[CHALLENGE] Delighttest. Lightest plane to Island Airfield

[FlazeTheDragon]

8 minutes ago, mattihase said:

I'm not sure, though the strut was mostly for visual flair because I figured it wouldn't add too much, but it could definitely go.

Definitely with the wings as they are it glides pretty miserably at least until I deploy the chute but just about enough for it to get from flameout down to where it wants to land on the island.

 

I suppose the idea of gliding on parachutes could be quite fun if we had a microlight-style-chute like with KSP1's EVA parachutes. I wonder if those will be added at any point?

out of curiosity actually, @FlazeTheDragon @Klapaucius, I see you went with a similar seat sandwiched between intake and tank thing to what my earlier designs did. Did you manage to get a setup where the kerbal can actually EVA from the seat in that configuration?

Nope, my kerbal is now one with the craft.

[mattihase]

We're recreating the space jockey from Alien

[Klapaucius]

4 hours ago, mattihase said:

I'm not sure, though the strut was mostly for visual flair because I figured it wouldn't add too much, but it could definitely go.

Definitely with the wings as they are it glides pretty miserably at least until I deploy the chute but just about enough for it to get from flameout down to where it wants to land on the island.

 

I suppose the idea of gliding on parachutes could be quite fun if we had a microlight-style-chute like with KSP1's EVA parachutes. I wonder if those will be added at any point?

out of curiosity actually, @FlazeTheDragon @Klapaucius, I see you went with a similar seat sandwiched between intake and tank thing to what my earlier designs did. Did you manage to get a setup where the kerbal can actually EVA from the seat in that configuration?

I never tried to EVA, but all my previous attempts with other builds failed. However, it seems a few other players have managed it, so it is not consistent.

[azgar]

Yes, that is what I think.
The mass of parts changes as you add them, resize them, launch and return to VAB.
I think we cannot determine the lightest plane until the mass management settles in KSP2.
And it would be really cool if devs would make engineers report precise at least up to 1 kg. 10 kg is a bit coarse.
Anyway, the whole thing is about engineering and having fun 
Concerning the EVAbility. I have moved the seat around and found that the space in front of the seat has to be not obstrucred.
Position closest to the base looks like this
 

[ChromeDome]

Wet mass with Kerbal: 0.49 tonnes/ Wet mass without Kerbal: 0.40 tonnes/ Dry mass: 0.38 tonnes

I've negated the need for landing gear by instead of landing horizontally, we use the reverse thrust on the jet engine to slow down and land vertically nose first into the ground.

Some more pictures:

Spoiler

In the VAB

A questionable design mistake by me had made the tip of the fly by wire stabilizer pierce into Bob's chest. Hope it doesn't hurt too much

Bob recovered

[Socraticat]

 

6 hours ago, ChromeDome said:

Wet mass with Kerbal: 0.49 tonnes/ Wet mass without Kerbal: 0.40 tonnes/ Dry mass: 0.38 tonnes

I've negated the need for landing gear by instead of landing horizontally, we use the reverse thrust on the jet engine to slow down and land vertically nose first into the ground.

Some more pictures:

  Reveal hidden contents

In the VAB

A questionable design mistake by me had made the tip of the fly by wire stabilizer pierce into Bob's chest. Hope it doesn't hurt too much

Bob recovered

It doesn't look comfortable to sit in, but Bob survived long enough for an accurate landing! I think you might have the narrowest craft here. As long as you land on the island you can probably just barrel roll to the hangars 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Socraticat
Forgot to quote someone. Not telling who...

[weeee]

Wet mass: 0.47 tonnes Dry mass: 0.36 tonnes

Juno TWR:4.309 (way more precise than the mass values)

The entire flight:

The gear bounce during take off... :D, i love this little thing, just a simple v-tail to reduce the amount of wings. The main wing swept is to connect to the 'skids', and there a tiny bit of angle for help handling/take off, both wings are placed far apart to provide max control with the lowest mass, main provides Roll with controls at the end of the wing , V-tail is all moving  providing Yaw/Pitch, no reaction wheels just SAS, i doubt this can fly without since is a V-tail design, they're not that stable.

Flying is ok, but landing is little bit dicey, take off just pull up without hitting the tail, but landing is good to give a little bit of engine power to lower vertical speed and be leveled, wing can hit the ground if you come at an angle, and after touchdown just pull down hard, the craft has a tendency of trying to want to flip and just break the engine if you dont do that, and do not try land above 40m/s with the skids. But i think that it for this little craft

Craft Json:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EkHNoDk_FzLv4uIgUr2YNCete5VbA429

Spoiler

Edited March 21, 2023 by weeee
removing empty lines

[azgar]

Sorry for delay, I was playing Cyberpunk for some time
The patch has fixed some bugs in the game, it is less irritating, but still I have not enough zen in my organism to constantly steer around all that bugs.
Call me weak.
@weeee great little plane, I really like the idea of using the structural hubs for skids.
Though I fail to paste your json in my game, it either tell me "invalid paste" or does nothing.
Those bugs...