willy123

It's a lack of thrust, in regards to weight. Need more thrust, but problem is, need more engines, more fuel, and thus more weight. Need to find a good balance. I find LESS is better. Check out the Ion Fighter SSTO on youtube. Dude gets into orbit with a single jet engine, ion engines, and solar panels. This is one of the few ways I, too, have gotten into orbit. With rocket engines MORE is needed, but that is a balance I have yet to master (though I have succeeded). With less, like the Ion Fighter SSTO, you need to be getting to high velocities, >2km/s on jet alone, nearing the escape velocity of earth's atmosphere, nearly laterally. This will require getting high into the atmosphere (>28k) where there is less air resistance. This will require many ram air intakes, and a single engine to prevent loss of control from engine sputtering due to lack of oxygen. A single engine will require a light vehicle, which is no problem for an ion ssto, coupled with the jet engine and one fuel tank. Practice getting into that sweet spot of having barely enough oxygen and still be at full throttle, at the right altitude. At this altitude, the solar panels can be opened without fear of them breaking off (due to less air resistance). Then the ion engines will provide just enough thrust while past the point where the jets can function to push the craft into orbit. You know you've done it when you are using only ion engines and the velocity is increasing (by 0.x km/s increments).

Too short. Make the plane longer and add small wings near the front. Replace the jet fuel with an empty jet fuel tank, and move the jet fuel tank to the middle, add small wings to the front (cockpit area), fly! fly! fly!

I have an obsession with aesthetically pleasing space planes that can still do difficult tasks. This has led me to stuffing things within things. Scroll toward the craft until the camera is inside the craft and then place things in there as you please. Tired of ugly rcs fuel, generators, sas, whatever? Stuff it inside the fuel tank. Want more fuel but don't want to just hang fuel in the wings? Stuff more fuel containers into the existing fuel containers. Want to get an ssto into space with only a jet engine and a nuclear engine, and have it not look like an abomination? Stuff the nuclear engine into the jet engine (tinker until it works). This works with air intake, too. Though I have taken it a bit too far with 100s of intakes crammed within a 4x4 area, resulting in a intake shrapnel bomb upon launch. Vanilla version.

I started playing the game with planes. I got an ssto with only ion drives, solar panels, and jet engines into orbit before I learned how to land on the mun (or and other celestial body). That said, planes are like a different game. Practice with the stock builds. The advice given is pretty good, though for a high velocity planes, ram air intake is best. I don't even use radial. Keep your center of mass and lift close. Keep in mind the shift of center of mass as fuel is consumed. Planes rolling left and right on the tarmac is a great annoyance, yes. Make the front wheel as far forward as possible, and push the back wheels as far apart as possible on the hull, keeping the perpendicular. The best approach, though, is just getting that damn thing into the air as quickly as possible. If it doesn't lift off quickly, add more lift, like wings. Make sure the front of the plane is tilted slightly up in the front and there is a source of lift in the front. As far as landing them... that's tough. I usually just add parachutes and float in lol.