Jet-of-the-Day Collaboration

[The Raging Sandwich]

Do the rocket pods work?

[Servo]

7 hours ago, Dman979 said:

It's threads like this that remind me why I need to visit this subforum more often. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! That means a lot!

 

23 minutes ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

Do the rocket pods work?

The Starfire's pods work (single shot each, because I couldn't make it any smaller), and actually have the power to take out the VAB. If you were asking about the Thunderceptor, I didn't include them (I learned about them only after I had uploaded the craft).

[The Raging Sandwich]

2 minutes ago, Servo said:

The Starfire's pods work (single shot each, because I couldn't make it any smaller), and actually have the power to take out the VAB. If you were asking about the Thunderceptor, I didn't include them (I learned about them only after I had uploaded the craft).

Oh, whoops. Guess I wasn't paying attention to the first picture.

[Servo]

September 1950: Northrop F-89 Scorpion

The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was the first purpose-designed all-weather jet interceptor in the U.S. arsenal. It was also the last straight-winged jet fighter in U.S. service, as it was replaced by the more advanced jets of the Century Series. Armed with the Genie nuclear air-to-air missile, it formed the basis of the U.S. Strategic Air Command for much of the 1950s. Over 1,000 F-89s were produced throughout the 1950s.

Download Link: https://kerbalx.com/servo/F-89-Scorpion

Tomorrow's Craft: Boeing B-47 Stratojet

(order is funny because the forums are acting up)

Replica Statistics:

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 48	Mass: 8.84 tons	Crew: 2
Top Speed: 250m/s	Powerplant: 2x Juno	Service Ceiling: 7500m	Dimensions: 9.67 x 3.58 x 8.92 LHW

 

Edited February 19, 2017 by Servo

[Servo]

June 1951: Boeing B-47 Stratojet

The B-47 Stratojet was designed to fly at high altitudes to avoid fighter aircraft, carrying bomb loads as a strategic bomber. The B-47 was a major part of Strategic Air Command’s nuclear deterrent program, and its pioneering design influenced many cold war bombers and jetliners.

The Stratojet’s influence can be seen in many of Boeing’s later aircraft, including the B-52 Stratofortress, the KC-135 (Coming soon), and many other bombers and cargo planes. The unique configuration of three engines across two nacelles allowed for more bomb area in the fuselage itself, and the increased size and higher speed allowed it to replace the aging B-45 Tornado.

Replica Statistics:

Builders: Servo and NorthamericanAviation	Part Count: 278	Mass: 58.9 tons	Crew: 4
Service Ceiling: 10km	Powerplant: 6x Wheesley	Top Speed: 230m/s	Dimensions: 35.38 x 9.32 x 32.6

This replication is on a 1:1 scale and is the first craft that we have both worked on together. Northamericanaviation built the fuselage and tailplane, and I added the wings, engines, and bomb bay.The bomb bay is a functional rotary bay with six tactical bombs. Press 1 to open the doors and decouple the rotor. Then switch to the bay and use SAS to rotate the bombs into position as you drop them. The B-47 is very sluggish in the air, thanks to the underpowered engines, and takes a bit of finesse (and the drag chutes) to land.

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/Boeing-B-47-Stratojet

Tomorrow's Craft:

Vought F-7 Cutlass

 

[NorthAmericanAviation]

July 1951: Vought F7U Cutlass

The Vought F7U Cutlass was a semi-tailless design, in fact, the final design from Vought engineer Rex Beisel, who had also designed the U.S. Navy’s first fighter in 1922. The Cutlass earned a bad reputation due to the under-powered nature and poor reliability of the two J-35’s used in the design, and was relatively scarce, serving from 1951 to 1959 with only 320 examples produced.

An all-weather variant was proposed, but the fact that the engines tended to flame out in rain killed this vision quickly.

Supposedly, the design was derived from techniques and models from the German Arado company, although Vought denied any ties.

