Skyhook Cargo Airlifter

[starleaf1]

Are you tired of designing crafts that would fit in cargo bays? Need to haul them across Kerbin for some reason? Well, say hello to the Skyhook.

Download from KerbalX: https://kerbalx.com/starleaf1/Skyhook

* Rover not included

Simply attach your cargo underneath the plane via anything that can decouple, slap some struts when necessary, and you're ready for take off.

Features:

• Enough ground clearance to safely haul anything up to 2.75 meters tall.
• Four Wheesley engines, for taking off with heavier cargo.
• The wing design used in the Galactic Swallow. Capable of compensating for (reasonably) asymmetrical cargo.

Tech specs:

• Part count: 40
• Mass: 31.09t
• Dimensions (length × width × height): 21.2m × 20.1m × 9.7m

 

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After the seeing nice responses to the Galactic Swallow, I decide to share more of my contraptions online. If you're an aircraft enthusiast, you might notice that I draw inspiration from the real-life Skycrane helicopter for this design.

This thing is quite stable, but when empty it is heavier towards the bow. So mind the center of mass while attaching cargo. The brake is linked with the thrust reversers. Hold brake to activate, tap to toggle. I haven't yet measured the ideal cruising altitude, range, max cargo weight, or even whether or not this thing is a good idea to begin with. If you enjoy KSP for the math, I'll leave those things for you to figure out.

Fly safe.

Edited February 1, 2017 by starleaf1