DracovaXIV

Well, a week and a half later, I've found the time to put together some RealFuels configs for ModuleManager. This is an early draft and mostly a cut-and-paste job to match the general feel of the Stockalike configs, but I did try to be believable. I consulted a textbook I have - Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion - to learn about what expansion-deflection nozzles are and how they compare to aerospikes. In a nutshell, these engines are nearly as efficient as plug nozzle variants, but not quite; I reflected that in the configs. One major advantage is the ability to vector thrust by adjusting individual plates/petals in the nozzle, so I buffed the engine gimbal to 15 degrees on all of them. A considerable design hurdle is cooling the central plug, according to the book. I didn't touch the heat production values, but I did nerf the maximal heat tolerance to be more similar to the other aerospikes. I didn't touch the tech levels in the engines themselves, but most aerospikes are unlocked at tech level 6 and up... The smaller Eddies, however, get unlocked at level 4, IIRC, which deserves some thought. I also didn't touch the engine mass values. The two largest engines are probably overweight for RealFuels, though. After all, 2.4 tons is a monster compared to some other 2.5 meter scale engines in RealFuels - to say nothing of 3.7 tons. I gave the engines a wide variety of fuels: kerolox and hydrolox, together with three varieties of popular hypergolics: MMH, UDMH, and Aerozine. Thrust levels for the hypergolics still need to be tweaked, all of them are completely even; they probably should be a little higher than the base kerolox. What do you think? Did I do a decent job? These engines fill a very keen niche for Duna lander propulsion, I think. I've tried out hovering around and landing on Kerbin, too - the extra thrust vectoring helps tremendously. // NohArk Eddie engine RealFuels MM configs, version 1.1 - DracovaXIV @PART[ED125]:FOR[RealFuels_StockEngines] //"Eddie" 125 Engine { @maxTemp = 1970 @MODULE[ModuleGimbal] { gimbalRange = 15 } @MODULE[ModuleEnginesFX] { @maxThrust = 55 @heatProduction = 650 @atmosphereCurve { @key,0 = 0 342 @key,1 = 1 281 } !PROPELLANT[LiquidFuel] {} !PROPELLANT[Oxidizer] {} !PROPELLANT[MonoPropellant] {} PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 37.694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 62.305913 } } MODULE { name = ModuleEngineConfigs type = ModuleEngines techLevel = 6 origTechLevel = 6 engineType = A origMass = 0.5 configuration = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen modded = false CONFIG { name = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 55 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 0.37694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.62305913 } IspSL = 1 IspV = 1 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = LiquidH2+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 41.25 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = LiquidH2 ratio = 0.7630831 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.2369169 } IspSL = 1.3 IspV = 1.3 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = MMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 60 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = MMH ratio = 0.50366459 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.49633541 } IspSL = 0.953 IspV = 0.952 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = UDMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 60 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = UDMH ratio = 0.47823219 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.52176781 } IspSL = 0.95 IspV = 0.943 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = Aerozine+N2O4 maxThrust = 62 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Aerozine ratio = 0.5017301 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.4982699 } IspSL = 0.963 IspV = 0.955 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 2 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 1.2 } } } } !MODULE[ModuleEngineIgnitor] {} MODULE { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } @PART[ED051]:FOR[RealFuels_StockEngines] //"Eddie" 06 Engine { @maxTemp = 1970 @MODULE[ModuleGimbal] { gimbalRange = 15 } @MODULE[ModuleEnginesFX] { @maxThrust = 30 @heatProduction = 650 @atmosphereCurve { @key,0 = 0 338 @key,1 = 1 277 } !PROPELLANT[LiquidFuel] {} !PROPELLANT[Oxidizer] {} !PROPELLANT[MonoPropellant] {} PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 37.694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 62.305913 } } MODULE { name = ModuleEngineConfigs type = ModuleEngines techLevel = 6 origTechLevel = 6 engineType = A origMass = 0.15 configuration = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen modded = false CONFIG { name = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 30 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 0.37694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.62305913 } IspSL = 1 IspV = 1 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = LiquidH2+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 22.5 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = LiquidH2 ratio = 0.7630831 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.2369169 } IspSL = 1.3 IspV = 1.3 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = MMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 33 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = MMH ratio = 0.50366459 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.49633541 } IspSL = 0.953 IspV = 0.952 