Kerbal Express Airlines - Regional Jet Challenge (Reboot Continued)

[Explosive Anomaly]

Hi, I have added pictures and price.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Mathrilord]

Do you need help for review? Last one was on June 4, more than a month ago!

[neistridlar]

42 minutes ago, Mathrilord said:

Do you need help for review? Last one was on June 4, more than a month ago!

Well, more than a week would be more appropriate, or are we talking kerbal time? Anyways, if you want to try your hand at making some, that would be great. I suggest you read a bunch of them and try out some of the aircraft that have been reviewed, comparing them to the review, so you get a feel for how they are judged. Also I suggest you do a practice review of one of the previously reviewed planes. Post the review here, so we can help you sort out any issues before you get started for real.

Once you think you are ready to do the reviews proper, send me a PM, and  I will send you the relevant links and stuff.

[TheFlyingKerman]

1 hour ago, Mathrilord said:

Do you need help for review? Last one was on June 4, more than a month ago!

I suggest reviewing the Kerbus K-230-200 for practice. It is a seaplane but was only really reviewed as a land based turboprop, so there is something new in addition to the old materials.

[Eivuii]

15 hours ago, Kerbal Design Bureau said:

-Snip 

 

 

KDB, I'm sorry, but your aircraft does not have enough seats to qualify as a turboprop.(if you say there are only nine seats)

Edited June 14, 2018 by Eivuii

[Kebab Kerman]

I thought I fixed KSP, buuut...

 

THEN THE STUPID THING GETS STUCK ON THE SCREEN WITH THE LITTLE LOADING SOLAR SYSTEM IN THE CORNER A̵̲̭̬͉̒̉̏̌̊A̶̡̞̬̝͋͆̂̈́̆̑̊͛͘Á̵̢̼̮͇̘̩̞̓̓̊̀̽̀̿Ą̸͍̜̬̝̥̲̇͊͑̆̚Ḁ̵̢̢̛̛̖̫͓̟̜̠̀̋̑̌͠Â̸̺̬͎͑̽̈́̈̈́͘͘Ă̵̧̻͈̝̯̞͊̓͑̑̕͘A̴̤̱͔̓͒͆̒Ă̴̢̙͍̙̖͈͒̄̽̔͌͗̎Ả̵̘͉͉̺̝̫A̸̮̫̪͇̞̞̪̪͗͜A̸͙͉͖̥̯͍̦̻͛̀̆̿̿͂͐͘̕A̴̼͍̥̞͍̘͊͂̓̔̈̏A̵̱͖͚͔̥̥̩͆Ă̶̡̞̱̲͊͊͗̏́Ā̷̘͕̲͙̙̈͠A̴̩͆̂͑̐̈́̍͂́

 

Turns out, anything with a .DS_store file is an Anti-Krakenist. And they got revenge. Maybe it's because I deleted the KSPedia thing. I'll reinstall it when I get home from school. Just tomorrow and next week to go... *sigh*

[Eivuii]

2 hours ago, Kebab Kerman said:

I thought I fixed KSP, buuut...

 

THEN THE STUPID THING GETS STUCK ON THE SCREEN WITH THE LITTLE LOADING SOLAR SYSTEM IN THE CORNER A̵̲̭̬͉̒̉̏̌̊A̶̡̞̬̝͋͆̂̈́̆̑̊͛͘Á̵̢̼̮͇̘̩̞̓̓̊̀̽̀̿Ą̸͍̜̬̝̥̲̇͊͑̆̚Ḁ̵̢̢̛̛̖̫͓̟̜̠̀̋̑̌͠Â̸̺̬͎͑̽̈́̈̈́͘͘Ă̵̧̻͈̝̯̞͊̓͑̑̕͘A̴̤̱͔̓͒͆̒Ă̴̢̙͍̙̖͈͒̄̽̔͌͗̎Ả̵̘͉͉̺̝̫A̸̮̫̪͇̞̞̪̪͗͜A̸͙͉͖̥̯͍̦̻͛̀̆̿̿͂͐͘̕A̴̼͍̥̞͍̘͊͂̓̔̈̏A̵̱͖͚͔̥̥̩͆Ă̶̡̞̱̲͊͊͗̏́Ā̷̘͕̲͙̙̈͠A̴̩͆̂͑̐̈́̍͂́

 

Turns out, anything with a .DS_store file is an Anti-Krakenist. And they got revenge. Maybe it's because I deleted the KSPedia thing. I'll reinstall it when I get home from school. Just tomorrow and next week to go... *sigh*

Stab the file a few times and drink its blood as a remedy.

