Naval Aviation Challenge

[chadgaskerman]

New contracts have been added, PM me if you have any ideas for a specific contract

[Samwise Potato]

My entry for Contract No.002:

https://kerbalx.com/SamwisePotato/SA-Cygnet

As is tradition at Spud Armoury, our intrepid engineers combat boredom by doing dumb things with expensive technology to see what happens. Sometimes they burn down the Space Plane Hangar, sometimes they all end up dyed blue for a week, and some preciously rare times, they discover a new practical application that shouldn't work but somehow does.

While Dudgee Kerman was hiding in his office and complaining about the general unfairness of life, the rest of the engineers competed to see who could build the best backpack helicopter. Megwell Kerman made an important discovery when she accidentally left the motors on full power while testing her backpack. Even with the weakest motors and smallest helicopter blades we had on hand, the satellite dish she tethered the backpack to hasn't been seen since. We don't get educational channels on our televisions any more, but all the engineers agree that's a perfectly acceptable price to pay for such an important discovery.

Now in possession of the perfect equipment to complete another contract those wet scientists keep sending in, Megwell and the engineer horde dug up an old military prototype and started shoving new engine technology into it. Thankfully we didn't leave it up to Dudgee to name this one, so we're proud to present the SA Cygnet. The team hopes we'll make enough money off selling it to get a new satellite dish, one that gets the motorsports channels instead of that educational garbage.

Spoiler

Above: Cygnet glamour shot. Ooooh, shiny.

Below: Island runway control tower for scale.

Above: Cygnet nesting above the front door of the Astronaut Complex.

Below: Build a compound helicopter that destroys the range requirement? Easy. Fly it through the R&D tunnel? Even easier!

As stipulated by the contract requirements:

- Part limit 70 (42, and I probably could have got it to like 38? without impacting looks or function but eh, effort)
- Stall speed at least 65 m/s (yeah it's a helicopter, just don't turn it upside down and you'll be fine)
- Transport researchers or deployable equipment (there's a passenger cabin in there somewhere)
- Range of 150km (700km+ if flown even slightly efficiently, cruising altitude ~1500m at 240m/s-ish)
- Stowed dimensions 8m by 5m by 4m or less (7.6 x 5 x 2.7)
- Design based on S-97/S-72/X3 (S-97 counter-rotation, S-72/X3 dual forward thrust, S-72 stub wings, S-97/X3 tail shape, etc.)

Oh boy, this one was a lot more fun once I figured out that the smallest helicopter blades were more than enough to lift this craft. The medium blades were obviously my first choice because they look like the right size for a real world craft, but they would have blown the size limitations. I tried to fuss around with mounting them on hinges attached to the motors, but of course, hinges are a complete disaster and that didn't work.

We shall never speak of it again.

As a last resort I was going mount the maximum number of small blades on the motors and pray, but happily 3 each was enough. From that point it was just a matter of balancing fuel load, tweaking the stub wings, and simplifying the controls down into two action groups and two throttles.

I strongly suggest reading at least the TL;DR on the KerbalX page before trying to fly the Cygnet, though you should be able to see pretty clearly how it all works if you look at Action Group 1 (helicopter mode), Action Group 2 (plane mode), Translate F/B (Juno throttle), and Main Throttle (controls the KAL which directs all rotor/blade functions).

From here, I guess I get back into my first craft to tweak AoI and flap settings a bit, then dive into contract 005 and play with rotation servos.

[chargan]

Here's one for Contract No.001B. SSTO with 500m/s+ remining in orbit. It's just within the dimension limits without any wing folding. Carrier takeoff and landing videos included in the imgur album.

https://kerbalx.com/chargan/Switch

https://imgur.com/a/QHErQZT

 

[The_Nico]

Hello. I would like to submit my entry for Contract 001A

NAC-C001A_F1-Block10

Naval Aviation Challenge - Contract 001A_Fighter 1 - Block 10

Spoiler

 

Dimensions:

Length: 9.7 m
Width: 5.9 m
Height: 2.5 m

Speed:

Super cruise up to mach 1.8 at 10km
Above mach 2 with afterburner at 10 km

Range:

VTOL mode: about 10 minutes Flight
STOL mode: didn’t test it yet

Good maneuverability in pitch and yaw axis. Decent in roll axis.
 

