SSTOs! Post your pictures here~

[KissSh0t]

You tested it?

I have not... was talking about your orbit image.

You have heaps of fuel~

[RocketTurtle]

Oh, yeah, I didn't have fuel lines set up correctly, I was only using 2 small tanks, when I had like 4 long ones that weren't connected.

Also, do you think it could make Duna?

Edit: Just got the fixed one into orbit. Easily enough for Duna...

My new pride and glory...

Now I wonder if it'll land.

Edit edit: Yay! I'm so happy now!

It could make orbit agian...!

Edited November 24, 2013 by RocketTurtle

[KissSh0t]

Heaps cool~!

I reckon you could get back up into orbit again.. You have lots of fuel left over.

Your craft looks like it needs a battery.

[RocketTurtle]

Oh, no, I just purposely let the panels burn up, it looks cool.

I mean, yeah, I will add a battery anyways.

In a 120 KM orbit, (I was going for 100, but I forgot to cut my throttle when setting up the maneuver... oops. ) how is this for DV?

Edited November 24, 2013 by RocketTurtle

[RocketTurtle]

Bump. I'm wondering if I have enough for Duna.

[Deadweasel]

Bump. I'm wondering if I have enough for Duna.

Why not just quicksave (f5) and try it?

[RocketTurtle]

Well, I suck at maneuvers... and I already reverted flight... I'm taking it to Minmus right now though. I'll post pics soon.

[Deadweasel]

My latest attempt at a V/STOL SSTO, based on the Banshee II frame.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a SNAFU with the fuel feed, so it only got as far as the island runway before choking out and gliding in for an emergency landing.

The test pilots, along with a shuttle pilot who attempted -and failed- to rescue them, are now waiting for the new AACT-101 Javelin to head out their way on its first test flight. Spectre will be serviced and recovered at a later date. For now, it's biding its time, making the archaic parts lingering in the hangar with it insanely jealous of its coolness. XD

HSOC-01 Spectre

[Hodo]

My latest attempt at a V/STOL SSTO, based on the Banshee II frame.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a SNAFU with the fuel feed, so it only got as far as the island runway before choking out and gliding in for an emergency landing.

Looks good, I can give you one bit of advice to clean up the look a bit more. You can lose those battery packs on the tail section and place two of the 1.25m 1000 unit batteries behind the intakes. The weight shift shouldn't major and should have a minor affect on the VTOL characteristics. But will give the craft a cleaner line and a bit more electricity.

[KissSh0t]

I place batteries inside the body when using those small square ones... not like you need to select them when flying the craft so there's no reason having it outside the crafts body really... Unless your Scott Manley and using them to illuminate docking port xD

[JakeGrey]

Cross-posted from its own thread:

.craft file

Mods used:

• B9 Aerospace (most of the plane)
  
• KW Rocketry (the rocket motors and nosecones)
  
• Vanguard EVA Parachutes
  
• LTech instruments
  
• RealChutes
  
• Aviation Lights
  
• FAR (optional)
  

Action Groups:

1. Toggle ladders.

2. Log instrument readings.

3. Airbrakes.

4. Activate cameras.

5. Toggle jets.

6. Toggle rockets.

7. Raise/lower solar panels.

8. Drag chutes.

9 and 10: Flaps. (FAR only.)

Abort: Eject crew.

In-universe, this was originally something Wehrner and the rest of the Jet Propulsion Lab team were working on for the Air Force for a new bomber. They didn't end up taking it on for one reason or another, but some unsung genius noted the prototype's impressive operational ceiling and thought, "I wonder if we could nudge her up past the tropopause with a couple of rocket motors..."

There's plenty of room for underwing stores, and my medium-term aim is to use it as a delivery system for probes and satellites, maybe small landers once I unlock docking ports in career mode. Testing is however currently on hold until my new joystick arrives; I don't know if it's my piloting or a flaw in the design, but as soon as I haul back on the stick she attempts to perform Pugachev's Cobra and slams arse-first into the runway.

Anyone better at this game want to take it out for a spin?

