Here's my SSTO, the Gnat 7. 60 Parts, 15 Tons, 6 air intakes, Stock (/w kerbal engineer), and can go all the way to Laythe from the runway without refueling. Requires some decent piloting, aerobraking, and orbital adjustments to get everything just right, but I've gone to laythe, flown around in the atmosphere, refueled on the surface, and returned 4 times with this craft so far. The above album is an overview of my most recent flight. Flight Plan to orbit: Liftoff and gradual ascent to 45 degree inclination. Maintain 45 degree inclination until 18km. Level out at 18km keeping velocity vector slightly above horizon. Run jets until your velocity is 1600m/s+ and you've spent 160 units of liquid fuel. Flight ceiling for jets is just over 28km. Best velocity I've gotten is 1850m/s under jets, but typically I get just over 1600m/s which is more than efficient enough to get to Laythe. Once velocity and fuel amount is satisfactory, turn on the LV 909's, burn at 45 degrees until you reach desired apoapsis (70km+). Once at apoapsis, prograde until you reach desired apoapsis (70km+). Now use all that leftover delta V to go wherever you want. Also: my first post on the forums.
