Kerbwith Swallow - Open-topped Biplane

[nerdboy64]

Design

One of the very first things I did when 0.20 came out was design an open-topped biplane. Following the typical KSP naming convention of taking something real and making it start with "K," it was called the "Kerbwith Kamel." It was quite difficult to fly, as it didn't turn very well and had a tendency, when taxiing along the ground, to lean to one side of the other and tear off the lower wings (taking the landing gear with them). If open-cockpit planes were going to be of any use, these problems would have to be fixed. After going through a few prototype aircraft and several test pilots, the Kerbwith Swallow was born.

Unlike its predecessor, the Swallow has only one engine, mounted below and behind the lower wings, and half as much fuel. Despite this seeming drop in power, its top speed is still comparable to that of the Kamel. It is also much more agile, and doesn't flop about when taxiing.

Pictures

Compulsory perspective shot:

Alan Kerman with his shiny new aeroplane:

How to Fly

For the most part, the Swallow is the same as any other plane. There are just a few things you need to know:

First, to get into the cockpit, send your Kerbal on EVA and then right click the seat. Select "Board" and you should teleport into it. Then, press space to discard the command pod. Finally, right click the Kerbal and choose "control from here," otherwise you won't be able to yaw the plane due to a bug in the controls.

Second, before taking off, press "1" twice before taking off to extend the antenna and disable the motor and steering of the front wheels.

Finally, don't go over 60m/s while on the ground, or else the front wheels will break. Yes, I know I could have used actual landing gear, but these just looked so much cooler.

Download

Kerbwith Swallow Mk. I

[CaptinKornflake]

Wow this is actually really cool

[Voidryder]

Nice plane. I'll give her a go. And just so you know, naming everything with a "K" drives Nova crazy. It got out of hand sometime back with everyone beginning everything in sight with a "K". And while quite a few modders still do it, it can be considered rather cheeky Old Sport. Now if you'll just hand me my leather flight helmet, I'll take your fine aeroplane up for a spin. Well hopefully not a spin.

[Febin]

Props to you. Nice piece of work here.

[KillerMx1337]

Nice job on the build, looks great!

[llamatoes]

As hard as I want to fly this, My computer hates Mediafire, so could you rehost from dropbox or something please?

[nerdboy64]

As hard as I want to fly this, My computer hates Mediafire, so could you rehost from dropbox or something please?

I don't have time right now, but I'll try to do it later.