[Deadweasel]

Looks good, I can give you one bit of advice to clean up the look a bit more. You can lose those battery packs on the tail section and place two of the 1.25m 1000 unit batteries behind the intakes. The weight shift shouldn't major and should have a minor affect on the VTOL characteristics. But will give the craft a cleaner line and a bit more electricity.

Note the wing mounts. She's designed to hover, which means balance is a real pain in the a$% to get worked out just so. That's where the external batteries come in. They're being used like the slide weights on the scale in a doctor's office.

[Dispatcher]

Yeah, I use batteries and even an RGU and sometimes a reaction wheel for counterweights. I've not tried making VTOLs yet, but I'd imagine its a pain.

[Deadweasel]

Yeah, I use batteries and even an RGU and sometimes a reaction wheel for counterweights. I've not tried making VTOLs yet, but I'd imagine its a pain.

It's not insanely difficult; just a matter of scaling.

For example, Spectre can currently hover well as long as ASAS is enabled. It's able to overcome the slight rotation induced by the engines without a fight.

Ram that throttle up to gain altitude though, and it's quickly apparent that all that thrust -coupled with the very slight off-center placement of the engines- is enough to overwhelm the ASAS and start a crazy nosedive.

This is a bit problematic, since I want to be able to use the vertical engines to kill forward velocity, and I don't want to spend 30 minutes just setting up for a landing. Picking up and re-placing the engines is a pain, because they always jump away from their original position as soon as they're picked up. That's why there's a mounting cylinder thingy in the top of the wing. It provides a reference for where the engines are, so if I pick them up to re-balance, I know exactly where they were. Once placed, I then pick up the top plates and shuffle them to match the engines' new position.

Once they're as close as I can realistically get them to the balance point, I then start using the batteries to fine tune the weight, which is a lot easier to do since they snap to an angle on the body instead of just sliding anywhere along the flat plane of the wing like the engines do.

[Deadweasel]

[TABLE=width: 800]

[TR]

[TD]AACT-104 "Starlance"

Technically, she's overqualified to be considered part of the Automated Atmospheric Crew Transport program, but she gets to share the designation anyway since she's based off existing AACT designs.

AACT-101, 102 and 103 on display at the public unveiling ceremony

Flies like a dream (as long as the throttle isn't jammed on full) and has just enough power onboard to keep the fuel converters alive until she reaches initial orbit altitude.

Giving credence to her name

Since it's completely automated, it can be deployed to wait indefinitely for returning exploration crews, and will shuttle them smoothly and easily -six at a time- back to the ground.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Fox62]

Download and modlist for the AACT-104 Starlance?

*In-Universe translation for you RP fans out there* Verolan Kerman: How much would it cost to purchase the rights to produce a licensed copy of your AACT-104?

[Hodo]

Note the wing mounts. She's designed to hover, which means balance is a real pain in the a$% to get worked out just so. That's where the external batteries come in. They're being used like the slide weights on the scale in a doctor's office.

I actually quit doing that because it causes other problems. It is easier to move the VTOL engines for me now. I will post an explanation when I get more time on how I do it and why I do it. It may help others to be able to build better VTOLs.

[Deadweasel]

Download and modlist for the AACT-104 Starlance?

*In-Universe translation for you RP fans out there* Verolan Kerman: How much would it cost to purchase the rights to produce a licensed copy of your AACT-104?

Stand by, some tweaks are in the works. The thing isn't really maneuverable in vacuum, mostly due to the deplorable engine response with that particular layout.

I'm trying out the SABRE engines again to see if there's a way to make them a little less... ugly >_<

[FenrirWolf]

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My first successful SSTO design. Got that sucker to Laythe! And with a bit of tweaking plus a better flight plan (my Jool transfer was quite inefficient) it might even be able to make it there and back without refueling at all.

Edited November 25, 2013 by FenrirWolf

[KissSh0t]

Why do you have Seperatrons on all the engines?

[FenrirWolf]

I was having odd fuel flow issues where the middle and only one of the side tanks were draining, causing the plane to become more and more lopsided as it flew.

I put the separators there to cut off the default fuel crossfeed then routed around them with fuel lines until things worked more or less how I wanted them to.