[Kerbal Design Bureau]

9 hours ago, Eivuii said:

KDB, I'm sorry, but your aircraft does not have enough seats to qualify as a turboprop.(if you say there are only nine seats)

Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking! There are three Mk1 passenger kabins, so there are 24 seats. Sorry about the mistake!

[Eivuii]

On 6/13/2018 at 11:24 PM, TheTripleAce3 said:

I want to make a plane irl that does this now

then make it canadian

 

[TheTripleAce3]

14 minutes ago, Eivuii said:

then make it canadian

Not exactly possible for me atm.

[hoioh]

Test pilot review: @alekkat's AB Airplanes RJJ-1

Figures as tested 
Fuel load: 20,300K
Price: 328,630,000
Passengers: 168
Speed: 250 m/s
Altitude: 3000 m
Burn rate: 1.08
Range: 4699 km

Test pilot notes:

After Jebs experience with the Slinky 152 we've decided to give him a bit of a break to cool down a little, but last night he showed up again unannounced. He walked over to the trash can, picked it up, took it to his locker and emtied his vape collection in the bin, then put the bin back in it's place. He looked peacefull. After that he just left. So, this morning he walks back in, looking confident, put his head around the corner of the SPH and noticed the monstrosity we had parked there: "TWELVE! It's got TWELVE engines! I'm in LOVE!" he screamed through the empty hall as he danced circles around the landing gear of the RJJ-1 which was generously handed to us for testing by AB Airplanes. When he started rubbing up against the tail gear we've had to real him in a bit, but he seems fine otherwise. In order to get Jeb to let go of the tail gear we told him he could right up into the cockpit and snuggle up in the pilot seat. Which resulted in the fasted 50 meter dash we've ever witnessed! We considered putting him up gainst Husein Bolt, but we're worried he might sprint out of the stasium and into the parking lot towards the parked plane because there is no way we're ever going to get this thing into a stadium. So we decided to just let him fly the RJJ-1 instead. Getting it onto the runway was a bit of a hassle because none of the wheels have steering, but once it's there it's kinda hard to miss as it stands tall as a house on the posititvely massive landing gear.

Jeb, excited like a girl on prom night, rams the throttle all the way into the max setting. He whimpers a little as he feels the full force of the twelve engines smash him back into his seat and starts to boulder down the runway. As the plane starts picking up speed he's fighting to keep it on the runway going straight because it has a bit of a tendency to veer over to the left. It takes all of his strength to keep it going straight when he realises the plane does not want to lift off and keeps heading for the end of the runway. Only once he's left the runway and pops over the edge is he capable of getting it to go up. And up it goes! The center of lift of this craft is slightly ahead of the center of mass, so as Jeb jerks the steering wheel the plane abruptly drops its tail and heads skyward. Having twelve engines on full throttle the RJJ-1 rises like nothing else matters and arrives at cruising altitude in no time.

Jeb gently lowers the nose to come level as the plane starts picking up speed and at the recommended altitude and speed he cuts the throttle to a little below half and settles in for the long haul. After about 10 minutes of cruising the intercom rings "Jeb? Could you please lower the nose a little? These carts are reall heavy!" Sounds the voice of one of the stewardesses. "Ehm.... not really...." Jeb replies, "When I do we will lose lift and you'll be scraping the muffins from the ceiling...." "Oh, well... never mind then, at least I can save on my gym subscription then..." An awkward silence ensues. In order to keep the plane in the air at the recommended altitude and speed requires a 7 degree pitch up. Jeb is starting to feel a little uncomfortable, he's been enjoying his flight so far, but it appears the ladies in the back haven't been. He's also getting a bit thirsty, but there's no way for the ladies to get anything out to him because of the two massive fuel tanks in between them. He decides to go back to base. He light the seatbelt light and the ladies take their places as they ensure all the test passengers are safely strapped in.

