drewscriver

If you're feeling particularly naughty and have the right engine configuration, I think I found a way to get rid of the rear node altogether.

Prototypes. Alaflux Beta - maiden orbital flight. Chimera - need to get around to releasing.

Sleek as always - your builds are art in motion.

Probably the Alaflux Another bird-ish SSTO Except when it's not...

Endurance

Hikaze

Thanks! Maybe if I started using interstellar Anyhow, I added some videos.

Dropbox. The photos section doesn't seem to be behaving nicely when I try to direct link to the images in the gallery. I gave up and used public links.

Thanks! I'm glad you both like it. It's good to be able to build something that is both striking and useful. Good luck on Ship11, GarrisonChisholm! I'll also admit to perhaps having too much fun with the abort system; any flights without a specific purpose end up as 'emergency abort system tests,' it seems.

Sorry about that, pics are fixed now (as far as I can tell). Thanks for that explanation, NathanKell, it gives me the idea for another test.

This may have been discussed before, but I wanted to see what sort of penalty I might be taking for one of my crazy designs, so I did a quick test to see how KSP treats some build choices aerodynamically. I know there was a discussion of how KSP regards open nodes, but it goes further than that. Apologies if I'm repeating something that has been covered already. All fuel tanks were empty in my tests - the only power source was the booster. Pictures were taken at pre-launch (to show the test scenario), during ascent (as the results become apparent), and at booster burnout (to show the final result). Test documentation gallery Mark 1 / Mark 2 pieces. Question: is node size the predominant factor, or do different piece sizes matter? Result: piece sizes definitely matter. The raw Mark 1 / Mark 2 interface seems to cause a lot of drag. Mark 1 / Mark 2 adapters. If piece sizes matter, what effect do adapters have? Result: adapters reduce drag, orientation matters Offsets - what if pieces are offset into each other? Result: offset does not matter Offsets, continued - what if pieces are separated? Result: offset does not matter Bad news for my crazy plans, but hopefully the tests help someone.

My first attempt at a 1.04 SSTO, a medium cargo SSTO. Tested to 10 tons, I'm pretty sure it can do more. Post here: Hikaze

10 tons into LKO with my first decent 1.04 craft, Hikaze. More details here: Hikaze post. Took me a few tries to not break up in re-entry, but I eventually got the hang of it.

My first attempt at a 1.04 SSTO. While there isn't anything groundbreaking in the design, I was fairly pleased with how it came out. 66 tons, 132 parts without cargo. So far it can take about 10 tons to LKO, and I suspect more, if you can fit it in the bay and pilot well. Action groups: 1 - toggle turbojet 2 - toggle rapier 3 - toggle nukes 4 - switch cycle on one pair of rapiers 5 - open/close intakes 6 - solar panels 7 - cargo bay doors 8 - unassigned 9 - deploy / retract escape pod landing gear 0 - escape pod parachute abort - detach cockpit escape module Flight instructions are fairly standard, from what I can tell. Pitch to 20 degrees, climb to about 10k. At 10k, level out (about 10 degrees), or even dive slightly, until you hit 500 m/s. Resume climb until 20km up (don't overshoot). Level out and build speed; you should be able to hit 1400 m/s or more. When you stop gaining speed, fire up the nukes and hit 4 to toggle one of the rapier pairs over to closed cycle. Pitch up and begin the climb to orbit. Hit 1 to shut off the turbojet when it flames out, the rapiers will switch mode automatically. Gradually pitch down as your velocity increases, and ride the nukes into orbit. You should have a fair bit of LF remaining, and on a good run, you may have oxidizer as well. A note of caution - it gets unstable if you try to fly at low altitudes at high speed when the craft is light. So don't try to just dive to burn off speed on re-entry, or you will be testing the emergency abort system. Download link Enjoy!

There was a bit of a mishap on this particular flight test. Fortunately, the escape system worked fine

More madness...

My first serious attempt at a SSTO in 1.04 I like the new aerodynamics system, but I miss being able to make fuselages out of wings and having them work well. Don't get me wrong - the new parts look awesome, it's just that planes seem to end up looking more similar than they used to. I wasn't trying for any sort of replica, but it ended up looking a bit like the love child of a Valkyrie and a SR-71. Anyhow, still fooling around with it. Edit: I'm still working out the flight profile in 1.04, but so far it can haul around 10 tons into orbit.

I can't recall what insanity lead to this particular "landing" but here's mine:

Wow, here I'd given up on anyone being interested anymore... I'm quite happy to add the Download. Part count is 350; it was built prior to gizmos, so a few could probably shaved off now. I'm not sure of the delta-v. I don't think it's the greatest, though there's plenty for mucking about the Mun. I've come to realize that it's hauling along a lot more mass in Monoprop and LV909s than necessary. Once 1.0 is out, I plan to revamp.

Not to spam, but this seems an appropriate place to mention the Alaflux.

Video is now done! Sharing the Alaflux:

I'm glad you like it! I've worked on similar projects before, and while they were possible, tweakables really do make a world of difference.

Well, I've dropped a few mentions here and there, but I finally finished my video, and am ready for the grand reveal. Introducing the Alaflux, my latest wings-optional spaceplane. Use with wings on for atmospheric ascents, or feel free to park the wings in orbit if you're headed for a non-atmospheric destination. With five docking attachment points, the wings will remain secure, even under time warp. The jets have enough fuel get into orbit with about a fifth of a tank left (on a good run). The main nuclear engine has plenty of delta V to make it to Duna, and I'm 75% sure that a better pilot than I can pull off a Laythe round trip. For maximum efficiency, park a pair of wings at your destination, and then just pick them up when you need them - no reason to haul them around interplanetary like I did in the video. At 286 parts and 33.4 tons fully fueled, the Alaflux is no lightweight, but it is very well behaved. Either with wings on or off, fuel is positioned symmetrically around the center of mass, so the center of mass does not shift (and flight characteristics do not change) as fuel is burned. Action groups are as follows: 1) Jets 2) Nuke 3) -empty- 4) Undock 1 5) Undock 2 6) Landing legs 7) Front intakes 8) Rear intakes 9) Escape pod gear deploy / retract 0) Emergency parachute Abort) Detach cockpit Despite having a substantial number of intakes, the Alaflux has a ceiling of around 31,000 meters. A typical flight profile has a fast climb to 22,000 or so, leveling out at around 25,000 and then slowly following the apogee up to 30,000. Air intakes are attached in the correct order to minimize asymmetrical flame-out, though docking and undocking the wings may well screw this up. To detach the wings, hit both 4 and 5 (in that order). You may still have to manually decouple the bottom rear ports for some reason. Redocking is hard to make look easy, but not actually so difficult. Thanks to precise tolerances and angled docking ports, you should get a solid connection on all the ports almost every time. As demonstrated, the Alaflux has a comprehensive abort system, functional at zero-zero, with monoprop reserves and thrusters for limited airless maneuvering, as well as good gliding characteristics and redundant parachutes. Probably my last release until 1.0, but I hope you enjoy it in the meantime. Craft download available here -Drewscriver

It's a bit of an oldie, but do you think you could do anything with this one? Please ensure wings are fastened properly before re-entry. A lot of folks seem to like it, except for the UI is visible, and of course you are welcome to do any other creative enhancements occur to you.

Stock wonders, perhaps? http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/107054-Stock-Wonders-How-creative-have-you-gotten-with-stock