Replica Statistics

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 58	Mass: 7.4 Tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 12.5km	Powerplant: 4x Juno	Top Speed: 303 m/s	Dimensions: 9.1 x 9.0 x 3.8 LWH

This replica can take off at a very carrier-friendly 25 m/s, and has an incredibly short landing roll, if approach is done with a high angle of attack. Otherwise, it handles very well, turning sharply and having good albeit subsonic straight-line speed.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/Vought-F7U-Cutlass

Tomorrow's Craft: Grumman F9F-2/3/4/5 Panther & F9F-6/7/8 Cougar

[NorthAmericanAviation]

September 1949: Grumman F9F-2 Panther

(Timeline Throwback!) Grumman’s F9F-2 Panther was the company’s first jet-fighter, and a design that they would modify heavily into the F9F-6 Cougar, adding swept wings. For a straight-winged first generation fighter, the Panther enjoyed a long service life, beginning with the U.S. Navy in September 1949 and ending extended service with Argentina in 1969.

The straight-wing iterations of the F9F designation include the experimental XF9F-2, -3, and -4, and production models F9F-2, -2B, -2P, F9F-3, F9F-4, F9F-5, -5P, -5K, -5KD(DF-9E after 1962).

 

Replica Statistics

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 49	Mass: 6.7 Tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 14km	Powerplant: 4x Juno	Top Speed: 303 m/s	Dimensions: 10.0 x 10.8 x 3.7 LWH

This model Handles well, has excellent climb characteristics, and is easy to take off in and land with.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/Grumman-F9F-2-Panther

 

September 1951: Grumman F9F-6 Cougar

The US Navy’s first swept-wing fighter. This aircraft had a respectable service life of 22 years serving as a carrier-based fighter, as well as with the Blue Angels Demonstration team. Its heritage as an evolution of the Panther is evident, with the fuselage shape being very similar, and flight characteristics enhanced.

Additionally, it set a transcontinental speed record of 3 hours and 45 minutes on April 1, 1954.

Replica Statistics:

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 36	Mass: 6.4 Tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 13.5km	Powerplant: 4x Juno	Top Speed: 330 m/s	Dimensions: 10.0 x 9.6 x 3.7 LWH

This model has great low to mid-speed control response, cutting corners in the air as if on rails, max speed is barely subsonic, similar to reality. The aircraft also exhibits low stall speeds, around 35 m/s. It is very carrier-friendly.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/Grumman-F9F-8-Cougar

Tomorrow's Craft: Douglas A-3 Skywarrior & B-66 Destroyer

[NorthAmericanAviation]

October 1952: Douglas A3D Skywarrior

The Douglas A3D Skywarrior was originally conceived as a nuclear bomber in the early 1950’s, but adapted well as the demands made of the air-frame changed. It enjoyed a substantial service life of 35 years between 1956 and 1991. Because of its utilitarian usefulness. it was used extensively for refueling, bombing, reconnaissance, and electrical intelligence gathering (ELINT) in the U.S. Military.

It saw widespread use in Vietnam alongside its bombing-outfitted derivative, the B-66 Destroyer, further recon use in cold war conflicts, and, amazingly enough, extended service as the EA-3 in the beginning phases of the Persian Gulf War and operation Desert Storm. After its service career with the military ended in 1991, many air-frames continued then ongoing use with defense contractors and weapons system developers as test-beds for F-14 and F-111B radar electronics systems. Hughes Aircraft was the main proprietor of these A-3’s, but Westinghouse and Raytheon also owned and modified these craft.

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 70	Mass: 15.6 Tons	Crew: 3
Service Ceiling: 7.5km	Powerplant: 6x Juno	Top Speed: 240 m/s	Dimensions: 15.0 x 13.7 x 5.3 LWH

This model is big and heavy, true to life, and a good candidate for all its previously mentioned roles. long distances are a yes, high speeds and fighter-plane maneuverability are a no. 298 m/s can be reached in a steep dive.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/Douglas-A3D-Skywarrior

Tomorrow's Craft: Convair F2Y Sea Dart

[Servo]

January 1953: Convair F2Y/F7 Sea Dart

The Convair F-7 Sea Dart was an experimental seaplane fighter design in the late 1950s. Also designated F2Y, only a few prototypes were ever made, as the program was cancelled after numerous issues with the design. The Sea Dart launched using hydroplanes under the nose, and could break the speed of sound, making it the only seaplane to have ever done so.

