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...stabilize a spaceplane during a vertical takeoff?


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I can never take off with my spaceplane pointing up. Every time I get it to point directly up, it just flips backward and goes completely out of control. First, I thought it was the excessive amounts of fins pulling the plane too upward, but it can't be since the plane looks like it's stalling when I nose up.

How can I fix this problem?

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It may be nose heavy, if you've got most of the weight in front of the engines then it will be much more prone to tipping over than if the weight is being pulled up by the engines.

You may also be generating thrust off-centre. Your thrust needs to be balanced on opposite sides of the centre of mass (or directly in line with it for a single engine).

Pictures may help.

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What does it look like? Can you post pics? You probably have too much lift in the nose, too much weight toward the back, the engines are thrusting from too far off-center, or some combination of those. (Or what EndlessWaves said. I need to learn to type faster. :) )

Edited by Vanamonde
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Various (almost all of my planes) suffer this problem. Some just fling around, and some don't lift at all.

This is my completely unoriginal spaceplane. It theoretically has enough fuel to go to at least the Mun, and possibly Minmus and back.

screenshot30.pngscreenshot31.pngscreenshot32.pngscreenshot33.pngscreenshot27.pngscreenshot28.pngscreenshot29.png

Problem is that I can't nose up because it does a backflip, stalls, and I regain control a few fractions of a second before it hits water.

PS - Oh yes, I found a secret hotkey. Hold SHIFT while rotating items and it'll do a finer rotation.

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How do I find out the center of mass? This seems pretty complicated to do.

It'll be calculated and shown automatically next patch. For now it's just a case of moving engines around until you get it right. If your machine is symmetrical then it's on the centre line somewhere so you only need to adjust up and down.

You could also try removing some control surfaces or press down caps lock before pulling back up so that it noses up with less force.

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It would be easier with a picture. Depending on your plane the above suggestions may work, or it could be a lift issue, moving your wings back often solves this problem. Or you can take off horizontally, gain enough speed so that the plane is stable, then nose up. The drag will help keep it pointed forward.

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