MK2 SSTO plane difficulties

[Warzouz]

And none the less : it's enjoyable to fly !

[Warzouz]

I did a 1050m/s of fuel left at LKO.

The ascent speed to 11km seems to have some significant consequence. ascending from 200 to 220m/s make the speed increase at 11km (up to 500m/s) much easier.

Here is the spaceplane at my space station

[Warzouz]

BTW, I replaced the central rapier by a turbojet. After messing with ascent profile, I increased the dV left. Now I get 1100m/s.

the TurboJet help when ascending and to pass 340m/s. The dive is nearly inexistent. I cut the TJ before the Rapier which give them a little more boost. I switch to close cycle at 26km now. 2 rapier are enough.

My issue was the fuel efficiency at landing. I still haven't figure the correct reentry profile. I have to rely on engine and I'm often short of fuel, even I reenter with 6000m/s

[eddiew]

You seem to be lacking air brakes, which explains your re-entry problems. The ability to adjust your drag on demand is very useful. One to two pairs should be sufficient for a plane of your size. Using them in the upper atmosphere avoids a lot of heating, meaning you can come in a lot steeper, and it's easier to judge your burn.

Stock aero is very forgiving, so aim long, and use your brakes to adjust your descent path as you get lower. It's surprisingly easy to stop 10km above KSC, then circle downwards at a low speed, pulling up at the last minute. It may not be a realistic approach, but it certainly works, and you often don't need any fuel

For my burn point, I tend to be on the eastern edge of the desert to the west, and aim to impact in the ocean a little east of KSC, generally about 2-300m/s.

The bottom panels in

shows the sort of approaches you can get away with under stock. It feels far too high and steep, but you're flying through water and crashing is really hard

[Warzouz]

I have 4 airbrakes at the rear of the plane.

With the TJ alone, I have much more range. I just have to figure the optimum reentry configuration. Last try was much better. I overshoot but was able to turn and land.

I do the same retragrade as mu rocket SSTO : 60m/s, but I'll try a steeper retro-burn

[eddiew]

D'oh, yes, my apologies, hadn't noticed them tucked in there

But yeah, overall, a steeper descent is much easier to predict than a shallow one. Spaceplanes by nature tend to go long, and a good starting place is usually aiming to crash at KSC, then you just have to balance your airbrakes against your gliding capacity. Anywhere below 10km and you should be able to stop on a dime with that setup

(I'm sure there's some FAR and DRE fans will be aghast at the idea of such a big retroburn, but while it works, I say stick with it ^^)