Link: https://kerbalx.com/The_Nico/NAC-C001A_F1-Block10

 

[Pds314]

I made a stock guided missile that can shoot down a carrier from a fairly good distance away, with good enough accuracy to target the cockpit and it consistently hits the carrier. Of course, if it can shoot down a carrier, it's probably pretty destructive against battleships too, and long enough range to make a battleship think twice about going anywhere near your carrier.

The missile is general purpose. It will pretty consistently hit anything but fighters or stuff that's too far away over the horizon. Effective range against large parts is around 16 km.

The major advantage this missile has over many others is that its velocity vector slightly leads its actual orientation, which means that it automatically compensates for inertia and gravity.

The target is my tadpole mini carrier. It's 75 meters long including the ramp. Kinda challenging to land. The aircraft is just a simple carrier-compatible attack plane I threw together and can land on a 70 meter deck but you better be accurate because it doesn't stop instantly.
 

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Pds314

[Pds314]

Taking out Jeb's plane without taking out the carrier. 10 km shot without ever going over 150 meters above datum. Full fire and forget functionality. 
 

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Pds314

[The_Nico]

I'm working on a tail sitter inspired by the Convair XFY Pogo. I have a question about the dimensions:

Will the dimensions of the contract be the dimensions of the plane, or will they be the footprint on the deck for this case?

 

Also I worked on this one. I think I should have submitted it here.

NAC-C001A_F2-Block10

Naval Aviation Challenge - Contract 001A_Fighter 2 - Block 10

Dimensions:

Length: 13.7 m
Width: 8.0 m
Height: 3.6 m

Speed:

Super cruise up to mach 2.0 at 10km
Above mach 2 with afterburner at 10 km

Range:

VTOL mode: around 55 minutes at 10km and mach 2.0
STOL mode: didn’t test it yet

Good maneuverability in pitch and yaw axis. Decent in roll axis.

Better range than the F1 and also it incorporates an ejection seat.

Link: https://kerbalx.com/The_Nico/NAC-C001A_F2-Block10

 

[chadgaskerman]

1 hour ago, The_Nico said:

Will the dimensions of the contract be the dimensions of the plane, or will they be the footprint on the deck for this case?

Deck footprint

[Pds314]

Another carrier-killing missile. This one is not as agile so probably best not to use it on anything that can maneuver out of the way very well, but it is very fast and has very good range and is also an SSTO with fuel to spare, meaning you can probably use it as an ICBM if you don't want to immediately lock a target.

I might install BDA for the vessel switcher or something to see if I can counter the missiles in some way, I kinda doubt hitting a missile nose on with another missile is doable but maybe since it's *exactly* nose-on and the missiles are anti-inertial it could work? Or perhaps taking an aircraft off from the carrier to hit the missile with a missile? If that fails, I guess just bombing whatever is about to fire the missile might work? And if that fails, maybe I can engineer defensive cannons to shoot the missile at the last second, or just use BDA CIWS to do it... though that actually might not cause it to miss as the kill range would be very short.
 

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Pds314

[Pds314]

Hmm... Apparently because of the small tower, it actually misses a lot if the carrier is moving. 22.3 m/s normal to the missile's attack vector was sufficient to cause a miss twice in a row from different angles and speeds. I doubt that applies to the slower more maneuverable missile but good to know that an aircraft carrier with the bridge sufficiently isolated can outright dodge a missile.

 

I suspect the reason for this is the lack of an effective lead turn. So 3 seconds (2.4 km) out the missile is only turning 0.5 degrees a second. Not enough to compensate for the last 200 meters where it needs to then turn 4 degrees a second.

 

The "correct" solution is to make it lead turn by having the angle of the missile lag even further behind the prograde vector, but this would reduce it's overall angular acceleration and possibly accuracy I think.

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Pds314

[The_Nico]

Another entry for Contract 001A.

NAC-C001A_F3-Block10

Dimensions:

Length: 13.3 m
Width: 7.9 m
Height: 3.9 m

Speed:

Mach 2.85 with afterburner at 10 km

Range:

30 minutes in dry mode

Good maneuverability in pitch and yaw axis. Decent in roll axis.

Link: https://kerbalx.com/The_Nico/NAC-C001A_F3-Block10

[chadgaskerman]

I'm currently in the process of making a template carrier so we don't have to develop a carrier alongside a wing of aircraft, should have it finished, tested and hopefully released this coming monday.