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = UDMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 33 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = UDMH ratio = 0.47823219 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.52176781 } IspSL = 0.95 IspV = 0.943 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = Aerozine+N2O4 maxThrust = 35 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Aerozine ratio = 0.5017301 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.4982699 } IspSL = 0.963 IspV = 0.955 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 2 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 1.2 } } } } !MODULE[ModuleEngineIgnitor] {} MODULE { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } @PART[ED250]:FOR[RealFuels_StockEngines] //"Eddie" 250 Engine { @maxTemp = 1970 @MODULE[ModuleGimbal] { gimbalRange = 15 } @MODULE[ModuleEnginesFX] { @maxThrust = 225 @heatProduction = 650 @atmosphereCurve { @key,0 = 0 347 @key,1 = 1 286 } !PROPELLANT[LiquidFuel] {} !PROPELLANT[Oxidizer] {} !PROPELLANT[MonoPropellant] {} PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 37.694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 62.305913 } } MODULE { name = ModuleEngineConfigs type = ModuleEngines techLevel = 6 origTechLevel = 6 engineType = A origMass = 2.4 configuration = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen modded = false CONFIG { name = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 225 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 0.37694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.62305913 } IspSL = 1 IspV = 1 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = LiquidH2+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 168.75 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = LiquidH2 ratio = 0.7630831 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.2369169 } IspSL = 1.3 IspV = 1.3 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = MMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 235 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = MMH ratio = 0.50366459 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.49633541 } IspSL = 0.953 IspV = 0.952 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = UDMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 235 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = UDMH ratio = 0.47823219 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.52176781 } IspSL = 0.95 IspV = 0.943 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = Aerozine+N2O4 maxThrust = 240 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Aerozine ratio = 0.5017301 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.4982699 } IspSL = 0.963 IspV = 0.955 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 2 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 1.2 } } } } !MODULE[ModuleEngineIgnitor] {} MODULE { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } @PART[ED399]:FOR[RealFuels_StockEngines] //"Eddie" 399 Engine { @maxTemp = 1970 @MODULE[ModuleGimbal] { gimbalRange = 15 } @MODULE[ModuleEnginesFX] { @maxThrust = 399 @heatProduction = 650 @atmosphereCurve { @key,0 = 0 351 @key,1 = 1 290 } !PROPELLANT[LiquidFuel] {} !PROPELLANT[Oxidizer] {} !PROPELLANT[MonoPropellant] {} PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 37.694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 62.305913 } } MODULE { name = ModuleEngineConfigs type = ModuleEngines techLevel = 6 origTechLevel = 6 engineType = A origMass = 3.7 configuration = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen modded = false CONFIG { name = Kerosene+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 399 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Kerosene ratio = 0.37694087 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.62305913 } IspSL = 1 IspV = 1 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = LiquidH2+LiquidOxygen maxThrust = 299.25 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = LiquidH2 ratio = 0.7630831 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = LiquidOxygen ratio = 0.2369169 } IspSL = 1.3 IspV = 1.3 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } CONFIG { name = MMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 424 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = MMH ratio = 0.50366459 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.49633541 } IspSL = 0.953 IspV = 0.952 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = UDMH+N2O4 maxThrust = 424 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = UDMH ratio = 0.47823219 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.52176781 } IspSL = 0.95 IspV = 0.943 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 24 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = false IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2 } } } CONFIG { name = Aerozine+N2O4 maxThrust = 435 heatProduction = 650 PROPELLANT { name = Aerozine ratio = 0.5017301 DrawGauge = True } PROPELLANT { name = N2O4 ratio = 0.4982699 } IspSL = 0.963 IspV = 0.955 throttle = 0 ModuleEngineIgnitor { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 2 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 1.2 } } } } !MODULE[ModuleEngineIgnitor] {} MODULE { name = ModuleEngineIgnitor ignitionsAvailable = 4 autoIgnitionTemperature = 800 ignitorType = Electric useUllageSimulation = true IGNITOR_RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 2.1 } } } Edit Aug 12: updated config to 1.1 - thrust levels tweaked to be more accurate, UDMH/MMH have a bit more thrust than kerolox, Aerozine has a bit more still

