Wjolcz

That sucks. What about drills? Do they heat up less too?

So after some testing it became pretty obvious that MKII version is a bit underpowered and can't even lift 2.5 tons to orbit, so I upgraded it and created Superbird MKIII. Now it's able to carry a whole FL-T400 tank: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/FL-T400_Fuel_Tank. That's an equivalent of a science probe having about 3km/s of dV. If anyone is still interested in this just let me know and I'll update the OP with the MKIII version of the craft.

>implying 1.0 is more buggy than 0.90 because wheel brakes don't work

Yup. The contracts get better as the rep rises. Though I wish it didn't work like that. Sometimes when you're low on rep and already landed on other planets it completely doesn't care and gives you part testing missions and nothing else.

Haven't determined that yet. Flew it only twice to orbit and back to test basic things and apply few tweaks here and there. E: Here's a thread (and shameless self promotion) for anyone who is eager to try fitting as much payload as it's possible in the thing: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/126716-The-Superbird-MKII

Two RAPIERs and a bunch of wing parts seems to be just enough to reach space.

No autopilots, please. Would be good if pilots could predict the landing site. The higher the skill the smaller predicted landing site it would show.

I agree. I liked how in 'Gravity' the objects that touched or scraped spacesuit could be heard only as if someone was wearing it. It was a nice detail. Something like that in KSP would be awesome too. Also metal twisting, bending and trembling when crashing into other ships/the ground.

Yup. Would be awesome if they exploded and destroyed everything in 2.5km radius. EDIT: and I mean mid-air. Just like in Chelyabinsk.

Mine's pretty good.

I don't know what that is and google doesn't help. Ok, got it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydiver_(submarine) But it's fictional so it doesn't count. I was talking about actual aircraft that flew IRL, not sci-fi ones.

Very much this.

AFAIK It never worked like that. You always had to put 2 scientists inside for it to work.

The Superbird MKII The Superbird is an SSTO that came into my mind after seeing Plymouth's Superbird in CSR Classics. I loved the spoiler on the thing and thought I would make something similar in KSP. It's got the looks and is an SSTO, so I'm happy. Here's the full album: Actually the first two pics show the MKI version. The only visible difference between those two are the engines moved slightly outward. Please pardon my derp. My internet kind of sucks right now and it would be painful to upload all this stuff all over again. And it's pretty simple to fly: -Action group 1 toggles engines. -Action group 2 switches between Air and Closed Cycle, also toggles intakes. -The cargo bay is opened manually 1. The plane doesn't climb very well with only 2 RAPIERs, so you need to get some speed first. 2. At about 1200m/s you should start a steady 30-45 degree climb. 3. Once the speed starts to drop switch to LF/O mode with action group 2. 4. Keep going, watch your dV and Apo height. 70km should be enough. 5. At Apo circuralize with RCS and SAS activated (The plane has some CoT/CoM issues. Still need to figure that one out.) 6. During reentry, for better pitch authority you may want to enable pitch control on the canards. The payload it can carry is something yet to be determined. Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wbpp5ltusngxgab/Superbird%20MkII.craft?dl=0

Would be awesome to have, but I'm not sure if it's possible with this version of Unity.

Nose pointing down is not a problem if the rear wheels are near CoM. And in that wheel configuration it makes it better to land.

Ok, I see what's the problem now. You should put wheels closer to CoM. That way you won't push them into the ground when trying to pitch up. They are just too far back. Just imagine it's a lever and you're trying to push the nose up by bringing the tail down. Second thing, you should choose a wing type that has pitch controls for you tail. The small fins used in the picture are not steerable.

Ram air intake also got slightly refreshed! It's a bit more pointy, I think. Actually the shock cone. I mistook the two of those.

Exactly this.

I don't mind. It's not like it's 'Sims', or some other game where building sizes matter. Never liked that game anyway.

That's why I waited with planes and SSTOs for 1.0.3.

Yup. I noticed the same thing after updating to 1.0.4. It's a good change.

Showing your design and CoM/CoL placement in SPH would be helpful.

Today I recreated my Superbird project! It has about 300m/s of dV once in orbit, though I flew it incorrectly. I'm sure there could be saved some more fuel. Best one I've ever made. Has the looks and is an SSTO.