 

The design was created to allow supersonic aircraft (which at the time required long takeoff/landing rolls) to operate from carriers. In fact, one possible role for the Sea Dart would have it operating from a submarine carrier, although that design didn’t make it very far.

Replica Statistics:

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 75	Mass: 11.6 tons	Crew: 1
Top speed: 360m/s	Service Ceiling: 15km	Powerplant: 2x Panther	Dimensions: 9.57 x 5.42 x 14.14 WHL

My version is very easy to fly, both from land and sea. Simply start accelerating with the afterburners firing, then pitch up at about 40 m/s in water or 60m/s on land. Landing is just as simple, as the Dart glides really well.

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/F-7-Sea-Dart

Tomorrow's Craft:

Martin B-57 Canberra

 

[NorthAmericanAviation]

July 1953: Martin B-57 Canberra

Initially produced by English Electric, Martin (of USA) purchased the rights to produce the Canberra under license, and so they did. Over the years, the American design developed more domestic traits, as seen in the B-57D and NASA-General Dynamics WB-57F, which both have much more wing area by means of using greater length instead of a greater chord. In the case of the WB-57F, the wing area is more than double that of the B-57B.

The B-57 saw 31 years of continuous use from 1954 to 1983, and in its later years developed into the RB-57D, when the air-frame was shown to have great potential for high altitude reconnaissance flight. Today, there are three WB-57F aircraft still flying with NASA, hosting first and third party atmospheric research equipment for various companies.

Replica Statistics

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 68	Mass: 14.8 Tons	Crew: 2
Service Ceiling: 9.5km	Powerplant: 6x Juno	Top Speed: 300 m/s	Dimensions: 13.5 x 12.5 x 4.2

This model is, of course, the B-57B, the later RB-57D and WB-57F will follow this one over on https://kerbalx.com/

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/Martin-B-57B-Canberra

Tomorrow's Craft: Douglas A-4 Skyhawk

Edited February 25, 2017 by NorthAmericanAviation

[TheDestroyer111]

I don't seem to like them. They are all ugly, their handling varies widely from real life, so do the engine/crew setups. Many of them are also completely outsized compared to proper kerbal scale.

[Munbro Kerman]

10 hours ago, TheDestroyer111 said:

I don't seem to like them. They are all ugly, their handling varies widely from real life, so do the engine/crew setups. Many of them are also completely outsized compared to proper kerbal scale.

I really am not trying to be disrespectful to anyone, nor insult the creators of these craft, but how could you say something like this? They all have a clean finish, there are very few areas, if any, that are messy and/or need improvement. How is it Servo's and NorthAmericanAviation's fault that the engine and crew setups aren't the most perfect recreation? Every stock KSP player is restricted to the very few cockpits and jet engines, yet they made the best of it. I assume you also downloaded a few of their craft? The most likely reason their planes don't have realistic handling, as you have said, is that the aerodynamics of the game are not the best. This is because KSP was originally a rocket-building simulator, not a plane-building simulator. As a result, aerodynamics isn't the main goal here, it's physics. Your last comment, I'm not exactly sure as what you meant to "proper kerbal scale." To Servo and NAA, keep it up, I look forward to your upcoming craft.

[NorthAmericanAviation]

13 hours ago, TheDestroyer111 said:

I don't seem to like them. They are all ugly, their handling varies widely from real life, so do the engine/crew setups. Many of them are also completely outsized compared to proper kerbal scale.

