MisterKerman

Update: I'm getting closer, but this thing is still a mess... This is the craft fully fueled. It takes off before the end of the runway. I ran out of time so the CoM is too far back once offloaded. I'll need to shed weight in the rear, unfortunately. This is it's current engine arrangement. At least it sort of looks cool... This was my best run. Will require a lot more work and a possible wing redesign. I'm not so sure MK2 parts and specifically the heavy MK2 -> MK3 adapter I used were such a smart idea. I might have to sacrifice some aesthetics in order to make orbit.

@Daveroski That's okay. I found an aesthetically pleasing compromise for my engine weight situation. I'm going to shamelessly steal @eddiew 's Wing mounts. A little drag will be the cost but I can balance the fuel a lot better this way. I want to keep the Cargo bay for lifting other things even if just for now I'm using it as an inefficient tanker. As a result I'll most likely switch the engine mount from a MK3->Kerbodyne adapter to a proper shuttle engine mount with less engines on it, relocating some to the wing MK2 (Or possibly 1.25m) wing mounts I plan to steal the design of. This is the MK2 wing mount design I plan to steal from Eddie. He can keep his wings however... they upset my OCD greatly.

Do you mean the cutaway view to look at the interior of craft? That's stock. Look at the face-cams of the Kerbals on board in the bottom right of the screen. To the left of those there are some options you can click. Some allow a way to view the Kerbals inside of your craft from the exterior.

@Daveroski That's the sort of thing I was hoping to avoid. I didn't want a million wings hanging off of the craft. I'm going for a certain look that might not be entirely possible. I was going to rely on a delicate balancing act to avoid it and still not entirely sure it's not going to work yet. I did a 15 hour shift yesterday so needless to say I never got around to messing around on KSP, unfortunately. But it's pretty obvious my craft lacks lift because every other craft that lifts a big orange tends to just be a big mass of wing parts and engines so numerous the payload is an insignificant and negligent portion of the ship's accumulative CoM, shifting nothing when offloaded either due to that fact, or the fact that it's essentially an egg nestled inside of a basket in regards to where lift is applied. I'll probably spam wings on the back of my craft but the mass issue will continue to be difficult to manage without simply bringing up a whole lot of extra fuel to transfer around for ballast. I think that will work... I really really like the design of your personnel SSTO. That exactly the sort of look I'm going for!

I meant like... my life... and I was joking... Anyways! I haven't had a chance to properly apply all the control surfaces or anything yet. I've just added a few of the most influential ones for a brutal reference while I had some free time. I might work on it later tonight as well, but my job is pretty taxing on me and I tend to just fall asleep after my shift. KSP is mostly for my days off. I definitely want to salvage this design but still make it look cool. I really really hate canards so I'll avoid them as much as I can but it's obviously a very effective solution to authority problems so I'll have to wait and see. Obviously this is a fairly rough WIP so I'll continue to tweak it to the best of my ability. The main problem is lack of experience hauling cargo of significant mass using an SSTO. I've only ever brought passengers and small satellites into space and designing SSTOs was never one of my strong points. EDIT: I guess I'll be less sloppy with what I reveal and try a little harder to actually have a semi functional prototype closer to something that isn't just a straight up mindblowingly sad. I know all the basics for designing aircraft, just not balancing such significant CoM-altering payloads. I'll come up with something more presentable for legitimate criticism soon. Thanks @AeroGav

Okay, so I got up this morning and tinkered a little with my shuttle. I might be okay for balance but probably not. it's still too early and much too optimistic to be entirely true, so we'll see. Takeoff Optimistic fuel margins upon arrival Offloaded all rocket fuel mix with LF still in wings. Now it's much too ass-heavy. Transfer LF to front tank. Seems okay? Summary: I might be alright as long as I find out where I need to perform re-entry to make a fairly precise landing not using any of my fuel. This configuration will need to be changed for commercial passenger flights, but from what I can tell it's possible this design will be alright if it has enough lift, which currently it probably doesn't even come close. EDIT: Okay so I F'd up... after delivery it actually looks more like this... So I'm once again totally screwed for now. Why is KSP so much harder than real life is?

Oh believe me I wasn't mocking anything or anyone (not that I'm accusing you of thinking so!); just ignorant with a dash of levity. I'm just old fashioned and haven't bothered with them much. I fall in and out of the habit of playing KSP and end up not knowing a lot of the small changes made to gameplay mechanics. For example I only recently learned that asparagus staging with fuel lines is irrelevant now due to being able to set fuel transfer priorities through radially attached decouplers. Sounds like I have to experiment with them to see what the fuss is all about!