That's what I wanted to hear. It might motivate a resurrection of that mod. It was broken back in .23, but it really needs a revival... Better yet, it needs a whole grand pack, similar to Near Future. It would be a terrific thing to use in RealSolarSystem - but that's beside the point. I'm sure all the people who work with weapon mods for KSP would love to have a variety of explosions as well. Ultimately, though, large explosions (nuclear/antimatter) are a niche that has never been filled, based on what I know. We already have antimatter in the Interstellar mod, so why not...

There was a mod that simulated a Project Orion-style nuclear pulse detonation drive. Do you suppose it would be possible to have realistic small-scale nuke airbursts/spacebursts? Nukes look different blowing up in space, by the way. There was a series of tests run by USA where they detonated nuclear bombs in space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Dominic

I'm very impressed with the models of these engines. Moreover, I don't think anyone has ever tried to make expansion-deflection nozzles in KSP. These would be ideal engines for atmospheric blastoff someplace like Duna, right? I'd like to do a set of RealFuels engine configs for these, unless someone else is already working on that. Shall I try?

This mod is absolutely essential for work with Procedural Parts. Some stuff would never fit otherwise. Is there any progress being made on integration with RealFuels engine configs? Can it be done? I can get to writing my own configs, if necessary.

I've done a bit more testing using multistage vehicles, armed with a bit more understanding. I used a huge Procedural Parts solid main stage, a hydrolox stage for circularization, and a very small aerozine flight pack for the pod. During initial atmospheric ascent, I actually saw the dV remaining go up! That would explain my conundrum; VOID might not be designed to compute the cumulative dV of different-density fuel stages correctly!

In other words, the game actually uses fuel mass expelled to calculate thrust? That's actually rather impressive. I wanted to be certain that there isn't something wrong with my game. If it's working accordingly, I'll instead focus on understanding this phenomenon. Just to be absolutely clear... I tested this without RealFuels, like I said before. I removed the mod and I tweaked the stock Squad config, trying lower and higher fuel density with vanilla resources. One fuel tank, one engine, one payload - one stage. It seemed weird to me, because ostensibly, there would be no reason whatsoever to use higher Isp/lower density fuels.

I have a very bizarre issue, which has left me thoroughly confused. Basically, the better the Isp/efficiency are supposed to be, the worse the delta-V turns out. I'll give you an example: I take a stock pod, attach a fuel tank to it, and attach an engine to that. I configure the engine for N2O4 and whatnot, the delta-V comes out as X. Then I switch the engine to liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen, and fill the tank with that. The delta-V comes out as LESS THAN X. This is vacuum delta-V as shown by VOID; I even did a test, and it worked out to be accurate both times. So then I deleted RealFuels and went to the stock Squad config for the different resources. I reduced the density of LiquidFuel and Oxidizer by half, and went into the game. Loaded a test vehicle. The delta-V was LOWER, even though the vehicle weighed less now! Then I quit out of the game, went back to the config, and set the values to double what they were originally. Went back to the same craft. The delta-V is now HIGHER, and the total mass of the craft is also higher! What's going on? Is this a known issue with some other mod, or what..?

I see you've been busy, Naten. Good job. I could try to help you make all this stuff FAR-compatible. Right now I'm wrestling with the transition to 0.24... There's a lot of bugs and previously working mods are broken, especially Alchemy Technologies, which might be an abandoned mod now (for shame, I use those parts in virtually everything I build).

Glad to hear you're making further progress, Naten. I'll try this glider out when I can. Haven't been playing KSP this past week or so. By the way, has anyone else been having this bug? If you know anything, can you chime in? I'm trying to figure out what's causing it. My guess is, it's RemoteTech, but if so, that's a big problem, because that's one of my must-have mods.

I suppose I'll post the wing FAR config now. Should be close enough to the correct values. Sorry I haven't been around, I'm stressed out over Russia invading my country, as well as other things.

Considering how easily Naten could simply tell me the exact numbers, that wouldn't be fair to me (it takes me ~12 minutes to start the game, for example).

Naten, I need to know the exact dimensions of your wing. Then I can write up a FAR-compatible module for it. I mainly need to know the area and span; if that's problematic, a 2D image of it from your 3D editor would work. Right now I'm using it with a tweaked Taverio module from what looked like the nearest analogue. Keep up the good work, we do need more wing variety.

