Xyphos

I think I fixed it, here's the download: https://kerbalx.com/Xyphos/Mk3-VTOL-SSTA BUT - even if it's stock parts, it uses two mods for VTOL operation; "SASAG" and "Control From Here" - you can download those mods from my "useful mods" link in my signature below. SASAG is used to quickly set SAS to Radial-Out during VTOL flight and normal SAS during airplane mode. CFH changes the control point so the navball updates it's orientation, depending on the mode. IMPORTANT: before flight, set the brakes and stage the RotoKlaw's decoupler, then switch vessels to the RotoKlaw and hold Q until it stows away and locks in place. The RotoKlaw is used for refueling from asteroids, and docking with other vessels that won't fit the shielded docking port. it has enough delta-v and thrust to VTOL it's way to/from 10km Tylo orbit but if you're going to test it on Kerbin, either drain some fuel out of it or use the gravity hack, as it wasn't meant to VTOL on Kerbin. RCS is recommended for VTOL flight.

I have a gaming laptop with nvidia, I use the application to keep the drivers up to date, but OBS is my recording software of choice.

considering it's a plane, I should hope so.... but it's a Mk3 plane. is it really a CoL issue?

well the drills and fairings are the only ones I've experienced, and the drills can be patched as I stated before. tho 1.3.1 is expected to release soon within a week or two, you can either wait till then or try it out now.

I've been experimenting a bit with Stock VTOL planes. I'm using RCS Build Aid to display the WCoM, DCoM and Torque. I've managed to align both CoM's almost perfectly with only 0.326 difference in torque. I've added reaction wheels to counter the torque difference. darn thing still pitches up uncontrollably and flips upside-down no matter what I do. any advice? UPDATE: I think I fixed it. Craft file found here: https://kerbalx.com/Xyphos/Mk3-VTOL-SSTA

"Xyphos" has been a long-standing "handle" or "alias" of mine dating all the way back to the days of UseNet, AOL and dial-up modems. it's only natural for me to coin "Xyphos Aerospace Industries" while learing about aerospace engineering and astrophysics.

1.3 is worth it, while there are new bugs introduced, the overall quality of life and game performance has increased. Tho the fairing bug isn't consistant, it does occur too frequently. my last vessel launched just fine when the last two didn't. however, if you do update, be sure to click the "useful mods" SpaceDock link in my signature and install the Drill Fix patch, or your mining drills will be missing their deploy/retract/toggle action groups. FullAutoStrut is also useful if you intend to use AutoStruts.

The planet is flat and you ricochet off the firmament. (that's a joke people, lighten up)

SnapDock on CKAN and SpaceDock, SpaceDock link in my signature.

usually, my manned rovers will have two docking ports, one in the back and one underneath, when an expidition on one of the moons is complete, I redock it inside a Mk3 cargobay and ventrue off to the next.

Mk2 is best used on planes due to it's lifting surface(s), and the hitchhiker doesn't have lifting surfaces because it wouldn't need them in the vacuum of space. it's quite obvious here...

in real life, why do certain things float, despite their size and mass, but other things sink, also despite size and mass? if you're looking for an explanation or some sort of back story, to support whatever false beliefs you possess, you can pretend there's a layer of buoyant material (or lack thereof) used for construction of the part. but need I remind you, Kerbals convert rocks into fuel; how cheaty is that? I only created this mod as a simple way to support underwater exploration, primarily mine ore from Laythe's seafloor with a submarine with stock parts, and being able to adjust the buoyancy on the ore tanks and other parts allows such. I didn't mean for this mod to stir up so much trouble.

be my guest, and submit a pull request.

you do realize, there's no easy way to specify all 303 stock parts, plus all the mod parts that may want this feature? SpannerMonkey was the only exception thus far, and I offered this patch as an apology, instead I get insulted and hit with a false claim of "creating more work" when really, it's just a copy/paste job, I did all the work to make it possible. sheesh.

Updated to v1.0.2.0 - Added support for mod part makers to disable this mod via cfg settings @SpannerMonkey(smce) you can now disable this mod in your part's cfg - sorry, I didn't mean to step on your toes and I respect the amount of work you put in to your creations. @PART[YOUR_PART_NAME_HERE]:FINAL { %MODULE[BuoyancyControl] { enabled = false } }

certain parts had their colliders omitted to remain "physics-less" nothing I can do about that one.

now you can use this mod to alter your buoyancy and speed up production. imagine simply reverting to editor and changing the setting, rather than changing a config file and reloading the game.

updated to v1.0.0.1 - fixed a bug that caused reverted ships to revert their buoyancy settings; the settings should now persist, even after reverting to editor.

editor only. I figured in-flight adjustments wouldn't make much sense.

To use, simply enable "Advanced Tweakables" in the main menu settings then you'll be able to see the Buoyancy slider on the context menu for every part. Then you can adjust the part's buoyancy to your liking. 0.0 will cause the part to sink. 0.5 is likely to sink it partially. (not always guaranteed) 1.0 will make it float. 2.0 will make it almost unsinkable. NOTE: Some parts in Stock KSP will have their default buoyancy above 1.0 Download from SpaceDock Source Code on GitHub

I've found out the hard way, SSTO rockets aren't very profitable because you'd have to build them big, heavy, and use more fuel than a staged rocket would. even if you were to recover your first stage, it's not really worth the effort, and it's very limiting on the payload due to that pesky rocket equation. that said, boosters typically stage off around 8-10Km, lower stage drops around 30Km maybe a bit higher, middle stage drops off somewhere outside the atmosphere, usually around the 120 Km mark, then I continue to climb and circularize at 2000 Km using LV-N engine(s) from there, I can target any celestial body and safely perform the transfer burn with LV-N engine(s)

finally? huh. I wonder when that happened? oh well, I retract my previous statement then.

and only 2 of those requests are mine, out of all the mods I've published, only a handful made it on CKAN. a lot of them were refused, apparently for licence reasons, but PUBLIC DOMAIN is a valid permissible licence; I don't see the problem here.

all of my mods on spacedock have CKAN support requested, but the maintainers of CKAN are slacking or just out-right refuse. apparently I'm not a member of the club.

I'm not sure. I haven't noticed any changes in performance, but then again I usually don't exceed 250 parts and I have a moderate gaming rig. PS. I updated it to version 1.0.0.1 - I removed the code for the root part to avoid the "Heavy Part" conflict and cleaned up the code to be more readable. please download again using the link in the OP. unless there's a major bug fix or changes to KSP's API, I believe this will be the stable release.