1S Valkyrie SSTO Spaceplane

[SargeRho]

Takes quite a bit of piloting and thrust contol to get to space and back, but it's the best SSTO I built yet, and the only one running on a single engine type. I may or may not have used some NovaPunch Remix parts, but not entirely sure. This version uses the stock engines:

Video with NP Aerospikes:

[Rawific]

That's a impressive craft right there, however do you tend to fly it without maximum thrust so it doesn't drain the fuel, or with max thrust?

[SargeRho]

I usually fly with max thrust in the lower atmosphere - up to around 30-40km, then I lower the thrust, or cut the engines completely if I'm fast enough to reach an apoapsis outside of the atmosphere.

[Rawific]

I usually fly with max thrust in the lower atmosphere - up to around 30-40km, then I lower the thrust, or cut the engines completely if I'm fast enough to reach an apoapsis outside of the atmosphere.

I tend to try to save the fuel as much as possible, my lowing the thrust whilst in the atmosphere, but then again I normally work with lighter crafts.

[SargeRho]

Well, I'm not very experienced in KSP yet. I tend to over-do basically...everything.

[SRB_Freak]

Rawrific, in 0.16, there is a bug so if you have your thrust on low you use less fuel than you are supposed to, so I think you should go full throttle, no?

[Rawific]

Rawrific, in 0.16, there is a bug so if you have your thrust on low you use less fuel than you are supposed to, so I think you should go full throttle, no?

Never knew about it being a bug but I always tend to fly planes on 75% to save fuel.

[TheHengeProphet]

The control surfaces on the front edge of your wings are fairly counter-productive, as when you pull up, they are trying to drag your plane down.

I've never personally had good things come from using a vertical launch ASAS on space-planes... There may be a way to tag an aeronautics package on there without rebuilding it, but with the current design, I'm not sure an ASAS is even neccessary.

Also, as for the video, I believe you could have achieved orbit if you cut the engines near 55 km as there really isn't enough atmosphere at that point to affect your apoapsis.

This is a very neat design, but I think a few adjustments and this could be quite good.