D&H Hercules space plane

[junoberries]

So this is my first official post on here (hi guys) and I am introducing my SSTO the Durp & Howell Hercules 3 SSTO 
what started as a really durpy (and profoundly Kerbal) idea of mine to build an SSTO using nothing but tail fins for control surfaces I finally (after 600 hours of playing) created a SSTO craft that can travel up to 800 kilometers into orbit and come back down with spare fuel to assist in finding a safe spot to land, a feat like that can only be described as pure insanity., after missions to Laythe, Duna, Eve and Tylo, it finally had to happen, SSTO. 
using drop tanks as a means to fuel the craft into LKO somehow it worked! it really worked!  what i found makes building a proper SSTO so hard is that your fuel use increases dramatically with your requirement for deltaV.
the bigger you get the harder it is to push that limit.  the crazy part about all of this is it can survive a 2700 m/s reentry with it's nose up at 25 degrees on the ball.  
il post with more future ideas. 
 

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2017 by junoberries
adding image

[Matuchkin]

I must say it looks very interesting. Good job. Even though it is debatable whether drop-tanks are excusable for SSTOs.

[junoberries]

14 hours ago, Matuchkin said:

I must say it looks very interesting. Good job. Even though it is debatable whether drop-tanks are excusable for SSTOs.

no other choice, for a mk2 it's 27 tonnes, (on career mode) and honestly  it keeps the weight low in the aeroframe. what the drop tanks do is give a significant boost to the fuel usage required to get into orbit. 
a space plane with LFO mixture only makes rational sense, especially when you consider the limitations of the fuel capacity in the aeroframe. in career mode especially. i could use the f12 cheats but id rather just double up on the LFO and keep it legit. 

in my view achieving the exceptionally high deltaV is entirely acceptable. also the drop tanks are jettisoned at 27000 with a velocity of 950 m/s to avoid the risks associated with thermal load on the fuel canisters. 
the tanks do eventually come down empty with only trace LFO ever being left. 

the issue with SSTO craft is deltaV and angular climb ascent. I'll state that when it comes to kerbal it's a game with a mix of purists who believe that externals are not valid (which is completely understandable and then you have those who are improvisational. in truth (there isnt a right and a wrong way as long as you can get it safely on the ground. 

Edited October 13, 2017 by junoberries
sick and made an error

[Matuchkin]

2 hours ago, junoberries said:

drop tanks are used on such rockets as the ULA delta 9 and the atlas 5.

You are talking about liquid or solid rocket boosters, which are used on most medium-heavy launchers, if not all: 

What you mean when you say "drop tank" is the drop tank on a plane:

If you are referring to extra boosters, then your plane is absolutely not an SSTO. If you are referring to the auxiliary fuel container, it is debatable.

[junoberries]

55 minutes ago, Matuchkin said:

edit made, "yeah sorry im not feeling well" 

 If you are referring to the auxiliary fuel container, it is debatable. (whats to debate if you need the extra fuel, you need the extra fuel the craft would only make 270km and have limited fuel for deorbit without the addition of jettisonable tanks, where this does not count as staging is that it is not providing thrust rather it is fuel storage to safely get to orbit, either way we are debating the hardest aspect of the game, using a plane to get into orbit...)   the stock ship without the fuel tanks does make orbit, but limits the time spent in orbit 

okay. look i have liquid fuel tanks, they are on the underside of the ship, they supply fuel to the craft. nothing else. so i made an error. yup i accept it. 
it is in fact a single stage to orbit as LFO tanks do not technically "count as" a stage., that said please take it easy on me i have a high fever and this is a complected subject for a sick person to have to try and manage. you are right about the solid stage fuels used... 

my understanding is this... the craft reaches orbit on it's secondary (or depending on the mission primary) fuel reserves. the idea of SSTO is nonspecific. if you drop your tanks without using staging mode does it count as a stage if you in-fact have reached orbit?  or is it the act of disposal that counts as a stage? does fuel ignition and takeoff count as two separate stages of flight? what defines  a single stage and would then it count as a single stage to orbit if i were to drop the tanks prior to reentry burn? 

really the language is not entirely clear. would it be fair then to edit it to simply say the words space plane in the same sentence and it be accepted as an SSTO or is it a matter then of the language used to define a craft being inadequate to definition? i can in fact keep the tanks on the craft on my way into HKO without dropping them. so does SSTO count then if dropping the tank after reaching orbit is possible? 

if yes than i would count it as an SSTO. if not then its a space plane, both uses of the vernacular would indicate depending on their use of language to consider that either or would be correct and or incorrect by logical rationale.   

Edited October 13, 2017 by junoberries
i am a vulcan... most logical captain!

[junoberries]

if it quacks like a duck but looks like a cassowary does it in fact count as a cassowary or a duck? lol  

[Matuchkin]

17 hours ago, junoberries said:

if it quacks like a duck but looks like a cassowary does it in fact count as a cassowary or a duck? lol  

Still, classification has to be done.

[junoberries]

On 10/14/2017 at 6:09 AM, Matuchkin said:

Still, classification has to be done.

well my friend, classification does not always fit this is my point. there are exceptions to the rule. if it can both enter into orbit without the stage and carry a payload into orbit on a single stage then it's an ssto *teddy bear eyes* 

Edited October 15, 2017 by junoberries