Reminds me of a Super-guppy

I usually try to use angle snap as well and give them a little tug in with the "move" widget. That way the game places them in the exact same spot. You can adjust them toward or away from the center of the craft as much as you like without misaligning them. (Though on very small light craft it might not be line up perfectly with your Center of Mass with that method, so just be mindful of that.)

So is it like a decoupler with a fairing on it? And it essentially decouples at the fairing? I always just figured they were the big heavy ugly thingies people who insist on putting lots of engines in a predefined arrangement on, put engines on in predefined arrangements. The decoupling portion of engine plates had always escaped me.

Agreed. It adds quite a lot. Quality DLC. Money well spent.

I started the concept for an MK3 cargo shuttle with help from some of the more knowledgeable members willing to lend a brain. I plan to use it to lift 'big orange' tanks to LKO. However I'm severely dissapointed at the lack of variety in S-size wings. All they have is a strake, a tail-fin, and a delta wing. They don't blend seamlessly with any other wing part which is making this an aesthetic nightmare.

@MiscelanousItem I was just kidding anyways. Welcome to the forums. Everyone here is incredibly helpful. Also that's a sharp little station you made. It will be good for "Collect science from space around Kerbin" contracts. I like small simple minimalistic designs like that. I always struggle with keeping mass down myself.

So balance is my main issue. Those suggestions sound simple enough. I have 2 options basically: The triple Panthers with wing mounted Rapiers, or try my luck with all engines (3 Rap + 3 Panth) mounted heavily on the rear and figure out some way to keep it's wet and dry weight balanced. I'll leave this for now. I'll try to have something to show you guys worth showing next time I make a post. It's tough that the game is so picky and inconsistent in some ways. It really takes experience to get all the kinks out of a design because so much of what causes engineering difficulties is either hidden or nonsensical. I'm legitimately surprised I wasn't told outright to throw that design in the trash HARD with how little effort it took to come up with.

Okay so I just whipped up something which is probably terrible and won't be worth legitimately biting into, but I didn't spend long or think too hard about it. This was the result of like 20 minutes to make the concept for a shape for a plane that at the very least looks okay? (Empty cargo bay. I just wanted a basic shape.) What are your guys' opinions on the shielded docking port for a nosecone? (Also that's seven Rapier engines on an engine plate in the rear. No calculation, just seeing how it fit. I was hoping to get away with no engines on the wings. I've placed small nosecones on the nodes and recessed them. From what I understand that used to reduce drag on them but I honestly have no idea if that's true any more...)

That's a good point. I'd give a thumbs up but apparently there's a daily quota. I'll probably use a bicoupler as well if I ever make another 1.25m fuselage SSTO. The next SSTO goal I want to reach is a full big orange I guess. If I can lift one of those, I ought to be able to lift just about anything I want to take into space. It's a huge jump from 1.25m parts though...

@Aeroboi I'll stick with my 2×5-ways for now. I prefer right angles in regards to back/forth/lateral/rotational movements. It satisfies my OCD. I might steal the cargo bay idea but I sort of headcanon things too which is sort of silly. It would stress me out knowing the jets are technically pushing against the craft which IRL would push the craft in that direction fighting the force they're providing... Like I said I might have mild OCD lol. @Laie Yeah definitely. KSP leaves room for style as well as "moar boosterz", but it's also a game of precision and slim margins for error at other times. You can't brute force everything so it's best to know how to do things right should it come to that. I have a few unhealthy habits but for the most part I'm focusing on learning to do things the right way. No more burning toward the horizon at Munrise for me...

I generally use a 1-way plus a 4-way to make a 5-way, and then put those 5-ways on either side of the craft (a total of two 5-ways) where most appropriate for docking on a spot inbetween my wet and dry CoM to compromise for versatility's sake. Also @AeroGav Sounds a bit fancy for me. If I carry just a little unburnt oxidizer with me it's not the worst thing in the world. I've never had much of an issue balancing fuels, but then again I've never had much of a successful cargo SSTO either...

Ain't out of Kerbin's SOI yet boi. You're still orbiting it, you're just also orbiting the mun at the same time! Keep us posted and post some pictures using imgur or something too when you do.

Oh I forgot. @capi3101 I'm stock.