Jeb turns off the autopilot and starts to rotate the plane. In one massive swoop and much like a girl on prom night everything suddenly makes a turn for the worse. Without the throttle on full the plane has a tendency to flip end over end and because all the control surfaces are linked together the ride suddenly becomes VERY bumpy. Lucky Jeb likes it rough! Fighting the controls all the way he manages to turn the plane around and back into cruise altitude and speed heading back to base. The intercom ring again: "Jeb? Could you please turn the plane a little smoother next time? We're running out of barf bags and we can't distribute new ones during a turn..." the voice of the stewardess sounds a little distressed. "Ehm.... Not really...." Jeb replies, "all my controls are linked together and I'm having a really hard time keeping the plane flying during maneuvers...." "Oh, well... nerver mind then, at least I don't have to worry about my weight so much anymore..." An awkward silence ensues again. Because of the position of the CoM and CoL and the CoL being the one in front combined with the all controls are linked to all control surfaces the plane flies like a leaf on the wind during maneuvers and loses a LOT of speed in turns, plus it tends to wobble a lot before slowly stabilizing again after a turn.

Jeb, now very worried starts to head for the runway. In order to maintain lift he realizes he needs to keep up the speed as he comes down. Coming in towards the runway at a speed of around 140 m/s he cuts the throttle. The RJJ-1 does not lose speed, so he activates the airbrakes in the middle of the fuslage. This does not do the stability any good, or bad, as the plane comes floppily floating down towards the runway, or the SPH, or the runway, or the field, or the runway and so on and so forth. Actually hitting the runway is going to be hard and the plane is still not losing a lot of speed. When he finally touches down Jeb is really happy with the massive gear as the impact on the runway is a pretty hard, but the load of enormous wheels can take it, no problem. Losing speed is still a problem though and Jeb manages to finally bring it to a standstill just prior to the end of the runway. This kind of plane would land well on one of those circular runways because there's litterally no end to them. The intercom rings: "Jeb? THANK YOU!!!!!" "Ehm... well.... you don't happen to have a vape on you, do you? I need to relax!" Jeb replies.

The verdict:
A large plane, for sure, but contrary to the general tendency of plane to become more efficient as they grow larger, this one has become less efficient. To fly about 4700km it requires a whopping 20,300 tons worth of fuel! It's also absurdly expensive, a good 30% above average price and ten times the price of a slinky 152. The flying characteristics are abominable. It doesn't take off, it doesn't stop and it's super hard to control, even with mechjeb smart A.S.S. We recommend KEA doesn't buy any of these because we fear they might drain Kerbin's fuel supply in under a week. Also, twelve engines! TWELVE! That is a lot of maintenance right there! It does have the added benefit of not missing one or two in case engine failures, you barely notice the difference.

[Andetch]

6 hours ago, hoioh said:

fear they might drain Kerbin's fuel supply in under a week. Also, twelve engines! TWELVE!

Glad you didn't see the contracts to buy my 16 engined giant cat!! Lol

[CrazyJebGuy]

On 6/16/2018 at 7:49 PM, hoioh said:

Test pilot review: @alekkat's AB Airplanes RJJ-1

Figures as tested 
Fuel load: 20,300K
Price: 328,630,000
Passengers: 168
Speed: 250 m/s
Altitude: 3000 m
Burn rate: 1.08
Range: 4699 km

Test pilot notes:

After Jebs experience with the Slinky 152 we've decided to give him a bit of a break to cool down a little, but last night he showed up again unannounced. He walked over to the trash can, picked it up, took it to his locker and emtied his vape collection in the bin, then put the bin back in it's place. He looked peacefull. After that he just left. So, this morning he walks back in, looking confident, put his head around the corner of the SPH and noticed the monstrosity we had parked there: "TWELVE! It's got TWELVE engines! I'm in LOVE!" he screamed through the empty hall as he danced circles around the landing gear of the RJJ-1 which was generously handed to us for testing by AB Airplanes. When he started rubbing up against the tail gear we've had to real him in a bit, but he seems fine otherwise. In order to get Jeb to let go of the tail gear we told him he could right up into the cockpit and snuggle up in the pilot seat. Which resulted in the fasted 50 meter dash we've ever witnessed! We considered putting him up gainst Husein Bolt, but we're worried he might sprint out of the stasium and into the parking lot towards the parked plane because there is no way we're ever going to get this thing into a stadium. So we decided to just let him fly the RJJ-1 instead. Getting it onto the runway was a bit of a hassle because none of the wheels have steering, but once it's there it's kinda hard to miss as it stands tall as a house on the posititvely massive landing gear.

Jeb, excited like a girl on prom night, rams the throttle all the way into the max setting. He whimpers a little as he feels the full force of the twelve engines smash him back into his seat and starts to boulder down the runway. As the plane starts picking up speed he's fighting to keep it on the runway going straight because it has a bit of a tendency to veer over to the left. It takes all of his strength to keep it going straight when he realises the plane does not want to lift off and keeps heading for the end of the runway. Only once he's left the runway and pops over the edge is he capable of getting it to go up. And up it goes! The center of lift of this craft is slightly ahead of the center of mass, so as Jeb jerks the steering wheel the plane abruptly drops its tail and heads skyward. Having twelve engines on full throttle the RJJ-1 rises like nothing else matters and arrives at cruising altitude in no time.

Jeb gently lowers the nose to come level as the plane starts picking up speed and at the recommended altitude and speed he cuts the throttle to a little below half and settles in for the long haul. After about 10 minutes of cruising the intercom rings "Jeb? Could you please lower the nose a little? These carts are reall heavy!" Sounds the voice of one of the stewardesses. "Ehm.... not really...." Jeb replies, "When I do we will lose lift and you'll be scraping the muffins from the ceiling...." "Oh, well... never mind then, at least I can save on my gym subscription then..." An awkward silence ensues. In order to keep the plane in the air at the recommended altitude and speed requires a 7 degree pitch up. Jeb is starting to feel a little uncomfortable, he's been enjoying his flight so far, but it appears the ladies in the back haven't been. He's also getting a bit thirsty, but there's no way for the ladies to get anything out to him because of the two massive fuel tanks in between them. He decides to go back to base. He light the seatbelt light and the ladies take their places as they ensure all the test passengers are safely strapped in.

Jeb turns off the autopilot and starts to rotate the plane. In one massive swoop and much like a girl on prom night everything suddenly makes a turn for the worse. Without the throttle on full the plane has a tendency to flip end over end and because all the control surfaces are linked together the ride suddenly becomes VERY bumpy. Lucky Jeb likes it rough! Fighting the controls all the way he manages to turn the plane around and back into cruise altitude and speed heading back to base. The intercom ring again: "Jeb? Could you please turn the plane a little smoother next time? We're running out of barf bags and we can't distribute new ones during a turn..." the voice of the stewardess sounds a little distressed. "Ehm.... Not really...." Jeb replies, "all my controls are linked together and I'm having a really hard time keeping the plane flying during maneuvers...." "Oh, well... nerver mind then, at least I don't have to worry about my weight so much anymore..." An awkward silence ensues again. Because of the position of the CoM and CoL and the CoL being the one in front combined with the all controls are linked to all control surfaces the plane flies like a leaf on the wind during maneuvers and loses a LOT of speed in turns, plus it tends to wobble a lot before slowly stabilizing again after a turn.