Current dimensions are roughly 110m long with around a 60m landing strip being able to use both a catapult or a ski jump.

[HyperDraco]

On 5/4/2021 at 2:09 AM, chadgaskerman said:

 

The aim of this challenge is simple, create a naval aircraft capable of full carrier operations.

 

Rules;

1. Hard part limit of 70.

2. Maximum stall speed of 65m/s.

3. Take up a stowed foot print of less than 14m long by 8m wide.

Inspiration

  Hide contents

 

Further Guidance;

DLC's are allowed and encouraged

VTOL, STOL, SSTO, Helicopter. If it's Naval oriented I want it

No Part Mods

 

Optional Contracts

Fixed Wing

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.001A

By Chadgaskerman

 

With the exponential increase in both Aircraft Carrier and Aeronautical construction techniques, a new High speed scout and light science plane is required for carrier duty. The aircraft should have a minimum range of 1000km with a preference towards a 'Supercruise' capability and a top speed of at least Mach 2. Stowed Dimensions should not exceed 14 metres of length by 8 metres wide by 4.5 metres Tall. For inspiration look towards the NATF concepts for both the F-22 and YF-23 as well as the next generation of Chinese and Russian Naval Fighters.

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.003A

By Chadgaskerman

 

To complement the current Fleet air wing, the Fleet has requested a high speed VIP transport Capable of transporting 4-8 Kerbals at least 750km, preferably being subsonic however an argument could be made for a supersonic transport.Stowed Dimensions should not exceed 12 metres of length by 6 metres wide by 4.5 metres Tall. For inspiration, Look towards aircraft such as the S-3 Viking, Fairey Gannet and S-2 Tracker.

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.003B

By Chadgaskerman

 

Using the same airframe as contract No.003A with some modifications, This aircraft should function as primarily an airborne laboratory as well as an airborne Relay for beyond the horizon communication. The aircraft should be able to carry 2-4 Kerbals with the remaining space of the crew cabins being used for storage of science and communications equipment. For inspiration, Look towards aircraft such as the S-3 Viking, Fairey Gannet and S-2 Tracker as well as other electronic warfare and ASW variants.

Rotary Wing

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.002

By Chadgaskerman

 

With the need for short range transport to unprepared landing sites, the Fleet has requested a new High speed transport Helicopter that can transport researchers and/or deployable equipment to a research site up to 150km away from the Aircraft Carrier. Stowed Dimensions should not exceed 8 metres of length by 5 metres wide by 4 metres Tall. For inspiration, look to Aircraft such as the Sikorsky S-97 and S-72 as well as the Eurocopter X³. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.005

By Chadgaskerman

The Fleet has requested a medium range transport capable of transporting 4-8 Mission critical personnel or some specialist equipment to and from the carrier group. The Aircraft must be able to take off and land vertically, with a minimum cruise speed of 150m/s for long haul flights. Stowed Dimensions should not exceed 14 metres of length by 8 metres wide by 4.5 metres Tall. For inspiration look to aircraft such as the CV-22B and the AW-609

 

SSTO's

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.001B

By Chadgaskerman

 

Using the same airframe as contract No.001A with some modifications, This SSTO should be able to enter LKO with enough DeltaV to rendezvous with a space craft in orbit, and then deorbit and land back on the carrier ready for refuelling. Stowed Dimensions should not exceed 14 metres of length by 8 metres wide by 4.5 metres Tall.

  Reveal hidden contents

Contract No.004

By Chadgaskerman

A hole in the Fleet Air Arm's inventory has been discovered, Carrier to Station transport. The aircraft should be able to carry 2-4 Kerbals with the remaining space of the crew cabins being used for storage of science and communications equipment. This SSTO should be able to enter LKO with enough DeltaV to rendezvous with a space craft or station in orbit, Refuel from there, and return to the carrier. Stowed Dimensions should not exceed 14 metres of length by 8 metres wide by 4.5 metres Tall.

Formatting a Contract Aircraft

 

(Contract No.)

(Aircraft type)

(Author/s)

(Craft Name)

(Description)

(Pictures - make sure they are spoilered)

(Craft DL - preferably KerbalX)

Obviously you don't have to create a naval aircraft exactly to these specifications, nor are you obligated to. Work in progress pictures are highly encouraged and I look forward to seeing what you are going to create.

