Asymmetrical Aircraft Challenge

[vyznev]

40 minutes ago, camacju said:

Am I allowed to have a single small reaction wheel on a 35 ton plane? I'm planning to fly it to another planet/moon and I'm going to need some kind of attitude control while in vacuum.

A gimbaled engine can work for that. So will RCS, although the restriction on using each part only once is going to make RCS port placement a bit more of a challenge than usual.

Heck, technically you could even steer a craft using differential thrust from normal non-gimbaled rocket engines, although doing that in stock KSP without something like a kOS script to map steering inputs to engine throttle would be a huge pain.

Edited April 24, 2021 by vyznev
link to mission report

[camacju]

Doesn't matter anyway, I'm just using the probe core's built in reaction wheels now.

[camacju]

Here's the first part of my submission for the asymmetrical aircraft challenge. Single stage to orbit.

Part list: (20 parts)

Structural Wing Type A
Structural Wing Type B
Wing Connector A
Wing Connector B
Elevon 1
Elevon 2
Elevon 3
Elevon 4
Delta-Deluxe Winglet
Shock Cone Intake
AE-FF1 Fairing
LV-N Atomic Rocket Motor
CR-7 RAPIER Engine
Probodobodyne HECS2
PB-NUK RTG
Small Landing Gear
Medium Landing Gear
Large Landing Gear
MechJeb 2 AR202 Case
Mk3 Liquid Fuel Fuselage

Launch

Spoiler

Craft in VAB. COL and COM aren't quite balanced, it has a tendency to roll to one side.

On runway

The Mk3 tank and the unbalanced wings, as well as the relatively high weight for a single Rapier, mean that the craft struggles to maintain altitude initially.

At 500 m/s I start climbing to 21 km.

At 1650 m/s I turn on the Nerv and hold prograde for the rest of the ascent. This ascent profile is pretty typical of high efficiency SSTO craft.

In orbit with 7.8 km/s remaining. I could land but that would be a waste of this craft.

Traveling to the first destination

Spoiler

Transfer burn is split into two parts due to low TWR

Transfer burn finishes

Eve flyby

Kerbin flyby 1

Kerbin flyby 2

Tylo flyby

Laythe aerocapture

Destination 1

Spoiler

Aerobraking passes to slow down and fine tune orbit

Second aerobrake

Waiting for the landing zone to come onto the daylight side

Landed on Laythe

Using the nuclear engine as a RATO because Laythe is hard to take off from

Nuke is shut off right after takeoff, rapier continues

Ascent profile is similar to on Kerbin

Nuke turns on at 1680 m/s and 23.5 km

Laythe orbit

Destination 2

Spoiler

Laythe escape burn

Tylo flyby

Pol capture burn

Pol landing burn

Landed on Pol

Ascent from Pol

Pol orbit

[Apr 23] the mission will probably continue tomorrow. I have some more landings planned.

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by camacju

[Klapaucius]

1 hour ago, camacju said:

Here's the first part of my submission for the asymmetrical aircraft challenge. Single stage to orbit.

Part list: (20 parts)

Structural Wing Type A
Structural Wing Type B
Wing Connector A
Wing Connector B
Elevon 1
Elevon 2
Elevon 3
Elevon 4
Delta-Deluxe Winglet
Shock Cone Intake
AE-FF1 Fairing
LV-N Atomic Rocket Motor
CR-7 RAPIER Engine
Probodobodyne HECS2
PB-NUK RTG
Small Landing Gear
Medium Landing Gear
Large Landing Gear
MechJeb 2 AR202 Case
Mk3 Liquid Fuel Fuselage

 

Awesome!

[QF9E]

I present to you a modified version of my Goliath / FAT wing low parts plane from @Brikoleur's simple race plane challenge. It technically does not fulfil the 10 parts criterion (it has 7), but you can easily imagine 3 different science instruments added to it. Surprisingly it flies quite well even though asymmetric and lacking an SAS module. I managed to balance the two elevons pretty well - one is large and close to the "centerline" (for lack of a better word), the other is small and far from it, and that works fine.  Takeoff is a bit quirky: it deviates to starboard quite heavily once it starts moving, but it straightens itself out by applying full left rudder. Its worst characteristic is that it can be very sensitive to roll input. I could not find a way to change the sensitivity of a combined aileron / elevator in both axes separately, is this even possible?

A short video of me taking my creation out for a circuit of the KSC runway:

Craft file here: https://kerbalx.com/QF9E/Low-part-count-plane-c

[Klapaucius]

37 minutes ago, QF9E said:

 It technically does not fulfil the 10 parts criterion (it has 7), but you can easily imagine 3 different science instruments added to it. Surprisingly it flies quite well even though asymmetric and lacking an SAS module.

Craft file here: https://kerbalx.com/QF9E/Low-part-count-plane-c

After careful consideration, the panel of judges have unanimously decided to award you a waiver on the parts rule due to the fact you are using a structural panel as landing gear.  The craft fully fulfills the spirit of the competition and then some.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by Klapaucius
typo--as always

[AlpacaMall]

Introducing my submission, by the creative name of "Asymmetric Aircraft 3". (1 and 2 didn't get off the ground.)

