Land a Spaceplane

[MuXu96]

Hey guys,

I think I have a pretty okey spaceplane.

I can fly really well with it, but landing is impossible.

How do I slow down? with cut off the engines I fly with ca 70-90 m/s

but that´s way to fast isn´t it?

I also use the landing gear breaks with the b key (if there is any? lol)

If a pic from the plane is important just say it (I don´t think so)

I really have no clue how to land this bird..

Thanks^^

[Sky Visitor]

Horizontal velocity isn\'t that important, you just have to get the vertical down as close to 0 as possible. In other words, 'float' above the ground as long as possible and then gently touch down. If your landing gears are spread wider apart then you\'ll be less likely to roll over.

[MuXu96]

Ok thanks you, I will try this

[Vanamonde]

You can also reinforce the landing gear with struts, and the brakes grab REALLY FLIPPING HARD, so I apply them tap-wait-until-it-stops-lurching, tap-wait-until-it-stops-lurching, etc.

[MuXu96]

thanks for the tip, I hope it will work now, I try in a hour^^

[thermobaric]

if you look at how the space shuttle lands, then you will see that the longway is HUGE and the landing speed is very high. that is because the space shuttle has a low gliding/weight ratio. To make the vertical speed as little as possible, it needs to go very fast to get enough lift.

it isn\'t a problem if you go fast, you just have to let it touch the ground very slowly and brake before you hit the end of the runway i personally think the runway is too short and/or we need braking parachutes..

[AeroPelican]

I once made a plane that slowed down on landing like a drag racer (I stuck a parachute to the back of it)

[austin9898]

Yeah. aero pelican\'s got the right idea. Just add a seperated stage at the end with a parachute. Then deploy it when you are about to touch down.

[Volt]

Don\'t deploy it unless you are almost on the runway. Like a thrust reverser on a real aircraft, it\'ll slam you down and probably break the already fragile landing gear.

Once you\'re good enough at runway landings, see if you can get your hands on the craft file with the aircraft carrier and try landing on that!

[Kizarvexis]

Once you\'re good enough at runway landings, see if you can get your hands on the craft file with the aircraft carrier and try landing on that!

WOW! You can make and land on an aircraft carrier!?! This game is AWESOME!

[Volt]

Well I\'m not sure how Jellycubes did it. He modelled an aircraft carrier part based on the through-decks like the Essex-class of WWII, then edited a persistence file to believe the aircraft carrier was \'landed\' in the ocean near KSC. I\'ve tried to re-add it to my 0.16 persistence file, but it is incompatible and the entry gets deleted immediately.

[Zephram Kerman]

If you build your plane with proper trim and lots of lift, you can fly more slowly, so that the cute little runway seems longer. That extra lift also helps you turn more quickly to get lined up.

[colmo]

If you want to take the mod approach, check out Vlad. Just Vlad's Airbrakes.

The best spaceplanes do indeed glide like a brick - no avoiding it to prevent too much lift causing it to tumble on re-entry. Learn how to use trim (Alt+WASD) to bring your nose up without constantly hitting S.

Edited August 5, 2012 by colmo
removed duplicate phrase.

[lolmama]

You should pitch up a bit to kill you speed and gradually make your way down

A good landing speed is under 60mps

Also when you come in for your landing pitch you nose up a bit so your back wheels hit the ground first (about 0-5 degrees

[flaillomanz]

There's actually a dial which shows your VERT SPEED (vertical speed) next to the altimeter. When landing, aim to keep the dial at between -1 and -5m/s. That way, your craft is less likely to explode on touchdown

[lolmama]

I know,

but it doesn't show your distance from the ground

I remember once when going to the Mun I didn't want to crash so i slowed down really early and it took over 15 mins to land