ForScience6686

This is what I do. Intersect at about the island runway, then adjust aoa to keep my trajectory just past ksc. Once in sight it's quite easy to get on the runway. I've fine this from a 500km orbit, but it is dependant on your drag. One tip, if you are coming in to high, roll over and pull up, you still get the drag with the added benefit of increasing your vertical speed. I also tend to come in too fast and have a means of slowing down once on the final approach. Drag chutes are also pretty common on my craft. They help maintain control on landing and require less braking.

Not exactly, you don't have to reach orbit, just be on a high enough sub orbital path that you can land the plane before you start coming back down. https://kerbalx.com/ForScience6686/Goose-x

It depends on the body you're orbiting. Get in orbit and activate, it well tell you what the requirements are if you're not already with in them.

It flies you on the way up, it flies like a winged brick on the way down. The off center thrust on lift off can cause some corrections to over compensate. But you can also use it to your advantage by simply rolling. The way down is generally not powered, so understanding drag and lift are necessary if you want to make it to the runway. Best advice is to stick with rockets and try shuttles when you're ready for a challenge. Start small and work your way up, there's a lot to learn with shuttles.

This is my favorite method. I burn retro until my trajectory intersects the ground at about the island runway, then use a cobra descent to control speed. Almost guarantees a runway landing for me.

The gravity turn should be a gradual turn. Most times I add no input after the initial nudge. Usually just set to follow prograde or turn off sas altogether. I wouldn't hold the angle after 10k, continue to let it turn towards the horizon. Facing prograde contributes the least drag, so you want to be pointing dead on while in the atmosphere. If you stay to increase ap to fast reduce throttle, and finally complete the orbit at ap.

Well duna doesn't take much more, plus you can use it's atmosphere to save you some dv. Ssto space planes are not an easy task, but you're almost there. Some tips though, you only need the shock cone intake, the rest are just hurting you. I would also guess you could do it with just one rapier in that design.

Sorry but mk2 is just too perfect for space plane, so I would disagree. But the rest is spot on. It takes practice to get a good range out of an ssto. But you can also think outside the box. For example, this is technically a ssto, but I earn some of my dv back by leaving some weight behind once in orbit. https://kerbalx.com/ForScience6686/MSS I reconnect with the wing segment for reentry, so all parts come back.

Com and cot markers. But you need to thrust limit your flying engines to get a true reading for your vtol engines. They need to be matched and your mass should not shift due to fuel usage our you'll have a hard time landing.

My experience with shuttles says they are not good at handling on the ascent. You have offset mass, thrust, and control surfaces. My method is to not fight it, get it in a suitable trajectory and let it go. Correct once in thinner atmosphere or space.

Too add to this, most space plane designs I build incorporate a tank that carries oxidizer. So more reason to use rapier to take advantage of all fuel stores.

Are you familiar with the rocket equation? If so all you need is your dry mass and the necessary dv. Then your wet mass becomes x, solve for x. Then depending on your propulsion source, you calculate the fuel units to reach your wet mass.

Understandable then. There are ways to do it, but it involves odd designs early on. I used to stack many pods together and separate them on descent.

Because it gets deleted. The game must calculate physics, and will consider it debris if you decide to let it plummet on its own. I'm wandering why you are leaving it to it's fate or trying to watch from the tracking center? Why not just watch it descend to the ground? I also thought it wouldn't allow you to do this while in atmosphere. So I'm guessing you're doing it while in space...

It's not how many use, but how they are placed. You shouldn't have to place so many struts that's it's a workout to hit the button a few more times.