Jeb, now very worried starts to head for the runway. In order to maintain lift he realizes he needs to keep up the speed as he comes down. Coming in towards the runway at a speed of around 140 m/s he cuts the throttle. The RJJ-1 does not lose speed, so he activates the airbrakes in the middle of the fuslage. This does not do the stability any good, or bad, as the plane comes floppily floating down towards the runway, or the SPH, or the runway, or the field, or the runway and so on and so forth. Actually hitting the runway is going to be hard and the plane is still not losing a lot of speed. When he finally touches down Jeb is really happy with the massive gear as the impact on the runway is a pretty hard, but the load of enormous wheels can take it, no problem. Losing speed is still a problem though and Jeb manages to finally bring it to a standstill just prior to the end of the runway. This kind of plane would land well on one of those circular runways because there's litterally no end to them. The intercom rings: "Jeb? THANK YOU!!!!!" "Ehm... well.... you don't happen to have a vape on you, do you? I need to relax!" Jeb replies.

The verdict:
A large plane, for sure, but contrary to the general tendency of plane to become more efficient as they grow larger, this one has become less efficient. To fly about 4700km it requires a whopping 20,300 tons worth of fuel! It's also absurdly expensive, a good 30% above average price and ten times the price of a slinky 152. The flying characteristics are abominable. It doesn't take off, it doesn't stop and it's super hard to control, even with mechjeb smart A.S.S. We recommend KEA doesn't buy any of these because we fear they might drain Kerbin's fuel supply in under a week. Also, twelve engines! TWELVE! That is a lot of maintenance right there! It does have the added benefit of not missing one or two in case engine failures, you barely notice the difference.

Please use normal formatting.

[panzerknoef]

Yes, I have actually returned after a long absence. First and foremost I'm here to present a new plane, but I probably will do some judging here and there. Though my days as a (hyper) active judge are more than likely over. Glad to see that so many people have joined the judging team in the mean time as it really was a hassle to fly and review all those planes with the even smaller team we had back in the day. Anyway, back on to the topic of why I'm actually here!

KnoefCo Aerospace presents:

The Bx-70!

Since I had noticed that KnoefCo Aerospace had not yet entered in the competition of providing a suitable small regional jet, we figured that it was about time to come up with one. The design we chose the queue up for KEA is one of the Bx series, known for their extremely low cost. Contrary to the Bx-1 and 2, this one actually performs more or less decent. It can achieve a cruise speed of 300m/s at an altitude of 6000m. At said altitude it manages a fuel consumption of 0.1, combined with the 400 units of fuel, that makes for a range of 1200km. 

We have to warn pilots for takeoffs and landings since those can get a bit tricky from time to time. Especially landings require a lot of care since the cardboard landing gear doesn't take impacts very well. 

All this comes at a ridiculously low price of 11.748.000. The part count sits at a decent 30 parts. Unlike most small regional jets though, this one can carry up to 64 passengers. We figured that taping on a few extra crew cabins would actually make the plane better value for money. 

Get yours here: https://kerbalx.com/Panzerknoef/Bx-70

Edited January 13, 2019 by panzerknoef

[hoioh]

14 hours ago, CrazyJebGuy said:

Please use normal formatting.

Sorry, please be more specific, I'm under the impression this is normal formatting

[neistridlar]

4 hours ago, hoioh said:

Sorry, please be more specific, I'm under the impression this is normal formatting

I did not notice first time reading it, but now that CrazyJeb has pointed it out I see what is wrong. This is how it should be:

Test Pilot Review @hoioh's Formatting lecture request     //size 24

[insert picture here]

Figures as Tested:                 //Small headings end with : and is same font size as regular text, just bold.

• Price:                       // these lines are bullet points.
• Fuel: kallons                // Also, you did not use the exact same wording on all of the lines.
• Cruising speed: m/s
• Cruising altitude: m
• Fuel burn rate: kal/s
• Range:  km

                                                 // don't insert picture here

Review Notes:

Lorem Ipsum, you probably know the rest.

The Verdict:

And some more Ipsum.

[hoioh]

52 minutes ago, neistridlar said:

I did not notice first time reading it, but now that CrazyJeb has pointed it out I see what is wrong. This is how it should be:

--snip--

Thanks! Let's put this somewhere for all to easily access because it's super useful!

