help people quickly and efficiently collect science to boost their career. They were designed for ease of operation and to minimize cost and tech requirements, beginning simply and progressing in complexity as necessary parts and facilities are unlocked. Together, these craft can reach 8 of the 9 biomes on Kerbin. Any with wheels can explore all KSC biomes. - Operating instructions are included in the craft files. - All of these aircraft were tested with a keyboard and without SAS. - Only rear wheels use brakes to prevent flipping over on landing. - All have a wide stance and steering unlocked to aid in takeoff and landing. Some feature outrigger wheels on the wingtips. - All feature the option to land safely via parachute for people who have trouble landing aircraft. It is possible to land on the KSC runway in this manner. Fly as low and slow as you are comfortable approaching the target area. Near the target, cut throttle and lift the nose to bleed off excess speed. Take care to stay on course during this phase of flight. The goal is for the plane to reach its minimum airspeed and stall forward directly over the target. Deploy the chute at this point and you will land very near this spot on the ground. AeroCognos These craft can operate from the level-1 hangar and runway. Engine is thrust-limited to 50% for easier handling and increased range. Crew: Scientist Kerbal is recommended for the best science return.. AeroCognos S2 variant launches vertically and lands by parachute on the target biome with two sets of Science Jr and Goo canister for a cost-effective science harvest. KerbalX link Cost:10,445 $ Mass:4.4 t Parts:19 Range: Able to reach 6 of 9 biomes on a one-way trip. Poles and Badlands are out of range and water landings are not recommended. Tech required (total 200 science points): Start Basic Rocketry Survivability Science Tech, Flight Control Aerodynamics Operation: Throttle full. Stage to launch. Aim for your target biome. Apply pitch trim as needed en route. Fly safe. Land via wheels or chute as desired. Repack chute if necessary. Perform all experiments. Fly back to KSC and land by wheels or chute. AeroCognos S3 variant Includes three sets of Science Jr and Goo canister to get more science in one trip, and wheels to make it a round trip. KerbalX link Cost:14,950 $ Mass:4.5 t Parts:19 Range: Able to reach 7 of 9 biomes round trip. Badlands is out of range. Polar exploration is possible one-way. Water can be reached by rolling very carefully into the ocean and driving out at minimum throttle, as seen below. Tech required +90 (total 290 science): Start Basic Rocketry Survivability Science Tech, Flight Control Aerodynamics, Landing Operation: Throttle full. Stage to launch. Takeoff and aim for your target biome. Apply pitch trim as needed en route. Fly safe. Land by wheels or chute as desired. Repack chute if necessary. Perform all experiments. Fly back to KSC and and by wheels or chute as desired.. Cloudlab CloudLab is a flying science rover. It launches from the runway, lands in the target biome, and can be driven to additional nearby biomes for maximum science collection in a single sortie. It can carry all scinece instruments as they are unlocked. Its onboard lab can process results for more return on transmission, reset materials and goo for multiple uses, and store multiple copies of experiments. Finally it can be flown back to KSC for maximum cost recovery. Crew: If you prefer SAS in flight and manual landings, take a pilot. If you prefer to land by parachute, take an engineer to repack the chutes. Make sure there are two scientists in the lab before takeoff. These craft require level-2 SPH. Tech required +180 (total 470 science points): Start Basic Rocketry Survivability Science Tech, Flight Control Space Exploration, Aerodynamics, Electrics, Landing Upgrade options: As you unlock more science instruments, attach them to the sides of the Science Jr module. The empty node on the aft end is for the nosecone sensor. Add more solar panels for more power generation. If you add retractable panels, don’t forget to retract them before flight. Upgrade antenna for faster transmission. Upgrade batteries for a larger tranmission buffer. Action groups: Raise/lower main landing gear Toggle air intakes Deploy parachute Abort: Toggle intakes and deploy parachute CloudLab E1 is the single-engine variant, a more cost-effective craft for medium-range sorties. KerbalX link Cost:22,380 $ Mass:7.4 t Parts:53 Range: Able to reach 6 of 9 biomes round trip. Poles and Badlands