Kerbal Express Airlines - Regional Jet Challenge (Reboot)

[NightshineRecorralis]

Submission for: Kerbal Express Airlines

Submission from: Habu Industries

Following: Dash series

Type: Turboprop

Aircraft for submission: Dash 3

Cost of Purchase: $26,221,000

Estimated Range: 3000km (800 kallons)

Suggested Operation: 5000m @ 150m/s

• Keep flaps down at speeds less than 80 m/s
• V₁: 35m/s

Aircraft for submission: Dash 4

Cost of Purchase: $27,179,000

Estimated Range: 3200km (900 kallons)

Suggested Operation: 5000m @ 150m/s

• Keep flaps down at speeds less than 80 m/s
• V₁: 40m/s

Aircraft for submission: Dash 4-ER

Cost of Purchase: $27,979,000

Estimated Range: 3900km (1100 kallons)

Suggested Operation: 5000m @ 150m/s

• Keep flaps down at speeds less than 80 m/s
• V₁: 40m/s

Begin Message:

Are you in need of a short field commuter? Do you have underserviced airfields that need more business? We have the ultimate luxury commuterliner for you. Our Dash series make short and rough landings easily accessible to any airline looking to invest in this lucrative market. With high maneuverability and an extensive flap system, takeoffs are easy to do. Spoilers built into the wing also make landings easy as pie. Hardy turboprops and a high wing ensure that damage from debris will be minimized, making this craft a pleasure to service.

[panzerknoef]

Test Pilot Review: @1Revenger1's KPE - SSP-1a/b Phoenix

a-variant

b-variant

Figures as Tested:

• Price: 41.947.000
• Fuel: 4000 kallons - 2800 kallons
• Cruising speed: 1200m/s - 1100m/s
• Cruising altitude: 21000m - 21000m
• Fuel burn rate: 0.4kal/s
• Range:  9000km - 7000km

Review Notes:

This plane... is weird, but not necessarily bad. It just has some very weird things going on. First of all, the design, we like the idea of a top mounted cockpit, but the way it's done looks a bit odd. The fact that there's two cockpits isn't really an issue, for the a variant we can still charge a huge amount of money for someone to sit in the second cockpit (which we'd rebuild as a first class+ bunk). The single cabin that has been mounted all the way up front is also a bit of an oddity, being entirely separated from the rest. Getting in there isn't easy, we can tell you that.

Maneuverability is quite poor. Though both planes takes off at 70m/s, which is rather good for something their size. Pitch control just isn't sufficient at low altitudes, we even found it to be impossible to keep the nose down at high speeds. Thankfully we don't have to fly at low altitudes. At the cruising altitude, the pitch control allows the making of very precise adjustments, which means the height can be very accurately managed. Roll control is okay, and yaw has got a fairly severe issue. When one uses the yaw in certain conditions, the plane immediately goes into a flat spin, thankfully not an unrecoverable one, but we presume that our passengers aren't gonna like being centrifuged. However this issue can be overcome if you just fly with enough care. The plane glides well, which makes for easy landings and also easy water ditching. There's a small difference in speed, cuz for some reason the b variant just wouldn't make it to 1200m/s while the a variant easily did. Both have excellent range at 9000 and 7000km though, more than enough to fly around Kerbin.

Comfort: There's a big difference between the a and the b variant here. The a variant lacks the back cabins, which makes that flying the a is overall a way more enjoyable experience. Flying in the b is quite noisy, as the rear cabins are mounted between the 2 large engines, meaning not only sound, but also vibrations. Visibility is a bit lackluster since most of the windows are obstructed by either the wing or the engines. 

Costing 41.947.000, the price is bang average for the category. 65 parts also isn't excessive for the category, flying at such high speeds, high maintenance is pretty much a standard for planes in this class.

The Verdict:

The Phoenix is in theory a good plane, but in practice it's quite hampered by some of its flaws. However, the sheer cabin size of the b variant is a big retaining feature, despite lesser comfort. The plane is very fast, going at 1200m/s, solidly built when flown as intended, and features a massive range. Drawbacks are low maneuverability, low comfort and the need for intense pilot training. Overall we think the plane has a satisfactory performance, we'll buy 4 SSP-1b's for low cost supersonic routes. Why the B you might wonder, because of the larger cabin size, and because the range of the SSP-1b is already more than sufficient to reach any place on Kerbin, the fact that the price is the exact same as the a completely sealed the deal for us.