 

2 hours ago, Munbro Kerman said:

I really am not trying to be disrespectful to anyone, nor insult the creators of these craft, but how could you say something like this? They all have a clean finish, there are very few areas, if any, that are messy and/or need improvement. How is it Servo's and NorthAmericanAviation's fault that the engine and crew setups aren't the most perfect recreation? Every stock KSP player is restricted to the very few cockpits and jet engines, yet they made the best of it. I assume you also downloaded a few of their craft? The most likely reason their planes don't have realistic handling, as you have said, is that the aerodynamics of the game are not the best. This is because KSP was originally a rocket-building simulator, not a plane-building simulator. As a result, aerodynamics isn't the main goal here, it's physics. Your last comment, I'm not exactly sure as what you meant to "proper kerbal scale." To Servo and NAA, keep it up, I look forward to your upcoming craft.

Aint no way in heck they're going to be dead-on all the time. Fortunately, I can slow down and focus more on the nitty-gritty part of getting both looks and performance since my craft-posting schedule for this thread is now slower, *whew.* I will admit, though, some of them were afternoon builds, so I won't turn a blind eye to the 'critique.' This next one should satisfy, though.

June 1954: Douglas A4D Skyhawk

The A4D Skyhawk is a mainly carrier-based attack aircraft, heralded as a huge success due to the air-frames longevity and its ability to be assigned to many a different task. The service career of the A-4 has been quite diverse; in 1954, it began with the U.S. Navy as a primary attack aircraft, and continued to serve as an attack and as a trainer aircraft until 2003. More recent combat/non-historical service retirements have been from the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in 2015, and the Argentine Air Force (AAF) in 2016.

The USMC, USN, IAF, and AAF still use the plane in historical demos. The A-4’s first major conflict involvement was in Vietnam, where it served as the Navy’s primary light attack aircraft, as intended. After and during the Vietnam War era, the A-4 was adapted into a trainer, due to its very pilot-friendly nature in all regards. It would later become a long-term Blue Angels plane, replacing the F-4 Phantom II until 1980, when McDonnell-Douglas' F-18 Hornet became available.

Tough, agile, cheap, and easy to maintain, the A-4’s popularity remains high because of how Versatile, adaptable, and refined its initial design was. Most of the world recognizes the iconic shape of the A-4, specifically Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and The United States, which all had or have A-4’s in some form of military service.

Replica Statistics

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 63	Mass: 9.5 Tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 13km	Powerplant: 1x Panther	Top Speed: 330 m/s	Dimensions: 11.4 x 7.9 x 4.3 LWH

This replica is about 7/8 scale, very close to life-size dimensions, and handles well. it takes wing-mounted armament well, but lacks in range.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/McDonnell-Douglas-A4D-Skyhawk

Tomorrow's Craft: North American F-100 Super Sabre

[Servo]

September 1954: North American F-100 Super Sabre

The F-100 was North American’s successor to the extremely successful F-86 Sabre. It was better streamlined and carried a more powerful engine. As a result, it was the first production-line fighter capable of breaking Mach 1 in level flight. In the same role as the F-86, the F-100 was very effective as an air superiority fighter as well as a close air support area, serving primarily in Vietnam. Due to the Super Sabre’s versatility and high performance, the F-100 served from 1954 until 1979.  The F-100 was an important bridge between early jet fighters such as the F-86 and the fourth-generation fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The F-100 was the first of the “third generation” of U.S. fighters, and the first of the Century Series (F-100 through F-108), which will be coming in the next two weeks. Because of its position on the forefront of aviation development, the F-100 was used extensively in a variety of distinct projects. F-100s were the first used in Wild Weasel squadrons, detecting and destroying enemy radar installments. As part of project Slick Chick, six F-100s were modified into high-altitude,  high-speed reconnaissance aircraft for use over the Eastern Bloc in 1955. The program was highly successful, and none of the RF-100s were intercepted by Soviet aircraft, and continued until the U-2 was introduced in 1957. Additionally, F-100s were the plane of choice for the Air Force demonstration group the Thunderbirds from 1956 through 1968.

