Actual Uses for Aeroplanes

[Nirgal]

After being in awe of the new procedural system for wings in KSP 2, it got me thinking "well that's cool but it's just a toy". There should be multiple, productive uses for such a great feature beyond a bit of tinkering, I have some ideas to suggest below and I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with  

1. The obvious one, SSTOs. In KSP1 the greatest barrier to using space planes was the time constraint of having to manually fly up to space (much slower than just shooting up a rocket). Since we will have some automation ability in KSP2 I can easily see space planes being used to ferry construction materials to Kerbin orbit in a resource and time efficient manner. The 'Super Kerbin' planet with high gravity and probable atmosphere may be where space planes will truly shine.

2. Resource transport from extraction point to processing. To bring more depth and utility to the new colony system, I'm thinking the resource distribution on celestial bodies will be far more location dependent than what we have now, where 'ore' can be mined anywhere, only at differing rates. If we find a great place to build a colony, say under the lip of an overhang for radiation protection and find essential resources 300km away over rough terrain, an automated cargo aeroplane would be gold dust.

3. Kerbal transport on water worlds. Without land, air travel may dominate (still hoping for ships and submarines). A Laythe or Puff colony may need to shuffle around experienced Kerbals to pioneer and research positions, or a growing colony may decide to transport workers across the planet to oversee a complex construction / resource extraction / research program.

@KSPStar could you move this to development please?

 

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Nirgal

[Caerfinon]

And some usefulness on the home world will be most appreciated.

Science Research, Passenger Flights, Buzzing the Tower, Sky diving, Barn Storming, and many others as well!