[panzerknoef]

1 hour ago, NightshineRecorralis said:

-snip-

Yeah there were some interesting things that remained from the original purpose of the craft as a bomber and at the time I hadn't completely resolved everything yet, but I thought the performance was still satisfactory enough to send it in, an updated and improved version was actually made a while ago, but never uploaded because other craft just did the same, but better. 

And thanks for the review btw!

[NightshineRecorralis]

Here are my next two reviews on the way:

Koeing 747-100

WH-01

[1Revenger1]

3 hours ago, panzerknoef said:

Test Pilot Review: @1Revenger1's KPE - SSP-1a/b Phoenix

 

 

Huh, those are some interesting notes. We've never really been able to spin out the plane except at very low speeds even with liberal rudder use. I do agree a little with the lack of pitch authority, although I found the other controls to be about right for myself. Of course, that is up to everyone's opinion. I probably put in a bit of excess fuel to...

[CrazyJebGuy]

Can I submit a variant of a craft that was already reviewed? (My GAI Turboprop) I have fixed several problems with it (the landing gear, for instance) and reduced partcount while giving it fancy new air-brakes.

[1Revenger1]

3 hours ago, CrazyJebGuy said:

Can I submit a variant of a craft that was already reviewed? (My GAI Turboprop) I have fixed several problems with it (the landing gear, for instance) and reduced partcount while giving it fancy new air-brakes.

Sure, we would probably review it as a seperate aircraft though, maybe comparing it to the previous variants if you reference the previous design and it's an important part of your pitch.

Also, tomorrow I'll be doing one to two reviews for supersonic aircrafts: SF-240 "Daisy" and "Marigold"

[Samwise Potato]

Geez, I gotta stop over-engineering my planes. First my Turboprop gets used as a Seaplane, and now my Small Regional Jet's in the Supersonic category, hah.

[panzerknoef]

Test Pilot Review: @no_intelligence's The Kerijew Ekranoplan Company - Kerijew K-100

Figures as Tested:

• Price: 60.925.000
• Fuel: 1680 kallons
• Cruising speed: 220m/s
• Cruising altitude: 5000m
• Fuel burn rate: 0.14kal/s
• Range:  2600km

Review Notes:

The Kerijew K-100 really gave us some old-school vibes when we saw it being rolled out onto the tarmac. Reminding us of the world war 2 era floatplanes. Obviously though, this is no world war 2 era craft, it''s powered by 2 turboprop engines of the highest and most modern grade. The rest of the craft, well it could very well be salvaged from back in the day. 

Maneuverability was exceptional, a bit too exceptional even, our pilots needed some time to get used to just how sensitive the controls were, took them a few barrel rolls before they figured it out. All controls behave very sensitively, and the plane can turn on a dime in pretty much every direction.  The upwards angled lower wing also made sure that the take-off speed was rather low at 50m/s, it also prevented us from having to point the nose up all the time to keep a stable altitude. In fact, it did this job a bit too good. We had to constantly press down on the controls to prevent the plane from pitching up strongly, at full throttle only stopping at a 40 degree angle. Thankfully at lower throttle, SAS was able to keep up more or less, and keep a stable altitude at roughly 200m/s - 220m/s. At 5000m we did indeed get a fuel usage of roughly 0.12 to 0.15 kal/s, there was quite a lot of variation since throttle had to be played with quite a bit to keep the speed stable at all times. Still, with 1680 fuel the plane has an excellent range of 2600km, one of, if not the best in class! Fill the wing tanks and you can even get 3300km, nearly enough to circumnavigate all of Kerbin. Thanks to the excellent glide characteristics, the plane was very easy to land, both on land and on water, add thrust reversers and it could also stop very quickly. Though with a take-off speed on water of 85m/s, it's not the plane of choice to land on smaller bodies of water.