[CrazyJebGuy]

15 hours ago, panzerknoef said:

-SNIP-

Nice to see you again, and now I feel I have to make a turboprop that beats yours. Your one has beaten mine.

[panzerknoef]

2 hours ago, CrazyJebGuy said:

Nice to see you again, and now I feel I have to make a turboprop that beats yours. Your one has beaten mine.

I really am glad to be back, last months were quite busy and now I've finally got time for all this again! 

Bring it on with that turboprop, if yours is better I'll just build a new one :p.

I might release a seaplane sometime soon as well, but that's one place where I can't beat you, yours are just too good! 

Edited June 20, 2018 by panzerknoef

[TheFlyingKerman]

@panzerknoef Welcome back. You are aware of this excel sheet by @neistridlar that compares the economy of a plane?

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/172690-kerbal-express-airlines-regional-jet-challenge-reboot-continued/&do=findComment&comment=3350524
 

 

Edited June 20, 2018 by TheFlyingKerman

[neistridlar]

Test Pilot Review: @NightshineRecorralis' Sea Dragon 2nd generation

Sea Dragon 1100:

• Price:  58,677,000
• Fuel:  800 Kallons
• Cruising Speed: 150m/s
• Cruising Altitude: 1,000m
• Fuel Burn Rate: 0.10 Kallons/sec
• Range: 1,200km

Sea Dragon 2100:

• Price:  67,437,000
• Fuel:  800 Kallons
• Cruising Speed: 150m/s
• Cruising Altitude: 1,000m
• Fuel Burn Rate: 0.09 Kallons/sec
• Range: 1,300km

Sea Dragon 1100:

• Price:  80,887,000
• Fuel:  2,800 Kallons
• Cruising Speed: 250m/s
• Cruising Altitude: 5,000m
• Fuel Burn Rate: 0.24 Kallons/sec
• Range: 2,900km

Review:

Are sea dragons airbreathing creatures? Well it would seem so judging by the amount of air intakes on the Sea Dragon series of planes from Habu Industries. Not quite as fear inducing as the fire breathing variety. Much the same can be said of the looks of these planes. Despite all the pointy bits, it manages to look quite docile fish of the sort that lazily swims along the bottom minding its own business. So what is new in the 2^nd generation Sea Dragon? The most striking difference is the lack of engines mounted directly to the cabin. So where did they put them? We don’t know, maybe in a safe-deposit box somewhere? They are certainly nowhere to be found on the plane itself. The 1^st generation were plenty fast, let’s see how the newcomer fares in the air.

Wow, do these planes take off at a slow speed. Only 35m/s for the regular models. For the X model it is a more common 55m/s. Our pilots were skeptical when they first read the manual stating that the flaps should be kept down at all times bellow 50m/s for the regular variety and bellow 75m/s for the X version. Most planes tested so far has a nasty habit of pitching down, just what you don’t need while flying slowly. The 2^nd Generation Sea Dragon is very different. The flaps actually give the aircraft a slight nose up tendency compared to no flaps, which makes for a very comfortable and easy slow flight experience. The flaps also produce a lot of drag, which makes it very easy to control the speed on approach and landing.

Speaking of which. The aircraft lands and takes of just as beautifully on water as it does on land. Like the first generation it does like to take a bit of a drink at touch down. Our test pilots decided to test how short of a landing was possible with the 2100, by flying just above stall speed, at a few meters above the runway, enabling the thrust reversers and breaks in the air, and stalling the plane onto the runway. Well it turns out you need a runway about twice the length of the plane to come to a complete stop. With the removal of the two roof engines the takeoff is much longer though, so we don’t expect to be able to make use of this feature, other than possibly landing straight at the gate.

All of the Sea Dragon 2^nd generation are generally well behaved in flight. If we were to suggest any improvements, they could be better trimmed for cruise, and the anhedral of the lower wing parts make for an undesirable roll-yaw coupling, as the plane rolls into the sideslip, rather than away from it. None of this was not found to be much of an issue in flight though.