Aha, I see, so you wanted the pod jet to be a subsonic engine. I was misled by the way it looked! I put together a simple aircraft using your fuselage sections, and the tapered wings (which look like they're straight out of Taverio's pack, which is excellent). For some reason, the drag values are really high... I'm getting a drag coefficient of over 2 after passing Mach 1, which is kind of strange... Maybe I made some mistakes in putting it together. I did use a rocket fairing on the tail end.

Naten, want to exchange e-mails? I'll PM you mine. That way we don't have to clutter the release thread with my configs. I'd like to try making some textures for you, as well. By the way, I'm pleased that you're making aerodynamic body sections as well! Mk1 spaceplane bodies are too simplistic as they are now. I can try to make some FAR-compatible drag values for them. By the way, what do you think about Firespitter's oblong hull sections? I've been hoping someone could release some parts which would make modeling this kind of plane a reality in KSP...

I've got a pod jet config that I'm satisfied with! After multiple test-flights, here's what I can tell you about it. With a 12-ton, efficient spaceplane and two of these attached, it does a bit over Mach 2 in the stratosphere using the built-in intakes alone. Very strong inside the troposphere (this might be in part due to the thrust corrector mod I'm using). Compared to Sceppie's Minipack turbojets, it has some trouble igniting the scramjet, but it's doable (bring extra intakes, the scramjet eats a lot of air). IMO the aforementioned turbojets are kind of OP, they have a very simplistic velocity curve copied straight from the Squad turbojet. All in all, this one should be a good engine for larger SSTOs. You can stick these in pairs under the wings and focus on space propulsion and the LFO booster stage, since these have their own intakes. It's stronger, heavier, and more efficient, though the extra weight can be a problem for some. Obviously it's not a turbofan anymore, I'm afraid. Also, new FX for the scramjet. Has a tiny yellow flame and a somewhat appropriate sound now. Edit: I might have to tweak the intakes a little more later. They're getting dangerously close to the size-small DSIs that B9 Aerospace has, and it feels like these should be smaller. Or maybe the DSIs need a buff...

Preliminary pod jet config (starts from "description", doesn't include the last curly brace). Basically, a slightly heavier, slightly weaker, more efficient, much-better-at-high-velocity version of the B9 Aerospace turbofan. Don't implement this yet, I haven't tested it! My goal is to be able to take a <20-ton spaceplane with two of these and the scramjet into the thermosphere. Edit: config is no good, the thing runs too hot. Also the thrust is OP. I'm going to slash the heat generation by two thirds and nerf the thrust to 42. This thing is pretty interesting; I think it's going to be more like a turbojet. It looks like one, anyway. Edit 2: How about these revisions to the name and description? It just doesn't seem right to call something supersonic a turbofan...

All right, Naten, I'll take a look at those pod jets next, since I like how they look. You know, overall, the parts in KSP have way too much heat resistance. They also just seem to rapidly magically lose heat into nothing. Heat resistances should be something like 600-800 C for the spaceplane parts, and lower than that for most spacecraft stuff except for heatshields. There also need to be heat mechanics, like in Orbiter. KSP Interstellar barely scratches the surface. I want to take a whack at that eventually.

:facepalm: Why the deuce would you use two of those things... Ok, I can think of some reasons why... I'm trying to come up with what else could be nerfed on those. The power curve and the Isp are realistic. So is the heating. Wait a second! That's right, I nerfed the heat resistance on mine to 1600 degrees! I think I forgot to mention that!

Naten, I've performed another test flight, this time with the RT2 flight computer to fly the thing steady. Take a look at the instant of flameout: Look at those numbers. My word. Nearly Mach 7, in orbit within the thermosphere, 154 units of liquid fuel used up. If I had some battery capacity, a fission reactor, and an arcjet that runs on LiquidFuel (which as a matter of fact I've made several of), I'd be interplanetary after a few minutes of burn. Few notes: keep the engine mass at 1.8 tons, nerf the thrust to 78, and something needs to be done about that fuel consumption, it kind of feels too low. Isp of ~700-800 looks about right, though. I'll test some more. But ultimately, this thing is gold! Give it a model that looks like the end of your pod jets (make the sharp cone thinner and longer though), and you've got yourself a niche engine that no one else has made yet! It needs some flame effects... Maybe a size small yellow flame. HotRockets would be just the thing, but that eats memory and is nothing but eye candy... Edit: Nevermind the fuel consumption, I've thought about it just now and I guess it's correct. Why the deuce don't they make scramjet passenger liners... Oh well, I guess it's the same reason the Concorde doesn't fly anymore...

