PolecatEZ

Check out my signature link, bottom of the catalogue. The Confederate Sky Crane does the job, and you can tighten in the engines if you want a more compact look.

Just to play with a simple design, I downloaded your concept and went to work. I plucked the wings off the lower stage and the control winglets from the upper, sat it upright, and fired it straight up. Set mechjeb to do a 15 degree turn with a start of 6 and end of 69km. She ran out of jets at about 28km, but with the full speed, apoapsis was already 38km. 75x75 orbit was achieved with 2400 dV to spare. Landing was a bit trickier without the forward control surfaces, but it can be done. Better balance on the remaining set of wings would help a lot. Suggest removing those big scoops and using MOAR ramjets. The scoops become useless at about 12km up. In all, a fun ride and a good example of a lower jet stage for a good-sized payload. Cheers.

Whats funny is that I've been running a modified version of your Nova, called Supernova, with about a 148 ton capacity. I'll see how they differ though, after about 130 ton payload I have to start strutting to hell.

Follow the link below in my sig and check out the Sky Crane model at the bottom of the catalogue. It is basically 3 nukes, 3 jet engines, and room for 5 - 8 kerbals. The original design was more compact, but I widened it out so it could haul cargo up to space and back easily. Feel free to blatantly rip it off, but its pretty basic.

I'll get my A-4 Skyhawk up on this thread soon also, just gotta steal back my comp.

Cross-linked from general chat - For those that like 'em big...really effin' big. 24 linked parts from 14 launches assembled painstakingly in orbit...completely [sTOCK]. Presenting the RFS Coral Reef: Docking that ship took about 2 hours due to lag, the procedure itself was fairly easy. To cut down the part count, I didn't include RCS thrusters on the thing. It just doesn't move. Don't ask it to, the thing is rock solid.

You don't need RCS for anything under 50 tons, ever, so long as the docking port is aligned with the cockpit/engines. I stopped putting RCS boosters on my landers/re-orbit vehicles a long time ago. Just use smartass (or do by hand) and hit REV (-) and TGT (+) until you get your "rendezvous max distance" to under 2 meters, then just let it drift - no SAS, no RCS, no fancy alignment procedures, just pure raw ugly bumping.

For those that like 'em big...really effin' big. 24 linked parts from 14 launches assembled painstakingly in orbit...completely [sTOCK]. Presenting the RFS Coral Reef: Docking that ship took about 2 hours due to lag, the procedure itself was fairly easy.

It should be stock, if it isn't let me know...it means I probably have a rogue mechjeb module somewhere. It weighs about 110 tons fully stocked and is quite well balanced, just throw it in the VAB and get some rockets on it, it should go up in a few tries. If you have to fuel feeds to go from it to your launcher rockets, it can arrive in orbit empty at about 60 tons, then it just needs gassed up. The Hammerhead has a 7000-8000 dV range when gassed up, more if you use the torpedo fuel and lander fuel for the main ship. Part count is also reasonably low at ~160 with all landers/torpedos, so not much lag.

The I-beams are very tough and will easily take a skidding landing, as will the 1x1 plates if you want to make some kind of ski. Just don't land it on water, I found out that you can do a 50m/s landing on iron bars on land, but anything over 10m/s on water makes your craft explode.

