Stock SSTO Helicopter

[Azimech]

77 Industries Iridium

 

I never thought it would be possible ... then I tried. So I'm very proud to present the (AFAIK) first stock helicopter/SSTO hybrid.

Features:

• New engine made for this purpose but using my typical design elements. Ten J-33 blowers and 16 turbine blades give it excellent performance. Each bearing has 48 RCS balls so it can take a beating. Rotor can be redocked!

• Clean shape resulting in low drag.

• Good flight characteristics.

• Can take off and land in either airplane or helicopter mode.

• A docking port is placed at the belly.

Instructions for take off:

• Decide whether you want to take off in helicopter or airplane mode.

• If you want to take off in helicopter mode, press AG4 to enable rotor pitch. Otherwise skip this step.

• Stage. This separates the rotor from the craft and starts the helicopter engine. This step is needed in any way.

• To take off as helicopter, just switch on SAS and go full power.

• To take off as airplane, hit AG1 to switch off the helicopter engine and do the following:

• Hit AG9 to open the shield of the docking port above the rotor shaft (take a peek inside).

• Change focus to the turbine, hit AG9 again to open the shield of the docking port of the rotor shaft. Redocking is done automatically. Note: if the rotor is turning, wait until it has slowed down enough otherwise docking will result in a RUD.

Going from helicopter flight to SSTO/airplane mode.

• Make sure you have enough altitude and are flying level.

• Hit AG5 to start the FME’s (Forward Motion Engines) and keep the nose level. As soon as you have 40m/s forward motion, switch off the helicopter engine (AG1). If you don’t the extreme forces will result in a RUD.

• You can also enter a steady climb but keep the speed below 40.

• Once the helicopter engine is shut off, you’ll lose altitude rapidly so pitch up until the craft has enough speed for normal flight.

• Close the cargo bay & service bay doors to reduce drag (AG0). If you want to redock the rotor, the cargo bay must be open or it won’t work (game limitation).

• Change focus to the rotor shaft to disable rotor pitch (AG4) for a reduction in drag. You don’t have to, the rotor will continue to spin even in space. Just don’t forget to redock before using timewarp!

 

Craft file.