The F-100 was famous for low-speed handling problems, including the infamous “Sabre Dance” in which the plane would rapidly pitch up as the outer wing lost lift. Several planes were lost this way, as the pitch-up was particularly fatal at low altitudes on landing approach.

Replica Statistics

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 82	Mass: 16.9 tons	Crew: 2 (for looks only)
Top Speed: 350m/s	Service ceiling: 15km	Powerplant: 1x RAPIER + 1x Panther	Dimensions: 9.94 x 9.01 x 4.44 LWH

This F-100 behaves similarly to its real-life counterpart, as it has a tendency to go into a flat spin if it turns too sharply. This can be fixed by shifting fuel tanks around, and once that’s done, the F-100 handles similarly to the real one, topping out at low supersonic speeds at mid-altitudes.

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/F-100-Super-Sabre

Tomorrow's Craft:

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

[The Raging Sandwich]

2 hours ago, Servo said:

Tomorrow's Craft:

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

[Rath]

On 2/26/2017 at 9:37 PM, TheDestroyer111 said:

I don't seem to like them. They are all ugly, their handling varies widely from real life, so do the engine/crew setups. Many of them are also completely outsized compared to proper kerbal scale.

Pick two: Pretty, Correct Scale, Part Setup, Handling.

If it's at the correct scale, with the correct engine size and position, you can't make it pretty, because junos only have 20kn.

Make it the correct scale and be pretty?  Now it has 40 clipped junos, with the handling suffering because of it.

 

Find me a KSP craft that you can say fits all of these.

[DarkOwl57]

*waiting for the F4 Phantom*

[ottothesilent]

On 2/26/2017 at 10:34 PM, NorthAmericanAviation said:

 

Aint no way in heck they're going to be dead-on all the time. Fortunately, I can slow down and focus more on the nitty-gritty part of getting both looks and performance since my craft-posting schedule for this thread is now slower, *whew.* I will admit, though, some of them were afternoon builds, so I won't turn a blind eye to the 'critique.' This next one should satisfy, though.

June 1954: Douglas A4D Skyhawk

The A4D Skyhawk is a mainly carrier-based attack aircraft, heralded as a huge success due to the air-frames longevity and its ability to be assigned to many a different task. The service career of the A-4 has been quite diverse; in 1954, it began with the U.S. Navy as a primary attack aircraft, and continued to serve as an attack and as a trainer aircraft until 2003. More recent combat/non-historical service retirements have been from the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in 2015, and the Argentine Air Force (AAF) in 2016.

The USMC, USN, IAF, and AAF still use the plane in historical demos. The A-4’s first major conflict involvement was in Vietnam, where it served as the Navy’s primary light attack aircraft, as intended. After and during the Vietnam War era, the A-4 was adapted into a trainer, due to its very pilot-friendly nature in all regards. It would later become a long-term Blue Angels plane, replacing the F-4 Phantom II until 1980, when McDonnell-Douglas' F-18 Hornet became available.

Tough, agile, cheap, and easy to maintain, the A-4’s popularity remains high because of how Versatile, adaptable, and refined its initial design was. Most of the world recognizes the iconic shape of the A-4, specifically Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and The United States, which all had or have A-4’s in some form of military service.

Replica Statistics

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 63	Mass: 9.5 Tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 13km	Powerplant: 1x Panther	Top Speed: 330 m/s	Dimensions: 11.4 x 7.9 x 4.3 LWH

This replica is about 7/8 scale, very close to life-size dimensions, and handles well. it takes wing-mounted armament well, but lacks in range.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/McDonnell-Douglas-A4D-Skyhawk

Tomorrow's Craft: North American F-100 Super Sabre

Nice replica! My grandfather flew A-4s for the Marines for 20 years, and he adored the little plane!

[Servo]

On 2/27/2017 at 9:38 PM, The Raging Sandwich said:

You're going to be happy when you see this...