You're on, Draconic Industries is game.

Edit: I might just tweak the already overpowered Draconic Athena II SGI into a carrier-based fighter

I believe @ColdJ would be interested, one of his models already is inspired by a deadly naval fighter.

Edited August 15, 2021 by HyperDraco

[HyperDraco]

just a question can we at least use airplane plus for cool parts that help out 

[chadgaskerman]

11 minutes ago, HyperDraco said:

just a question can we at least use airplane plus for cool parts that help out 

Part mods defeat the objective of the challenge, i'm sure you can get creative with various, unorthodox combinations to make the right look for your craft.

[HyperDraco]

18 minutes ago, chadgaskerman said:

Part mods defeat the objective of the challenge, i'm sure you can get creative with various, unorthodox combinations to make the right look for your craft.

Alright, I'm off to brainstorm

[HyperDraco]

I believe I am done.

Within the limitations, I have devised a near-supermaneuverable Air Defense/Strike Fighter, the Draconic Sea Fox series.

Spoiler

The Draconic Sea-Fox R 

(R indicates Base variant, unarmed.)

Spoiler

The 2 Juno's are solely for an additional performance boost and the plane can fully function without them.

Information

Length: 12.0m

Width: 7.3m

Height: 3.7m

Part Count: 69 (pictures may not show, but it does have that many)

Flight Time: Estimated to be around 25 minutes

Minimum Flyable Speed: Can perform turns at >10m/s 

Maximum Speed: 310 m/s at ~3700M

Takeoff Speed: 33.1 m/s

Takeoff Run: Around 60 to 70m, even lower if minimum speed is met (via boosters or launch assists)

Powerplants: 1 x Rapier, 2 x Juno Turbofans (optional)

Link: https://kerbalx.com/HyperDraco/Draconic-Sea-Fox-R

 

 

[swjr-swis]

14 hours ago, HyperDraco said:

Link: https://kerbalx.com/HyperDraco/Draconic-Sea-Fox-R

Really like this one a lot. The way you did the cockpit, the overall lines, the handling at low speeds. I had a blast with this one. Thank you.

This has all the looks and handling of a high-performance supersonic jet, it deserves being able to do so! Also, the Z-fighting in the wings makes me jittery after a bit . So I tried to see what could be done about those things. This is what I ended up with: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zh9wkjy08bvloxn/Draconic Sea Fox R4.craft?dl=0  It's all yours to do with as you please, or I can upload it to KerbalX with link and full credit to your original, whatever suits you.

I think it still keeps the looks and maneuverability of your original, but it's capable of mach 4.8 now, and is supersonic within 40 secs after take off. Also, it can make orbit! Using some of the Ox tank space and emptying LF to 60%, it can steam right up to a 80x80 km orbit, with enough left to return  and some LF to spare in case you come up short of the runway.  Not sure why anyone would want to take a carrier jet to orbit, but there it is.

Few screenshots:

Spoiler

 

[HyperDraco]

1 hour ago, swjr-swis said:

Really like this one a lot. The way you did the cockpit, the overall lines, the handling at low speeds. I had a blast with this one. Thank you.

This has all the looks and handling of a high-performance supersonic jet, it deserves being able to do so! Also, the Z-fighting in the wings makes me jittery after a bit . So I tried to see what could be done about those things. This is what I ended up with: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zh9wkjy08bvloxn/Draconic Sea Fox R4.craft?dl=0  It's all yours to do with as you please, or I can upload it to KerbalX with link and full credit to your original, whatever suits you.

I think it still keeps the looks and maneuverability of your original, but it's capable of mach 4.8 now, and is supersonic within 40 secs after take off. Also, it can make orbit! Using some of the Ox tank space and emptying LF to 60%, it can steam right up to a 80x80 km orbit, with enough left to return  and some LF to spare in case you come up short of the runway.  Not sure why anyone would want to take a carrier jet to orbit, but there it is.

Few screenshots:

  Hide contents

 

Oh my, that's a major improvement. You made it look nicer, performance wise made it at least 4 times faster and more versatile, space-worthy and that's more deserving of praise than I am for the basic plane.

Thank you for your kind compliments, and you could upload KerbalX if you so desire.

