A little spaceplane...

[Wolf Baginski]

I was trying out some mods I'd made to Mk2 parts, no changes to textures and meshes, just some .cfg amendments. A friend has asked if there was an all Liquid Fuel Mk2 to 1.25m adaptor, I'd amended a few parts, and they needed a test.

Front to back:

Ram intake

Mk1 inline cockpit

FL-T200 tank (LFO)

Stock Mk2 to 1.25m (long)

Short Mk2 cargo bay

Mk2 to 1.35m (short) LF only (Mod)

CR-7 R.A.P.I.E.R. Engine

I used canard foreplanes and tried several variations in the wings and tailfin.

Got into a 100km orbit with some fuel to spare.

I think I might switch from the FL-T200 to a short Mk2 rocket-fuel tank. It would be a better base for the wings. Maybe both adaptors un-modded and use a Mk2 liquid-fuel tank in front of the cargo bay. The balance was too far aft when the last of the oxidizer got used. Two Mk2 sections between the adapters would be a bit better for mounting the wings.

Getting the ascent angle right was a little tricky so as to be able to start the supersonic power-surge. Switching to rocket mode needs to be done right, or you burn rocket-fuel to recover a slight speed loss, and it matters later.

Anyway, my mods seemed to work. And, when you look through the 1.25m stock parts, you get some some idea of the differences between no-fuel/structural, jet-fuel, and LFO combinations. It's a little annoying that there are no stock jet-fuel-type adaptors, but it started me on this.

(Yes, I know there are fuel-switch mods too.)

If the starting balance is too far forward, you get drag from the continuously-applied pitch control. Air-breathing, the way the fuel is used there isn't a big shift. Once in rocket mode, the consumption pattern moves the balance backwards. Maybe I should have moved my fuel forwards before reentry?

- - - Updated - - -

Here's a pic of a less-successful version. It was sub-orbital only, coasting to the edge of atmosphere without the delta-V to circularise. I changed the rear-end of the fuselage to a stock component and there are the wing changes too.

That Mk2 fuselage section was a no-fuel mod, could have been a cargo bay. I am wondering what sort of load it could carry.