9 hours ago, DarkOwl57 said:

*waiting for the F4 Phantom*

You're going to be happy in three weeks when you see it. The F-4 is slated for March 20th, contingent on us not finding any more craft that we missed.

 

February 1955: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

The B-52 Stratofortress was Boeing's successor to the somewhat unsuccessful B-36 program. Despite the long design phase, the plane that started rolling off the Boeing lines in 1952 would become some of the longest-serving military jets of all time. In fact,  the B-52 is slated to remain in service well into the 2030s, and perhaps beyond, with over 70 aircraft active as part of the U.S. Air Force. The B-52's long service life is a testament to its ease of maintenance, versatility, and lethality. B-52s were the primary bomber throughout the Korean, Vietnam, Afghani wars, as well as many modern conflicts. Off the battlefield, one particular B-52, known as Balls-8 for its serial number NB-52-008, served as NASA's dropship for high-speed atmospheric tests for 45 years, including the X-15, and many lifting-body designs that would pave the way for the space shuttle.

 

The B-52 was designed as a follow-up to Boeing's extremely successful B-47 bomber (see the top of this page), incorporating ten more years of development. As a result, the B-52 was much larger and better armed - a B-52 has a maximum armament of over 30 metric tons of bombs, between internal bays and on pylons. As evidenced by its career with NASA, the B-52 has been used as a carrier aircraft for a number of aircraft, bombs, and missiles.

As a testament to the B-52's versatility, I couldn't limit myself to just one B-52 - I built three. One is a base model, which can be adapted to any number of different missions. Another is the bomber version shown above, which carries 18 bombs in a rotary bomb bay. To use, stage the rack, then switch to the bomb rack. Stage the bombs, and they should rotate into position (if SAS is off) after a few seconds. The third is a B-52 + X-15 combo.

 

Replica Statistics: Base Version

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 267	Mass: 68.3 tons	Crew: 2
Top Speed: 150m/s	Service Ceiling: 8km	Powerplant: 8x Panther	Dimensions: 37.59 x 9.76 x 37.61 LHW

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/B-52-Stratofortress-Empty

Replica Statistics: Bomber Version

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 492	Mass: 82.7 tons	Crew: 2
Top Speed: 150m/s	Service Ceiling: 8km	Powerplant: 8x Panther	Dimensions: 37.59 x 9.76 x 37.61 LHW

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/B-52-Stratofortress

 

Replica Statistics: X-15 Drop Test

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 346	Mass: 93.6 tons	Crew: 2
Top Speed: 150m/s	Service Ceiling: 8km	Powerplant: 8x Panther	Dimensions: 37.59 x 9.76 x 37.61 LHW

Download Link: https://kerbalx.com/servo/B-52-Stratofortress-+-X-15

 

Tomorrow's Craft:

Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady

Edited March 1, 2017 by Servo

[The Raging Sandwich]

11 hours ago, Servo said:

 

Tomorrow's Craft:

Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady

again!

[DarkOwl57]

12 hours ago, Servo said:

You're going to be happy in three weeks when you see it. The F-4 is slated for March 20th, contingent on us not finding any more craft that we missed.

............... *checks schedule* Okay, I should be good for that date. Spring Break's in 1 week

[Servo]

July 1955: Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady

The U-2 was a pioneering super-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft designed by Kelly Johnson’s Skunkworks. After getting wind of an Air Force contract not offered to Lockheed, Johnson developed the U-2 in nine months to meet the contract. Despite opposition, the U-2 easily outperformed the competition and scored the contract. In order to reach altitudes 70,000 feet and above, the U-2 was designed to be as lightweight as possible. So much so, that the U-2 only carries two landing gear in the fuselage, requiring detachable wheels to taxi and takeoff, and a chase car to help the pilot set the U-2 down safely on landing. This fact angered many top generals, who wanted nothing to do with a plane that didn’t have guns nor wheels. However, during the Cold War, the U-2 would prove its worth.