I used principles from real world Supermaneuverable fighters while designing this (courtesy my uncles and aunts in the aviation industry), which makes me quite proud (the shamelessly smug fist-pumping version) to hear your praise on the looks and performance of the basic Sea Fox R, for fun, I might involve Airplane Plus, after all, that's made my Magnum Opus to date, the Athena II SGI a beast of a plane (I don't think very much can withstand a GAU-8, 50 underwing attachments and 4 nuclear missiles at Mach 2 with a supermaneuverable jet).

[HyperDraco]

Follow up for @swjr-swis.

-THIS ONE IS MODDED AND MADE SPECIFICALLY OUT OF CHALLENGE AS AN ADDON OPTION FOR THE SEA FOX SERIES-

I took your version of the Sea-Fox R (the R4) and made it the R4A. It can't do Mach 4.8 anymore, but it CAN do Mach 2.2.

It is somehow EVEN MORE MANUERABLE than the R or R4 which makes it a bit of a unique experience in the skies.

It is now armed with 6 x .50 Cal Browning Machine guns in the nose which is sufficient firepower I'd say for a basic model.

This is the KerbalX link, enjoy: https://kerbalx.com/HyperDraco/Draconic-Sea-Fox-R4A

[camacju]

I didn't see anyone going for a Mach 2 capable plane that also had long range yet...

Contract 001A, Fixed Wing Scout/Science Aircraft

Author: Me (camacju)

Name: Plover

Description: High speed, high altitude, compact science aircraft. Single Panther powerplant. Thermometer, barometer and atmosphere analyzer in hollow nose.

Range: About 10800 km

Gallery:

Spoiler

Plover in VAB. 10 parts, 6.9 by 7.7 meters, 6.8 tons.

Lifts off at 40 m/s, stall speed is presumably slower than that.

Max speed with afterburners off is Mach 1.12

Max speed with afterburners on is Mach 2.94

Supercruise with afterburners on at Mach 2.89

Now for the endurance run - I point straight horizontal and go wherever the plane's wings take me

20 km

Since I started cruise with 500 units of liquid fuel remaining, and cruise speed is a pretty steady 861-2 m/s, and fuel consumption is 0.047 per second:

500/0.047 = 10638 seconds of engine time, not counting gliding

Estimated range, not including the climb up or the glide down, is 9159 km, or 2.4 circumnavigations

Further screenshots:

Spoiler

First circumnavigation

Beauty shot

Night shot

Second circumnavigation

2.5

Out of fuel

Gliding

Landed - approximately 2 7/8 circumnavigations, or almost 11000 kilometers

A possible SSTO version of this would swap out the Panther for a Nerv and Rapier, as well as adding a lot more fuel.

Edited August 18, 2021 by camacju

[HyperDraco]

I have a second submission:

Draconic Sea-Falcon Series.

Spoiler

 

I present the second all-stock naval offering from Draconic Industries, another supermaneuverable fighter, capable of Mach 1+.

Built with 70 parts and under all size limitations, this Light Strike Fighter can be armed (using BDArmoury) with a variety of ordinances for nearly any role for it's weight class.

KerbalX: https://kerbalx.com/HyperDraco/Draconic-Sea-Falcon-A

Also, @swjr-swis, you are cleared for a good time yet again.

[chadgaskerman]

finally got around to polishing this enough for release, to ease with landing i'd suggest switching to the carrier before final and throttling up just to make landing a bit easier.

[espartanlast1]

entry for Contract No.001a:

Fixed Wing

designed just by me

Spartan Fighter Jet 100 Series

KerbalX - SFJ-100

This incredible aircraft designed and built by Spartan Industries is able to even circunavigate kerbin at a cruise speed of 1000 m/s at 20000 km, it also has one of the most curious landing gears desgin on the market, it has a stall speed of 41m/s, and the breakthrough advancement is that it it a flying wing. that is, it does not have any kind of vertical stabilization. all the yaw authority is provided by the engine and the airbrakes, just like the b2.

 

- Part limit 70 (21)

- Stall speed at least 65 m/s (41 m/s stall Speed)

- Range of 1000km (at lest 3769km or kerbin circumference)

- Stowed dimensions 14m x 8m x 4.5m or less (10.6 x 7.9 x 3.1)

-Max speed of at least mach 2 (1000m/s or 2.9 Mach, same as cruise speed) 

[chadgaskerman]

New contract for a VTOL aircraft.

Also;

I have a huge back log of craft to publish including this bad boy for Contract 001a.