1.25m lift fan and harrier swivel nozzles?

[Frozen_Heart]

So the poll in about the longer jet engines has made it clear that most people support the decision for the longer jet engine turbines, and I have to admit I kind of agree. However the problem with this is it kills pretty much every single VTOL design in the game.

I think the solution would be adding a 1.25m lift fan (F-35) and smaller place anywhere swivel jet nozzles (Harrier) so that people can still continue to build VTOL craft. For many people they have always been a huge part of KSP and it would be a shame to have the ability to make them taken away.

[Alshain]

I'd be willing to make this compromise but I fear it wouldn't make it in the game before 1.0.5. I feel that they shouldn't add the turbines until they are ready to make proper VTOL. I'm not against the turbines, I'm just against breaking VTOL for them.

[panzer1b]

I agree with the option for a dedicated VTOL engine. Perhaps make it have a 90 degree swivel (so it isnt 100% dedicated to VTOL and can act as a regular engine when facing backwards). Ofc this would need to be balanced (id guess lower ISP and perhaps optimized for seal level only (as in terrible thrust anywhere but near the ground).

As for a lift fan, i think thatd be too specialized to bother with. yes itd let us make F35 replicas (not that we'd want to, since a p51 mustang would probably fly circles around a F35 that is fitted with VTOL abilities), but aside from that (unless its thin enough to place nicely in a wing), itd be very situational and hard to use on most designs, whereas one of those place anywhere harrier style thrusters with (hopefully) toggleable position from horizontal to vertical would be great, and could be placed almost anywhere since they aint large.

[fireblade274]

Lift fans or a dedicated VTOL engine would be the tits!! and sounds like a compromise

[Pthigrivi]

Yeah originally I thought separating the turbine/compressor as a separate part was a good idea but balancing weight and thrust with different nozzles and form factors and all that would probably be a nightmare. I have to admit a lift fan would be fun

Edited November 6, 2015 by Pthigrivi

[Greenspan]

Instead of Harrier nozzles how about a servo, that can rotate connections 90 degrees. That way you could connect them to an engine to create the equivalent of the Harrier Nozzles or do 1000 other things with them

[Alshain]

Instead of Harrier nozzles how about a servo, that can rotate connections 90 degrees. That way you could connect them to an engine to create the equivalent of the Harrier Nozzles or do 1000 other things with them

Because that wouldn't fix the problem with the new turbines.

[Rath]

Instead of Harrier nozzles how about a servo, that can rotate connections 90 degrees. That way you could connect them to an engine to create the equivalent of the Harrier Nozzles or do 1000 other things with them

And it would be too big.