 

The U-2 penetrated deep into Soviet territory, beyond the reach of anti-air missiles and enemy interceptors, photographing installations. One U-2 flight revealed the nuclear missiles on Cuba pointed at the United States, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis. With the development of higher-altitude antiaircraft missiles, U-2s were within reach of Soviet ground weapons. In 1960, Gary Powers was shot down over Russia before being captured. Rudolf Anderson was shot down in 1962 over Cuba during the Missile Crisis, and a U-2 was shot down over China in 1965.

Now, U-2s fly many important reconnaissance missions, and also HALE (High-Altitude Long Endurance) missions for NASA and other research organizations.

 

Replica Statistics:

Builder: Servo	Part Count: 111	Mass: 13.1 tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 20km	Top speed: 250m/s	Powerplant: 1x Panther	Dimensions: 16.75 x 5.43 x 27.59 LHW

Like its real life counterpart, this U-2 is not for the faint of heart. Known as the hardest aircraft in the world to land, the U-2 is faithfully represented here. Approach the runway at a low glideslope under throttle at about 70m/s. Deploy the airbrakes and flaps and set her down really gently. If you do so, you can come to a complete stop before it leans onto one wingtip. To prevent this, use RCS to toggle the training wheels and taxi off.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/servo/Lockheed-Martin-U-2-Dragon-Lady

Tomorrow's Craft:

McDonnell F3H Demon

Edited March 1, 2017 by Servo

[DarkOwl57]

On 2/21/2017 at 7:32 PM, NorthAmericanAviation said:

July 1951: Vought F7U Cutlass

Could I use this in Civil War? Or at least this sort of design? I'm thinking the same wing/tail-fin placement, but with a single Panther instead of 2 Junos. I'm also thinking about using the F9F-6 and maybe the A4D

Edited March 2, 2017 by DarkOwl57

[NorthAmericanAviation]

2 hours ago, DarkOwl57 said:

Could I use this in Civil War? Or at least this sort of design? I'm thinking the same wing/tail-fin placement, but with a single Panther instead of 2 Junos. I'm also thinking about using the F9F-6 and maybe the A4D

Took a quick peek at that, sounds cool! Yes, you can certainly use all of my planes, just give credit where due, of course---for me, just throw in a link to https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation. On another note,

-I think you would really enjoy the book, "The Right Stuff," by Tow Wolfe, it's a very good read and captures the spirit of the pioneering era of rocket and jet engine technology from around 1945 to the late 60's

-here's something cool to listen to that I've always wanted to share: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wild_Weasel_mission_5_November_1967

Very interesting missions, Wild Weasel F-105G's. Might aid in developing a Cold-War vibe in your writings, I just think it's cool

[NorthAmericanAviation]

March 1956: McDonnell F3H Demon

The McDonnell F3H Demon is an all-weather missile-armed interceptor that served alongside the Vought F8U and Grumman F11F in similar daytime roles (this version is unarmed). Like the F8U, it was withdrawn from service Before The Vietnam War to make way for the F-4 Phantom II, a comparatively superior plane, despite its initial armament consisting of only missiles.

In its 8 year service life, it managed no kills, but did gain the nickname lead sled thanks to its poor power-to-weight ratio as so many aircraft had been dubbed before.

Replica Statistics

Builder: NAA	Part Count: 32	Mass: 10.5 Tons	Crew: 1
Service Ceiling: 14km	Powerplant: 4x Juno	Top Speed: 200 m/s	Dimensions: 13.8 x 9.5 x 4.2 LWH

This model's visuals do lack a bit---it was an early build, but the flight characteristics are closer to life, the lack of power 'faithfully' recreated. The top speed recorded here is in sustained level flight; a dive will definitely boost this number. If I do a proper craft showcase, you may see a remake of this craft.

 

Download Link:

https://kerbalx.com/NorthAmericanAviation/McDonnell-F3H-Demon

Tomorrow's Craft: Douglas F4D Skyray