Welcome once again to our Kerbalife Security presentation. Remember that you too can become a Kerbalife Independent Designer so long as you pay us. Now, on with the show. AA-10H Vampire Bat SSTO Given the huge success of the AA-10 Sparrow III/Angry Bird Project, a special adaptation was developed for Kerbalife Intelligence Agency (KIA) dubbed the Vampire Bat. The upgraded version features RCS improvements, dual cockpits, and extended space range. With no purely liquid tanks, the only wasted weight is basically the jet engine after a refuel. The craft is still light enough for a retro landing on regular landing gear on most Mun-like planetoids (just tip it a bit). Included in the package are 2 Cyclops II observation satellites. AA-21E Dartmouse SSTO Kerbalife Security is also releasing for public auction the test bed for its 2nd generation of SSTO concepts which eventually culminated in the Phoenix Hawk and Thunderbird projects. The Dartmouse, based on a cross between Zokesia Skunkworks FRAK-1 and a 1st-gen Kerbalife AA-20B Mighty Mouse, features several unique design elements. First is the complete lack of lateral control surfaces for a sleaker profile, the second feature is horizonal front-back mounted wingtips in the rear, giving a very smooth maneuverability. Finally, underside mounted intakes angled to the plane's AoA for air hogging without the need for massive stacking. AA-27D Phoenix Hawk SSTO and AA-27G Phoenix Hawk LARVA SSTO Currently the pinnacle of the 2nd Generation of Kerbalife SSTO design, the A-27D/G Phoenix Hawk series is an excellent workhorse for any security or space program. They feature the feathered wing concept which provides massive lift and a very scary approaching shadow, as well as inline jet engines and a fairly easy runway to orbit profile. The AA-27D is the cargo hauler, currently rated to carry up to 10 tons in various configurations. Balancing the load is the key, the aircraft has more than enough power with 2 toroidals to shoot anything up into the air. Shown here is a dual-launch of a Mun/Minmus Lander mission. Again, I stress that balancing the load is key, especially over-under (5 tons on top balances 5 tons on the bottom, you can deviate by about 20% or so). A single docking port is included but largely unnecessary, as this craft's task is to put cargo up and then land again. The AA-27G is a cutting edge LARVA (Land-Air Rover Vehicle-Aircraft). It comes stock with 2 Cyclops I satellites and 2 Cockroach series rover drones. Other features include rear landing gear for retro landings (not resposible for hillside landings), which allows you to flip immediately to the front upon landing and ejection. Enough power is included for extended exploration, with speeds up to 25 m/s possible in low gravity environments. Dual-docking clamps round out this package, useful for aligning the ship on longer-range craft, including most capital ships or hyperspace rings. Also note that part count is kept to a reasonable 130 or so when not carrying probes or other extraneous cargo. Use the grp #4 to toggle the struts, as toggling landing gear tends to make them pop out at funny times. AC-10D Manta Class Light Carrier The Manta is first and foremost a troop transport capable of carrying 2 assault drop pods or a Mako Class Assault Lander in internal bays along with room for an additional 2 KSMC (Kerbal Space Marine Corps) assault teams and a crew of in the cockpit area. Additional ports on the back allow for docking of light fighter air/spacecraft. Accomodation for two Drildo class nuclear-tipped short-range anti-ship missiles are present along the cockpit sides. Assault teams using your choice of pods can be deployed to enemy craft after being Drildo'd. Exploiting the breach, KSMC assault teams will then move in and secure the enemy vessel within minutes of contact. Practice missions saw most capital ships fall in under 3 minutes of a coordinated assault from all the Manta's assets. Stripped down it weighs just 110 tons or so, and getting it into space has been done through a very messy 6-hour process that I would rather not repeat. AC-20D Hammerhead Class Missile Frigate This stealthy craft can accomodate 2 crew and 6 assault kerbals in detachable Union class assault drop pods. The primary purpose, however, is stealthy delivery of long-range anti-ship/station ordinance, for which it is equipped with 2 torpedo bays. The Mk.4 has traded the solid-fueled Longdong torpedoes for the more reliable and flexible Wet Willie class using liquid fuel. Both are accurate to within 10km using mechjeb guidance - simply transfer the proper amount of fuel to them, decouple them using the ring mounts, and then fire them up when they clear the tube. 6000 dV will get you almost anywhere you need to creep. Above you can see a shot of the Mk1 being decommissioned. Sidson (RIP), accidently, was still on board. One note about the dropships - do NOT stage them up or they will explode. Always use group activation. Thank you for using Kerbalife Security for all your SSTO and other needs. Our series of deluxe ground vehicles are forthcoming, and don't forget our Generation-One craft are currently on sale at a steep discount for 3rd-world buyers. Thank you. Note - The AA-27D is corrected and available now..

Whenever I pressed the Submit button, it would just blank out the "upload pic" line and do nothing else. Eventually I gave up and lost my nice write-up. Yes, tried all 3 formats in the exact pixel size it said.

With proper wing balancing, you need surprisingly little lift factor total for your craft. I was told 1 "lift unit" per ton is optimal, but I've gotten away with about 40% of that. I see a lot of people just piling on the wings, but really it just needs a better balancing. Payload fraction should be about 15% or so. I've gotten up to 40%, but its painfully slow to get to orbit like this and you have NO margin for error on your orbital vector climb - a single flight can take 30+ minutes just to reach orbit with some knuckle-wrenching level out periods. After this I just said "f-it" and went back to rockets for anything over 8 tons.

Any more I just use MJ's Smart ASS - Rev(-) and Tgt (+) only - don't even need the readouts and never use RCS for anything under 50 tons. Zero out your relative speed, flip to target, go again, zero out, flip back to target, go again. Usually about 3 or 4 of those and you're aimed right at it, sometimes from 100m away or more. After that, just forward time until they bump uglies - if everyone has their SAS and mechjeb turned off then its just a matter of time before the magnets get you.