are out of range and water landings are not recommended. Full throttle. Stage to begin takeoff roll. Make minor yaw corrections on the runway as necessary. The outrigger wheels will protect the wings. It is a perfectly cromulent strategy to drive off the end of the runway before pulling up to avoid the ocean. Head for a border between multiple biomes. Fly safe. Land near the border. Send an engineer EVA to repack the chutes if you brought one. Don’t fall off the craft or you’ll have to shuffle personnel in a game of musical hatches. Use brakes and yaw and very gentle throttle to turn broadside to the sun for optimal solar panel generation. Set the brakes. Gather crew report and perform all avaiable experiments. Process reports and clean experiments with the lab as needed. Transmit anything that gains >0 science. Perform all experiments again. Send a scientist EVA from the lab’s upper hatch to hop onto the science pod. Collect data from all experiments. Hop down for EVA report and surface sample. Enter the lower hatch to store all data. EVA a couple times from the upper hatch to take and store more surface samples. Plant a flag as needed. Release the brakes. Use brakes and yaw and very gentle throttle to drive across the border into another biome. Until nearby biomes are exhausted, GOTO step 6. Until all planned biome visits are complete, takeoff and GOTO step 4. Takeoff and head back to KSC. Fly safe. Land by wheels or chute as desired. CloudLab E2 is the twin-engine variant with more speed, longer range, and jet fighter aerobatics. KerbalX link Cost:30,140 $ Mass:11.5 t Parts:83 Range: Able to reach 7 of 9 biomes round trip. Badlands is out of range and water landings are not recommended. Do not throttle full on takeoff, half is easier to handle on the runway. Stage to begin takeoff roll. Make minor yaw corrections on the runway as necessary. The outrigger wheels will protect the wings. It is a perfectly cromulent strategy to drive off the end of the runway before pulling up to avoid the ocean. Head for a border between multiple biomes. Fly safe. Land near the border. Use brakes and yaw and very gentle throttle to turn broadside to the sun for optimal solar panel generation. Set the brakes. Use action group 1 to raise the main landing gear. The outrigger wheels will keep the craft level. Send an engineer EVA to climb the portside ladder and repack the chutes if necessary. Gather crew report and perform all avaiable experiments. Process reports and clean experiments with the lab as needed. Transmit anything that gains >0 science. Perform all experiments again. Send a scientist EVA from the lab to walk aft and hop onto the science pod. Collect data from all experiments. Hop down for EVA and surface sample, then climb up the portside ladder to reenter the lab. Use action group 1 to lower the main landing gear. Release the brakes. Use brakes and yaw and very gentle throttle to drive across the border into another biome. Until nearby biomes are exhausted, GOTO step 5. Until all planned biome visits are complete, takeoff and GOTO step 4. Takeoff and head back to KSC. Fly safe. Land by wheels or chute as desired.

Added KerbalX link to OP for the curious.

After using parachutes to emergency-land aircraft, and crashing some of them after forgetting to shut intakes at the same time, I wondered if it would be feasible to build a paraglider-type craft. The answer is no and yes. No, parachutes in KSP don’t provide lift, so technically this isn’t a paraglider. Yes, you can build a PowerChute craft which flies with chutes deployed, in true Kerbal fashion. The PowerChute One launches vertically, flies horizontally with chutes partly deployed, and lands vertically with them fully deployed. 1. EVA before launching. Do not fall. 2. If you fell, deploy ladder and climb to the top. 3. Right-click the chair and board it. Engage SAS. 4. AFTERBURNER 5. Above 1km, deploy chutes and pitch over. 6. Paraglide! Or, fly a jet engine dragging a pair of chutes across the sky like anchors. 7. When you decide where you want to land, DIVE on it steeply. 8. At 300m the chutes will fully deploy, so cut the jet and SAS. 9. Float to a gentle landing. 10. Leave the chair. Hop down the landing leg. 11. Deploy and climb the ladders to repack the chutes. 12. Do some sightseeing and/or SCIENCE. 13. Climb a ladder. Board the chair. 14. AFTERBURNER 15. YEEEEE HAAAAAAW Action groups: 1 - deploy chutes 2 - toggle intakes Abort - toggle intakes and reaction wheels, deploy chutes. see Powerchute 1.4 on KerbalX.com