Passenger comfort was above average as well. The high mounted engines didn't leak too much sound into the very spacious cabins thanks to the sheer distance between them and those cabins. Vibrations were present since we're dealing with turboprop engines, but once again the distance and small surface through which those vibrations could move made that they weren't all that noticeable. The fact that each cabin has a separate hatch makes for very easy boarding and unboarding as well.

Negative point about this plane however is the price, at 60.925.000, it's quite a high initial cost, the fact that there's only 34 parts does offset that a little bit since there won't be much maintenance needed on these planes. Still, it's a high price for a plane that carries only 24 passengers. Pilot training won't be too costly given how easy the plane handles, just needs the pilots to get used to the sensitivity of the controls.

The Verdict:

The Kerijew K-100 is solidly built, maneuverable and very comfortable plane to fly in, combine this with an excellent range and you get a top-notch plane. If it weren't for the high price, we'd probably buy them in bulk, but for now we'll keep it limited. Ordering 2 K-100's for long range executive routes, to places where a ground based airport isn't available.

[CrazyJebGuy]

We have heard critisms about our otherwise good GAI Turbo-XL Classic and we have fixed it.

We can see the plane has a lot of potential. We think it can be used for medium, or short range express flights, or in arctic places, the piston engine being very well suited to the climate.

The "B" version

We added airbrakes, we fixed the rear landing gear problems. It has very good acceleration. We installed a special radial suspension to smooth and increase the reliability of the (already reasonably smooth) 18 cylinder prop engine. We moved the jets up, so as to not block passenger view, we also reduced the part count to a fairly typical 40. The cost slightly increased, and it should have the same performance as the original, except for the better stopping due to airbrakes. Costs $21,202,000 dry.

Range is the same as the original, 1400km at 216m/s.

Download: https://kerbalx.com/BristolBrick/Turboprop-Mk-1b

The "C" version

It is a cheap version, we took off the jet engines, and the airbrakes. This reduces it's cost by a bit over $4,000,000 per plane. It costs $17,503,000 dry and retains lots of good qualities (but now with a part count of just 30!). We managed to get it in level flight at 202m/s, 700m altitude, with a theoretical range of 781km. You could also fly on low altitude, 182m/s with a range of 950km. As with the "B" variant, we also included a radial suspension system to reduce the shaking from the engine, and improve reliability.

Though we ditched the airbrakes, action group 1 reverses the engine, so you can stop really fast!

Download: https://kerbalx.com/BristolBrick/Turboprop-Mk-1c

And all three planes of this series have this certificate:

Edited December 20, 2017 by CrazyJebGuy

[panzerknoef]

Test Pilot Review: @TheEpicSquared's Iridium Aerospace Technologies - ISRJ-32b

Figures as Tested:

• Price: 19.415.000
• Fuel: 600 kallons
• Cruising speed: 260m/s
• Cruising altitude: 8500m
• Fuel burn rate: 0.08kal/s
• Range:  1900km

Review Notes:

The ISRJ-32b is pretty much everything we wanted the old 32 to be, every possible issue has been resolved, and the final result is an amazing plane! Maneuverability is above average, amazing pitch control thanks to the canard design, excellent roll control and average yaw control. The 32b has a very tight turning circle, it was pretty hard to get Jeb out of the plane as he wanted to continuously do acrobatics over the KSC. The large wingspan makes it a great glider, which means that even when the engine isn't working the plane will fly admirably. Take offs happen around 50m/s, which is pretty average, but the ISRJ-32b accelerates quite fast, meaning that a short to medium sized runway is usually enough. Thanks to the great gliding landings are always a breeze, and with the 4 large air-brakes adjusting speed for landings is also a walk in the park. The Wheesley also has a thrust reverser, which was readily configured, meaning that the 32b can stop very quickly indeed. We found out that the described cruising speed of 220m/s is a serious underestimate, as the plane will easily do 260m/s while still flying at an efficient 0.08 kal/s, pushing the range to an impressive 1900km. 

Comfort was the greatest negative about the old 32, but that has been completely fixed up. The cabin is now in a single piece, meaning that there's no awkward climbing through fuel tanks to reach the rear end. The back fuel tank acts as a sound damper, which makes that cabin sound is greatly reduced, now only to be described as background noise. Vibrations are still present, but the new placement of the air intake makes that these too have been greatly reduced, we don't think you can get vibrations any lower with an inline engine design.