My four-year-old overheard a conversation between mom and grandma on the phone and my wife says something about the school system not being a good atmosphere for something or other...he pipes up with "Well, you can't breathe very well in the upper atmosphere!" He's also obsessed now with Minmus, all of this play with his brother with Legos or Angry Bird pieces centers on missions to Minmus, getting stuck on Minmus, getting home from Minmus, orbiting Minmus, crashing on Minmus. Just a non-stop stream of chatter about Minmus. I really need to accelerate the 79 days needed to reach Duna or Eve...

From the looks of things, its tight enough that it shouldn't get completely wocker-jawed that far without some degree of torque on the parts somewhere. Fixing the excess torque issues would probably require a re-design, but basically having SAS on causes torque, as does having command modules (at either end especially). SAS will continually over-correct for the slightest bit of station movement, and the gyros in the command pods will merrily help it out. On another note, I saw someones cylinder station yesterday also and became very inspired myself. My design is a bit bigger though, but my issues involve part count and trying to de-couple the launch vehicle from the thing without tearing it apart. The lattice work, all the struts, and the bottom engine matrix and webwork are all supposed to come off. The problem is that entire pieces of the ship just poof and disappear when I decouple things manually, or end up in pieces all over the solar system.

Do you need a mod to make them work? Mine tend to explode spectacularly once they hit the water and get up to a little bit of speed.

If two objects you are docking both have very high mass, you need to hit it at an exactly parallel angle or the masses involved will override the magnetism. To overcome this a bit, you can double or triple up on your clamps at the connection point. I use triple clamps on everything over 50 tons or so and I still get some wobble, but at least they clamp tight.

You can do that in a few ways, all of them seem a little cheatish but work well: 1 - Non-cheat: Use nacelles on your wings with a ram intake in front. This gets a bit bulky after a while. 2 - Clipping some (my method): Use a tiny lattice connector (forget what its called) in front of the intake, pull another on top of it and attach it. 3 - No clipping, but tacky: Use those same tiny lattice connectors, line them along your wings, and just put the intakes there one-by-one. 4 - Clipping a lot: Just stack the intakes one on top of another in the same place as you already have them -or- just put them anywhere clipped between everything. The game doesn't care where they are, just what direction they're pointed in. Now go forth and ram that air!

The craft files I d/l'd to check out all seem to be for "earlier versions of the game" and won't load for me.

I beat my head against the wall because of the navball bug. Basically, make sure the docking port you are flying is in line with the primary cockpit. If it is not, like the off-center ones or the neck-clamp thingy, for example, they won't match up to what you're seeing on the navball. Once I figured this out, I redesigned all my craft to more properly align and everything is peachy now.

Just find a program that can give you your final mass or remaining delta-V at the end of each method. Just make two trips to the exact same final orbit. Both of these stats should give you a general idea of which was more efficient. Mechjeb and Engineer both do this just fine. I usually consider my remaining delta-V a kind of "high score" to beat each time I get an SSTO into orbit.

I follow that rule religiously and it works well at lower altitudes, but does behind mean exactly straight behind or is it better to have it slightly above or below also? SAS is also a standard feature, but it doesn't help much when neither I nor the SAS can make my nose budge a fraction of a degree upwards at speed. Down is usually no problem, pulling up is ridiculously hard. Can you give me an idea exactly how your CoM and CoL interact? Are they on exactly the same plane and directly in front, behind, or touching each other? Or is there variation? How about thrust? Does that play into this?

My issue with most SSTOs I make is that they tend to "level out" at around 30,000 meters and refuse to nose up when I pop the rockets on. No amount of RCS or lift surfaces seems to break them out when they're going around 1200-1500 m/s. Every once in a while I get lucky and hit the right approach angle before the high speeds and can rocket them that way, but I want to know how you pull your nose up and down at those speeds and how can I work my designs so I don't have that issue so badly?

Ok, had to test it to make sure I didn't mess up. Yes, for that model it is a very long and slow climb. You're pushing almost 20 tons with a single jet engine, which is technically a no-no in the SSTO design book but I wanted to try it anyways. So, I get this pig to about 26000 meters and about 900 m/s, pitch straight up, and light the LVN's. It made it to orbit with about 600 d-V to spare. If I had coasted between 26000-30000m and squeezed a bit more speed before ascent, I probably could have made it with about 1000 d-V (which is about what I did the first test run). You just happened to pick the most challenging of the lot to try out Good catch on the physics warp, 4 struts and she's rock solid now. As the other guy said, once you switch off the jets, pitch straight up hard for a near vertical ascent...use RCS if you need a little assist to get your nose up. You want to get out of the atmosphere as fast as possible.