(All three reaction wheels have been disabled, and the plane flies with only SAS stability hold.)

 

Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/AlpacaMall/Asymmetric-Aircraft-3

More images: https://imgur.com/a/BxY2M2E

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by AlpacaMall

[Klapaucius]

36 minutes ago, AlpacaMall said:

Introducing my submission, by the creative name of "Asymmetric Aircraft 3". (1 and 2 didn't get off the ground.)

 

I like it!  It is like a aeronautical version of a motorcycle with a sidecar.

[camacju]

Asymmetrical SSTO, part 2

Destination 3

Spoiler

Pol escape burn

Tylo assist

Tylo flyby

Eeloo close approach

Eeloo capture burn

Eeloo landing burn

Landed on Eeloo

Eeloo ascent

Eeloo orbit

Destination 4

Spoiler

Jool transfer

Tylo assist for plane change

Tylo assist

The Tylo assist increases my Jool relative velocity enough to give me a Duna encounter in two orbits

Duna aerocapture

Ike encounter

Very low energy Ike encounter - 0.6 m/s capture burn

Ike landing burn

Landed on Ike with wheel braking to save fuel

Ike ascent

Ike orbit

Returning home

Spoiler

Ike escape burn

Duna escape burn

Mun flyby

I tried to aerobrake into a Minmus encounter but I didn't have enough fuel

Aerobraking

Approaching KSC

Used Rapier to taxi onto runway

Mission summary:

Asymmetric SSTO landed on Laythe, Pol, Eeloo, and Ike before coming back to Kerbin. Flybys of Mun, Minmus, Eve, Tylo, Duna, Jool.

 

[eekee]

On 7/18/2020 at 11:50 PM, Klapaucius said:

I think you have inspired me to reboot this challenge without the single part restriction and see where it goes.

Good to know! I had to check out this thread because one of my early-ish plane ideas was simply to go as asymetric as possible. I never tried it because I got distracted by another weird and wonderful idea, but my basic plan for asymmetry was a long wing on one side with a stack of 5 or 6 strakes on the other. I don't think I could build it with the unique-part limitation. I think the rule change could lead to a different aesthetic because I see planes here tend to look like scrapyard builds, but mine would probably come out looking like something from an alien civilisation. (I tend to build neatly even when I'm building wierd stuff.) Up to you if that's what you want or not. ... but now I'm wondering if I could build such an alien plane with unique parts. Ooh... I've learned a trick since I last thought about this; a top secret trick!

Edit: Looks like I missed a few posts. I'll have to get busy building... if I can find the time between all my other planned builds and in-progress missions!

Edited June 25, 2021 by eekee

[NBDesigns]

Here is my entry that I originally made for Inter’s Odyssey about 3 years ago. Hope you enjoy 

https://kerbalx.com/NickBDesigns/NickBDesigns-A102

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by NBDesigns

[Klapaucius]

23 minutes ago, NBDesigns said:

Here is my entry that I originally made for Inter’s Odyssey about 3 years ago. Hope you enjoy 

https://kerbalx.com/NickBDesigns/NickBDesigns-A102

 

I love it! However, to fully qualify, it cannot have any repeating parts, so you will need to swap out one of the tailfins and the landing gear.

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

Wow this thread is now "old"   

I wonder, could I still submit a "plane?"

Edited October 26, 2021 by The_Stinky_Broccoli

[chadgaskerman]

I wouldn't mind a helicopter category as well

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

That's interesting,

I didn't mean a helicopter, but that is a good idea, I was just referencing how half of the planes don't look like planes. 

[Klapaucius]

1 hour ago, The_Stinky_Broccoli said:

Wow this thread is now "old"   

I wonder, could I still submit a "plane?"

Of course you can!  Just remember the rules: at least 10 parts, and no part may be used more than once. That includes symmetrical parts as well. If you use a left wing, you cannot use the equivalent right side.  Same with landing gear.

Some later submissions have neglected that rule.

I look forward to your creation 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Klapaucius

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

So...
 

    

Is this symmetry though?

It follows all the rules for the competition, but its symmetrical... 

[Klapaucius]

2 minutes ago, The_Stinky_Broccoli said:

So...
 

    

Is this symmetry though?

It follows all the rules for the competition, but its symmetrical... 

It follows all the rules except the title of the challenge itself.

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

Yeah I know. I did it more as a joke then an actual entry. It was surprisingly hard though, especially the landing gear. 

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

This is an actual submission. I was going to go with a twin mustang like thing, put that proved a bit too hard, plus its symmetrical, so instead I did this. 

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

 

This is my version of the badge, its not good, but it flies.

[Klapaucius]

1 hour ago, The_Stinky_Broccoli said:

 

This is my version of the badge, its not good, but it flies.

Oh, that is cool...

[The_Stinky_Broccoli]

I think i need to make the fuselage a bit wider. The engines in the badge are definitely not as big as the fuselage.

 

 

[Kimera Industries]

How about an asymmetric helicopter? For an extra challenge, I'll make this stock. Airplane Plus' wonderful engines would make it too easy. (With the dlc, of course.)