What did the passengers think of this new generation then? They reported an overall smooth experience, with only a little noise from the intake-ducting, and a faint rattle from the tail mounted engine. They did complaint a little that the big pontoons blocked the much of the sweet spot for looking down at stuff, which is a bit of a shame, seeing as the regular models are marketed as sightseeing planes.

So, for the boring bit, the economics. There is one thing in particular we find quite confusing about the Sea Dragon series. Namely how they made the 1100 have a higher fuel consumption than the 2100. Now it is not by much, but considering that the 2100 carries 72 passengers as opposed to the 48 of the 1100 it makes quite a difference in the running costs per seat.

Now for the 2100 X. We are not entirely sure if it is a medium regional jet that likes to pretend it is a sea plane, or a sea plane that likes to pretend that it is a medium regional jet. With its additional two engines and 3.5 times more fuel, it does lose out on maintenance, fuel efficiency and purchase price compared to the regular 2100, but it makes up for it in range and speed. Compared to dedicated regional jets though, it is really nothing special.

The verdict:

The Sea Dragon 2^nd generation is a definite improvement over the 1^st generation. The 1100 is a fine seaplane, with good comfort and handling characteristics. Though seeing as the 2100 cost just a little bit more for an overall better plane, we are at a bit of a loss for why anyone would want an 1100, when they could have the 2100. We’ll be buying 12 of the 2100 for flying around popular tourist islands, both as sightseeing and just general ferrying people around.

As a sea plane the 2100 X looks very good on paper, but we are not entirely sure we have a market where it would be able to take advantage of its strengths. We will be leasing two, as an experiment, to see if we can find a niche for it though

[CrazyJebGuy]

3 hours ago, panzerknoef said:

I really am glad to be back, last months were quite busy and now I've finally got time for all this again! 

Bring it on with that turboprop, if yours is better I'll just build a new one :p.

I might release a seaplane sometime soon as well, but that's one place where I can't beat you, yours are just too good! 

Truth be told my first seaplane being a masterpiece was a bit of a fluke, I knew at that point how to make a well performing plane, never learned any tricks on how to reduce cost (Did you see that really low cost Jumbo I made ~$60 million for 304 passengers, @neistridlar made one about $25/30 million for 152, (I forget exactly how much) and I think they are quite competitive. Outside of these planes it's almost unheard of to have less than 300k/seat, think the only planes which manage this are these jumbos which manage somewhere in the region of 160-180k/seat. Mine is worse than his at this, but I think it is better anyway because his are chronically underpowered, my jumbo can pull some stunts!

Sidetracked there a bit, also had no idea that comfort was even a consideration. Pure luck that I put it in a good configuration then!

I have a design of turbo I'm about to test fly for the first time, it's about 2/3 the price of yours, no idea how it compares in other ways.

 

By the way, I had the idea: Bulk transport planes for big cities, where land is extremely expensive, (like inner New Kork or something) which tack off and land in a very small space, while tacking up as little surface area of hangars as possible, range would need not be longer than 300km or so to get to a airfield where bigger planes are more practical. Any-one got any suggestions for this class name? Comfort also, not too important due to short journey.

[panzerknoef]

4 minutes ago, CrazyJebGuy said:

Truth be told my first seaplane being a masterpiece was a bit of a fluke, I knew at that point how to make a well performing plane, never learned any tricks on how to reduce cost (Did you see that really low cost Jumbo I made ~$60 million for 304 passengers, @neistridlar made one about $25/30 million for 152, (I forget exactly how much) and I think they are quite competitive. Outside of these planes it's almost unheard of to have less than 300k/seat, think the only planes which manage this are these jumbos which manage somewhere in the region of 160-180k/seat. Mine is worse than his at this, but I think it is better anyway because his are chronically underpowered, my jumbo can pull some stunts!

Sidetracked there a bit, also had no idea that comfort was even a consideration. Pure luck that I put it in a good configuration then!

I have a design of turbo I'm about to test fly for the first time, it's about 2/3 the price of yours, no idea how it compares in other ways.