It's a bit of a mess. I'll be using your post as a bible as well as the other suggestions made by other members, but yours in particular will be useful for explaining myself and giving you guys an idea of how clueless I am with designing SSTOs. I won't be defending myself, these aren't arguments, just misguided reasons! A) Safety. Just so I know the thing will stop right away if deployed should I overshoot the runway. I use them like a drag racer at the end of his quarter mile. I'm actually a really decent pilot and prefer IVA and instruments generally, so I'll probably remove them. B) The air-brakes are for descent... also for looks. But if you don't think I need them (as they overheat too quickly anyways) I won't be using them in the future. C) That ought to help lots. D) Will do. E) I... wanted their reaction wheels and batteries... Also fly by wire is nice. Not sure if the MK2 cockpit has that built in, but it was mostly to hold electric charge anyways if that's the case. F) They're for snappy reorientation in space, and in the past I've had some tumbling issues during certain flight conditions which I no longer remember the details of. Looking at it now it's sort of ridiculous but I felt like they were appropriate at the time. G) Rapier is my engine of choice. It's just a matter of getting the right fuel mix so you aren't hauling around too much of an unused fuel, but it sounds like that's only a slight issue compared to some of the solutions you guys have already tossed my way. I'll probably continue to use them. @Aegolius13 Awesome suggestions. Thank you very much. Also it's my personnel shuttle and 1.25m cargo delivery vehicle when using cargo bays instead of passenger seating, so she docks with an in-line MK2 located to the rear of the drone cores, whether Kerbals or assets. @bewing @Starhawk Thanks you guys! I'll leave this open for more user's input and update it with a new design when I can!

I wish I was better at making SSTOs. Is there an ingredient list/guidelines I could use for requirements? Like, number of a certain type of engines (probably RAPIERS) for a certain amount of craft mass with a certain amount of lift capable of carrying a certain amount of cargo mass? Something like that? I know the engineering is important too but it seems like just knowing what's enough or not to get the craft into space always throws me for a loop because my strategy is to make up for things by brute forcing things into space, which is sort of the opposite of what makes SSTOs good for utility purposes like shuttles and deliveries. This is my current design. It can lift a 1.25m diameter payload sightly longer than a cargo segment for MK2 if in that configuration. All I have is the shuttle configuration. (On mobile away from my PC right now.) It works well enough but I'd love to be capable of bringing up a full Big Orange. That seemed to be the hallmark of a good SSTO back in the day, and I just can't see myself making a simple design that works with such a small amount of experience with SSTOs and fairly little time for trial and error. I'd really appreciate some simplistic design tips if someone could save me the frustration and time of learning by trial and error.

I know I've been spamming a bit but I've completed the final leg of the journey with my 10 moon tourists. Landing was smooth but one of the air-brakes broke during re entry. After everyone was safely off board, I turned in a bit of science I got during my prior commercial obligations. 10 Tourists safe and sound, as well as 35 contractual obligations fulfilled from the second moon landing alone. (Also omg I just realized I have 2 million funds... OwO)

A couple glamor shots landing on the Mun. I tested the stowed Thud Rocket Engine landed, did low orbit temperature readings in a few locations, planted a flag, conducted and transmitted science, among other tourist contractual obligations fulfilled. So far I have 22 contract objectives completed and I'm saving the remaining ones until I land my SSTO shuttle back on the runway so I can view them all at once. The 300,000 spent hauling fuel into orbit should have an okay outcome considering it pays for 2 round trips and this is only a single trip. I can decide what to do with my tourism business after the space dust settles. Transposed to ditch the cargo bay at first opportunity. Will attempt an aerobrake at Kerbin if fuel runs low. EDIT: Sorry about the ping Erik. Having technical difficulties. I like your SSTO a lot. It doesn't have mining gear stashed away on it somewhere does it? It it makes it to Minmus and back on a single tank that's insane.

I sent a rocket with a payload of 2 tourists in their own remote guidance "command pod" and a cargo bay containing an engine I plan to test on the Mun. The main engine for the lifter that delivered the tourists and test engine was salvaged. This is what it looks like before it transposes in orbit above the Mun I forgot to provide seating for one of the kerbals once I had ditched the tourist pod and the engine, so the entire ensemble is coming along for the entire trip. I should still have plenty of fuel! I have backup saves if this whole disaster is too dumb for me to salvage. Only time will tell. It won't be for a lack of effort on my part!