Hoodoo Bomber Mk1 [STOCK]

[*Asterix*]

It's been a while since I've been active on the forums, but I've tried to return.  This time, I've got a plane to showcase, which is rare for me, since I don't usually post much and planes aren't really my thing when it comes to KSP.

I present to you, the Hoodoo Bomber Mk1.  I don't know where the name came from, but who cares.  It sounds silly and fits in with the whole KSP theme, I guess.  I based the basic design off of an F-22/F-35, but expanded the size and number of crew.  This thing has some serious working power as a bomber as well as a high-altitude, and surprisingly, high-speed scout plane.  Here's the stats I collected on it:

Cost - 37,367 (with modified fuel amounts)

Part Count - 55 (not too bad for a pretty "complex" bomber)

Mass - 15.207 (with bomb payload and modified fuel amount)

Dimensions - 3.7m tall, 12.7m wide, 16.2m long

Action Groups - 1 toggles the cargo bay, 2 toggles engine mode, 3 toggles engines (on/off)

 

The plane itself is built as a reconnaissance jet and bomber.  It features a hastily-merged two-cockpit design to allow for a pilot seat and "commander" seat.  On the bottom, you may notice a Mk1 Command Pod neatly tucked on the belly with the window facing downwards.  This can be used for a bombardier role or for getting a view of the land when on recon missions.  A cargo bay is also featured that holds four radial ore tanks, which do some decent damage if you aim them right.  If you don't want them hitting back into the plane, slow down to about 115 m/s, which is slow, but it makes aiming easier and allows for a flawless bomb drop.

Some of the parts that have fuel capacity have been emptied to allow for proper CoL to CoM dynamics, but it flies pretty well with full fuel as well.  You can play around with the fuel capacity and see what works best.  The elevons, winglets, and tail fins have all had their authority upped to 150 for better maneuvering.  I haven't played around with it too much yet, so feel free to comment on anything regarding that.

So, flying this thing is pretty easy.  It's your basic engine on, throttle up, nose up, and lift off.  I recommend the afterburner for a speedy takeoff, but normal mode works just fine if you're not in a hurry.  The thing handles well in the air.  It's a bit touchy if you're trying to precisely maneuver (ex. on landing), but switching to trim controls (defaulted to Caps Lock) works for me.  A good blend between normal mode and the afterburner will give you good fuel consumption.  The default fuel model doesn't last too long with the afterburner, but like I said before, this can be tweaked without harming the flight profile too much.  The top speed I got was around 800 m/s before I burned off speed.  This thing gets faster as it loses more fuel, so it'll probably go up to around Mach 3 before running out of fuel, but I haven't fully tested this yet.

Note: Do not pull up sharply if you're trying to go above Mach 1.5 or so.  This thing will break apart and your crew will probably not survive.  This happened to me when testing its top speed.  I managed to salvage only two of the three crew and lost one of my best pilots (thankfully wasn't Jeb).  This is true with most planes, but it's the first time I've seen it do this, so I just thought I'd make note of it.

Alright, enough rambling.  The download will be on Google Drive through the following link:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByVsGNwNpa_0cDR3dS1KVWJQYXc

Post any questions or concerns you have about it, and hopefully I'll get some time out of my schedule to fix it!  Even if you're not interested, thanks for taking a look at this weirdly-named craft.  I really do appreciate it!