Gladly, Naten. If you'd like, I can rework the configs for your LHO engines as well (in the clusterable clusterengine pack, I've changed some things on my copy, for example). I've just come back from KSP, flight-testing your scramjet with my curve config. It works pretty well! Together with a couple of Sceppie's Minipack turbojets, I got a plane into the low thermosphere, until my control surfaces couldn't stabilize me anymore. Fills a niche past the Taverio ramjets. This scramjet starts to get really efficient right when the Taverio ramjets are coming down off the other side of their curve, which is consistent with real life. As far as what the scramjet is supposed to look like, take a look at this image. It doesn't need to have a flared nozzle, but the key feature of a scramjet is a cone inside the jetstream. This cone is also supposed to move back and forth; its purpose is to focus the exhaust for specific speeds. It only moves during the peak efficiency stretch of the curve. Basically, you know what the B9 Aerospace shock cone intakes look like? It looks almost exactly like that, except facing backwards. Say! Could you also make a radial-attachable rectangular scramjet, like what the NASA X-43 uses?

Ok, Naten. I've nerfed your scramjet. The velocity curve is a lot less jagged now, too. By the way, 260 kN is way, way OP for a scramjet. This thing can probably circularize a 70+ ton spaceplane monstrosity into thermospheric orbit. The thrust should be nerfed somehow, to less than 100 kN or so (60-80 maybe?)

Wow. Following up right now. That's a very interesting config! You have it working at 140% when it's at 1.4 kps airspeed, huh? And it maintains 100% out through 2.5 kps... This is pretty nuts. I'm going to try to tweak it to have a smoother power curve, and see what can come of it. Thanks again!

Thanks, I'll take a look! You know, I could hypothetically do textures as well; I'm all right with raster graphics, though it's been a while. The way it is right now, my engine configs are dependent on KSP Interstellar because it introduces the IntakeAtm resource, found in any planet with an atmosphere (IntakeAir is only on Kerbin and Laythe). Furthermore, Open Resource System introduces different atmo chemicals in correct proportions (!), so I'm also working on a magnesium powder ramjet for Duna and Eve now. The problem there is that EveCarbonDioxide and DunaCarbonDioxide are two different resources. I wonder if it's possible to write an engine config that can take either one or the other. The easiest exit is to write a .dll that gives you engines with switching propellants, just like the engines in KSP Interstellar. It makes sense anyway because Duna and Eve have different proportions of CO2, meaning that they necessitate slightly different fuel/air mixtures. Duna has something like 94% CO2, and Eve is 60-something, so a flight on Duna is actually going to eat less magnesium for the same amount of thrust (as though Eve wasn't hard enough). Wait a second! That was it? Less than 1.5 kps? That's not right, that's barely Mach 5 or something, scramjets are supposed to be for higher speeds than that... Look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramjet theoretical projections place the top speed of a scramjet between Mach 12 (8,400 mph; 14,000 km/h) and Mach 24 (16,000 mph; 25,000 km/h) Look at Taverio's mod, he has a couple of realistic ramjets (not scramjets); those things have virtually no thrust below Mach 2, and REALLY start to shine between Mach 2 and 4. Anyway, for my nuclear thermal ramjet, the power curve is like this: very low thrust below ~300 mps, peak thrust between 400-800, and after that it starts to go down slowly, to nothing at over 2 kps (the heat exchanger can't heat the air fast enough before it exits the engine). I tried to model it after the Project Pluto SLAM, it needed SRBs to get it supersonic. The SLAM engine was barely capable of Mach 4.

Installed right away. Glad to see you've figured out the shock cone symmetry issue, Naten. You're quite good at this! Say, I've been writing some custom config files; I've made realistic thermal ramjets that work on Eve and Duna, as well as some simple fission generators to power them. I can't make parts, though (yet). Would you be interested in me contributing to your projects? I also have this dream of bridging the gap between Near Future Propulsion and the Interstellar mod... Near Future does reactors better, and Interstellar has that Open Resource System that's a treasure trove of possibilities. What do you think?