The Future is Here: Mothership MKI

[Omegalegion]

Folks, here\'s my first attempt at a horizontal take-off, mun capable vehicle.

Enjoy, as I have, the frustration of managing this beast.

It consists of a Mothership vehicle (AKA Big arse plane) that will carry a 2 stage liquid rocket to 12,000M or so with enough fuel to break orbit. Unlike current designs for real world applications, the Mothership vehicle in this case is sacrificial, and needs to be at a very steep angle to launch the rocket successfully.

Updated Image

Tips:

On take-off, throttle down to zero before launch.

Watch your alignment, this thing likes to skate.

At 100m/s (75% throttle) turn off SAS and start leaning on that upward attitude adjustment, then punch the accelerator. Be careful, this thing likes to clip that first rocket stage! If you time it right, you can launch off the end of the runway where there\'s a small dip, big enough to get this thing at the right angle for a take-off.

While in-flight, any time you need to dis-engage the SAS (say right before rocket launch) make sure to hold 'S' on your keyboard, the ship has a bad habit of wanting to bungee straight down when the SAS is offlined and this can cause...well...I\'m sure you get the picture.

If you get this thing to the Mun, lemme know. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: the creator of this aircraft started out with a record of 1 in 10 take-offs being successful, with the rest of the attempts ending in mulched Kerbals and mile-long wreckage trails. As of the time of this posting I am now closer to 3 in 5 take-offs being successful. This ship will make you want to pull your hair out just on the take-off, and yet the real challenge comes once you are in the air ???

[RayneCloud]

This thing doesn\'t work at all...crashes every single time...

[Omegalegion]

I\'ve gotten it up in the air, the rocket launch...now that\'s a bit more tricky

Edit: here\'s a screenshot i took just now, proving its air-worthy. I said it worked, i never said it was easy. Then again, this is KSP

[RayneCloud]

let me rephrase what I said, this is a very good idea, just has some design issues. If you\'d like, I\'ve been toying with the design myself over the last while...

[Omegalegion]

whoops sorry for the ninja edit. And yeah, I have only been toying with the design for about an hour. So I\'m sure a better incarnation will come up again soon. As it is, this thing, while very far from perfect, is a pretty solid launch platform.

[togfox]

I don\'t have 0.15 yet ... is the capsule in the rocket or in the plane (or both - is that possible?). Nice idea. Something I never considered but will now.

[Omegalegion]

the capsule is on the rocket. After separation the aircraft is meant to fall away. Proper timing is required, as is patience. As for the concept of the mothership, it\'s one that I find interesting as well. My next challenge will be to actually get to the Mun with the rocket portion of this beast.

[White Owl]

Oh I really like this one.