Comprehensive guide to FAR spaceplanes?

[Boom_Mcsplodey]

Is there an up-to-date comprehensive guide to building spaceplanes with FAR floating around somewhere out there?  I've been trying my hardest to build planes and am having no luck at all.  Most of the time my planes will end up barreling off the end of the runway at 200m/s without ever being able to pitch up beforehand.  If I'm lucky they'll survive that launch and won't pitch up and down wildly enough to crash straight into the sea. I've managed to brute force some SSTOs to orbit but am left with no payload, range, or rendezvous capabilities.  If those planes survive reentry without breaking up they crash land because they can't fly slow enough without dropping like rocks.  This is all beyond frustrating and I don't even know where to start fixing it.

I know there must be a way to read the FAR analysis to help fix stability and maneuverability issues.  I also know there's a way to use flaps, slats, and more complex control surfaces to make takeoff and landing easier.  The problem is that I can't find any decent guides or tutorials on the subject.  Most of the guides I've found will say stuff like "make sure the numbers in this dialog box are green" and "smooth out this curve" without actually explaining how to do any of that.  Does anyone know of some complete but straightforward guides on this stuff?  A "FAR spaceplanes for dummies" of sorts?

[Van Disaster]

No, not really - however concentrate on making normal aircraft first, from the basics you're describing you have rather large design issues. Barrelling off the runway could be because you have no control authority, not enough wing, misplaced landing gear or your CoM/lift balance is all out of whack - similarily not being able to fly slow enough could also be a balance issue or simple too-high wing loading.

This is the thread to post in to ask for help about FAR craft design ( the mod thread is to ask about things directly related to the mod itself ) - you might want to read through it, if you're going to post asking for help be sure to put some screenshots in - many of us can spot the more obvious problems instantly.

[Boom_Mcsplodey]

Thanks for the info.  As far as CoM/CoL goes I know to try to keep the CoL right behind the CoM.  I also know a similar thing can be said about main landing gear.  My basic understanding of flaps and slats in the real world is that they're used to temporarily increase lift to allow for lower speeds at takeoff and landing, but this seems to be some of the most advanced stuff in the game.  I'll have to take a close look at that thread.

[Van Disaster]

FAR is rather more complicated than that - for starters lift centres move around depending on speed & AoA, you need to pay attention to the numbers FAR gives you, the CoL ball is an extremely rough estimation that is also rather dependent on craft shape. Flaps deflect down so unless you position them very carefully you'll get a pitching effect. Anyway, that thread is a good start, post there with more details & pics.