And last, the price of 19.415.000, combined with 39 parts make for an average cost for this aircraft, leaning firmly towards the cheaper side even. 

The Verdict:

The board quite easily agreed over this plane, the old 32 was already quite good, the 32b is an absolute dream! A maneuverable, comfortable, fast and efficient plane with no drawbacks that we could figure out. Ordering 10 for use on various routes, with an option for 6 more.

[Kernel Kraken]

 

I just might have something...... here's a sneak peek at the 'Monstrosity 9001x', named after its monstrous construction and one billion fund price.... 

Eat your heart out, AirBus. Oh, and @RedPandaz, this is why we use tweakscale on planes. I used 400% scaled wings and Full Auto Strut mod and they are still a 9/10 on jeb's fun scale. There I see no way to get it right with huge wings, I tell ya.

Edited November 23, 2017 by TheMadKraken2297
I know how to grammerz

[macktruck6666]

Oh no. I was the first to submit for the jubo category. What did I start....

[Kernel Kraken]

Well, this is the plane that caused me to request the Jumbo Jet category. I just needed to polish it off and add a few touches.... this was made about 2 months ago, just for this challenge :p. Although I died expect more "Holy Mother of Jeb"s from reactions.

Edited November 23, 2017 by TheMadKraken2297

[Confused Scientist]

2 minutes ago, TheMadKraken2297 said:

Although I died expect more "Holy Mother of Jeb"s from reactions.

I think that's a typo, but it's still just as appropriate.

[Kernel Kraken]

Just now, Confused Scientist said:

I think that's a typo, but it's still just as appropriate.

Ehh, screw spelling! It is surprisingly appropriate. Imma leave it

[qzgy]

1 hour ago, TheMadKraken2297 said:

 

I just might have something...... here's a sneak peek at the 'Monstrosity 9001x', named after its monstrous construction and one billion fund price.... 

Eat your heart out, AirBus. Oh, and @RedPandaz, this is why we use tweakscale on planes. I used 400% scaled wings and Full Auto Strut mod and they are still a 9/10 on jeb's fun scale. There I see no way to get it right with huge wings, I tell ya.

Hmmph. I need to make one bigger. Just to spite you.

For fun of course. I don't actually hate you

[Kernel Kraken]

18 minutes ago, qzgy said:

Hmmph. I need to make one bigger. Just to spite you.

For fun of course. I don't actually hate you

BRING IT ON! 20 funds say that you can't make a bigger one for under 100,000 funds ( game not challenge). The Kraken Aerotech  MX9001 will triumph!

Edited November 23, 2017 by TheMadKraken2297

[qzgy]

Just now, TheMadKraken2297 said:

BRING IT ON! 20 funds say that you can't make a bigger one for under 100,000 funds ( game not challenge)

pfft. I'm already at 4 million.

[Kernel Kraken]

Derp I meant 1,000,000... this thing was expensive to make. Probably owing to the 100+ mk3 cabins... maybe with under eight million fuel/second it could be cheaper?

Edited November 23, 2017 by TheMadKraken2297
Gah 1,000,000 was the real price! I'm losing my mind over this thing.

[qzgy]

In any case,the price tag is still gonna be stupidly expensive. Just look above!

[NightshineRecorralis]

1 hour ago, qzgy said:

pfft. I'm already at 4 million.

How many does it seat?

Also, good luck landing that.

Edited November 23, 2017 by NightshineRecorralis

[qzgy]

4 minutes ago, NightshineRecorralis said:

How many does it seat?

Also, good luck landing that.

3456. Also, thanks.

[Confused Scientist]

9 minutes ago, NightshineRecorralis said:

How many does it seat?

Assuming no fuel tanks on the interior fuselage, it has a passenger capacity of around 3,504.

EDIT: Ninja'd! Also, I can't wait for this aircraft's review notes: "...has a passenger capacity, cost, and size greater than that of most small nations..."

Edited November 23, 2017 by Confused Scientist

[macktruck6666]

Make that huge wing out of stock parts without clipping or tweakscale and then you'll get an omg reaction from me.

Edited November 23, 2017 by macktruck6666