N-600V Archelon

[ryan234abc]

Today I'm happy to present you with a concept plane. The N-600V Archelon is based around a deviantart.com fictional plane. Despite this, I've managed to transfer most of the looks and functionality over to this Kerbalised version!

Now, it may look like a lumbering, part clipped monstrosity, but you'll be pleased to hear... that's exactly what it is! But don't be fooled. It's surprisingly manoeuvrable for a craft of its size. The version I will leave a download link for has enough room to store at least one Jumbo orange fuel tank, but comes equipped with a nuclear reactor and crew seating as a base model. Do not fear! A couple of clicks and that can be removed, leaving a fresh clean slate inside. The plane uses 6 Whiplash engines allowing for relatively high speeds. When landing however, be careful! If your speed falls too low then, like most planes, you will experience a sudden need for lift.

This worked very well to say how many parts were used - I was expecting a lot more work on editing wings etc. to keep it stable. As always, I'd love to see what uses you can come up with for this craft. I left it pretty simple so the possibilities are quite wide. As a side note, this plane uses a LOT of SAS modules to maintain its speedy manoeuvrability and is thus very power thirsty. The stock nuclear reactor inside costs a lot but really serves a purpose. If you intend to take it out, make sure ample power supplies are still available.

Besides this, have fun! I'm quite happy with how this plane turned out!

Ryan

Download (KerbalX): https://kerbalx.com/Ryno/N-600V-Archelon

[Firemetal]

And that is all stock? Oh my god. Please make an SSTO version. That looks sick!

Fire

[ryan234abc]

On ‎19‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 5:35 PM, Firemetal said:

And that is all stock? Oh my god. Please make an SSTO version. That looks sick!

Fire

I'll see what I can do - I'm no SSTO master so I can't promise anything but consider the challenge accepted!

[ryan234abc]

On ‎19‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 5:35 PM, Firemetal said:

And that is all stock? Oh my god. Please make an SSTO version. That looks sick!

Fire

After extensive testing on this, I have been unable to create an SSTO from the Archelon. The thing is, I wanted to maintain most of the shape. However, this comes at a cost. The nose has to go, way too much drag. The wings are really inappropriate for such high speeds as proposed by re-entry - I tried sweeping them back but that played havoc with aerodynamics. The sheer size and scale of engines needed to lift the extra fuel and weight of this plane (note the tyranny of rockets here) means I simply can't get efficiency AND thrust out of the plane. A more skilled engineer may be able to pull it off, but the truth is even someone better then me would agree that this plane is a prime example of why we don't use Boeing 747's as space shuttles. However, I have been considering the Archelon's applications as a carrier craft (see the Russian MAKS prototype). The Archelon would provide enough thrust to take the payload up to a decent altitude and then the shuttle would detach for the rest of its journey. As much as I'd love to test this more, Mass Effect Andromeda comes out tomorrow and schoolwork seems to get the best of me most times anyway. Maybe a few months into the future I can re-visit this concept but for the moment, there are much more pressing matters to deal with. However, I am pleased to see such an interest for my plane - so many people have favourited and downloaded on KerbalX and your comment makes me happy that someone truly appreciates what I do. Sorry I couldn't take this concept further for you, but when I return to playing KSP I will develop and publish the 'MAKS' prototype.

Again, thanks for your interest and support!

Ryan