 

By the way, I had the idea: Bulk transport planes for big cities, where land is extremely expensive, (like inner New Kork or something) which tack off and land in a very small space, while tacking up as little surface area of hangars as possible, range would need not be longer than 300km or so to get to a airfield where bigger planes are more practical. Any-one got any suggestions for this class name? Comfort also, not too important due to short journey.

Those low cost jumbos are really impressive, I've designed quite a few jumbos by now, but I the lowest price I've managed is ~60mil for 152 passengers and a 4000km range. When it comes to cost efficiency  those planes are indeed by far the best, even if you make a turbo that costs 7.5mil you're still looking at 300k a seat. Though truth be told I've just designed a small regional jet with a price per seat of 250k, which is quite low for that class. 

I do like that suggestion, would open up a lot of new possibilities, and the results are most likely a joy to fly. I actually have a plane already that could be perfect for that, takes off on a dime and even better...It can take off backwards as well. Name suggestion, how about "hoppers"?

[CrazyJebGuy]

1 hour ago, panzerknoef said:

Those low cost jumbos are really impressive, I've designed quite a few jumbos by now, but I the lowest price I've managed is ~60mil for 152 passengers and a 4000km range. When it comes to cost efficiency  those planes are indeed by far the best, even if you make a turbo that costs 7.5mil you're still looking at 300k a seat. Though truth be told I've just designed a small regional jet with a price per seat of 250k, which is quite low for that class. 

I do like that suggestion, would open up a lot of new possibilities, and the results are most likely a joy to fly. I actually have a plane already that could be perfect for that, takes off on a dime and even better...It can take off backwards as well. Name suggestion, how about "hoppers"?

I think city hoppers, or hoppers for short is a good name. Also passenger capacity is important, because with hoppers you would want compact bulk throughput, fuel efficiency and range are not important, nor comfort really due to short flights.

Think the pinnacle of design in that category will look something like a narrow tower of wing parts and cabins, shaped roughly like a skyscraper, those will have high capacity and use little land for parking.

I'm going to add them to the OP soon.

EDIT: The turboprop I was testing flipped out on takeoff, after that's fixed it travels 256m/s with a range of 1605km, bit slower than yours (still pretty quick by turbo standards) with a very slightly longer range. Biggest difference is the price of ~12m and the 30 partcount, in comparison to your turboprop. I am going to work a bit more on it.

Edited June 20, 2018 by CrazyJebGuy

[panzerknoef]

3 hours ago, TheFlyingKerman said:

@panzerknoef Welcome back. You are aware of this excel sheet by @neistridlar that compares the economy of a plane?

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/172690-kerbal-express-airlines-regional-jet-challenge-reboot-continued/&do=findComment&comment=3350524
 

 

I was not aware of this excellent excel sheet, thanks for bringing me up to date!

 

40 minutes ago, CrazyJebGuy said:

I think city hoppers, or hoppers for short is a good name. Also passenger capacity is important, because with hoppers you would want compact bulk throughput, fuel efficiency and range are not important, nor comfort really due to short flights.

Think the pinnacle of design in that category will look something like a narrow tower of wing parts and cabins, shaped roughly like a skyscraper, those will have high capacity and use little land for parking.

I'm going to add them to the OP soon.

EDIT: The turboprop I was testing flipped out on takeoff, after that's fixed it travels 256m/s with a range of 1605km, bit slower than yours (still pretty quick by turbo standards) with a very slightly longer range. Biggest difference is the price of ~12m and the 30 partcount, in comparison to your turboprop. I am going to work a bit more on it.

I would say a passenger capacity of at least 56 or something, that should add some variety as well, don't make it too hard because then the skill cap might get too high. I'm really curious to see a tower shaped aircraft though! 

On the note of your turboprop, I was wondering a bit, and my last uploaded plane was actually a small regional jet, not a turbo. Sounds like you're going to give us a pretty competitive aircraft though, i'm looking forward to it already. In the mean time I've finished construction on a medium regional jet with a price per seat of 186, pretty much a unicum for this class I think. Admittedly it flies like a winged turd and takes something like 7 minutes to get up to cruising speed, but it's as cheap as it gets and checks all the requirement boxes.