[Deadweasel]

[TABLE=width: 800]

[TR]

[TD]Well, I've done just about everything I can think of to tweak this puppy out. Sadly I had to go with the SABRE S engines, as they have better gimbal range and are capable of keeping the craft straight while under thrust in vacuum, despite the wonky offset of the engine layout.

I say "sadly" because the SABREs are huge, and their specs feel a bit cheat-y to me (they won't pull down the fuel supply even at full throttle). Honestly, I think they make the ship look a bit uglier than it does with those sweet jet engines on the Javelin III, but hey, they do the job and make the Starlance fun to fly!

Since I've worked out a means of elevating the rear gear and providing better ground clearance for the third engine, I'll be working on a slight re-design, adding a fourth engine nacelle to see if that balances things out enough to go back to other engines.

UPDATE:

---

I done did it. AACT-15 "Slipstream" is what this thing really should be, and it's crazy powerful too! Specs, pics and download for comparison below!

---

For operation in atmosphere or vacuum. Cannot dock.

No more intakes! Added docking ports and lighter, more powerful engines

Active at the runway and preparing for takeoff (AACT-104)

"Boo" (cruise/parking/kraken repellant) lights (AACT-104)

Bullet time! (AACT-105)

Raping the sky (and eardrums) since 2013 (AACT-105)

"Vector, It's a mathematical term, represented by an arrow with both direction and magnitude. OH YEEEEAH!" (AACT-104)

MODS REQUIRED

• B9 Aerospace (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/0-20-2-b9-aerospace-pack-r3-1/)
  
• NovaPunch (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/novapunch-remix-pack/)
  
• Aviation Lights (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/aviation-lights-v1-2/)
  
• FuelTastic (needed if you want to even get off the runway!) (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/fueltastic/)
  

ASSIGNED ACTION GROUPS (press "i" in-flight to review assignments)

1. MECHANICAL: Boarding ladders
   
2. MECHANICAL: Passenger cabin doors
   
3. CONTROL: Nosewheel steering toggle (separate indicator strobe directly over nosewheel)
   
4. CONTROL: Airbrakes
   
5. LIGHTING: Passenger cabin boarding lights
   
6. LIGHTING: Navigation lights
   
7. LIGHTING: Strobes
   
8. SYSTEMS: Engine mode toggle (jet/rocket)
   
9. SYSTEMS: Fuel converters (separate amber indicator light near vertical stabilizer)
   
10. LIGHTING: Cruise/park lights (sometimes referred to as "boo" lights by superstitious pilots!)
    

DOWNLOAD

• AACT-104 Starlance
  
• AACT-105 Slipstream
  

or

• https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2004695/KerbalSpaceProgram/AACT-104%20Starlance.craft
  
• https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2004695/KerbalSpaceProgram/AACT-105%20Slipstream.craft
  

PRE-FLIGHT CHECKLIST

1. Enable parking brake
   
2. Switch on nav lights, landing lights and strobes (6, U & 7) for safety
   
3. Enable ASAS
   
4. Enable fuel converters (9)
   
5. Stage (spacebar) to activate engines
   
6. Throttle up and release the hounds (brakes)!!
   

FLIGHT TIPS

• TAKEOFF: Leave ASAS on from the moment you reach for the engine staging, and raise the nose carefully when at speed
  
• FLIGHT: She cruises level with about 10 degree angle-of-attack. Use this to your advantage when time comes to land!
  
• FLIGHT: If your engines are on, so should the fuel converters (amber light) or you'll run dry in no time!
  
• FLIGHT: Kill the converters when no longer burning, or they'll suck your batteries down and leave you for dead!
  
• FLIGHT: (AACT-104) Watch your air intake! If it gets too thin, switch to rocket mode quick! (8)
  
• FLIGHT: (AACT-105) Punch the throttle all you like, but watch that oxidizer! (converters are slightly too slow to keep up)
  
• LANDING: She lands like she takes off: FAST! Keep a minimum 100m/s to ensure stability
  
• LANDING: Don't forget the airbrakes! They will get her slowed-down quickly after touchdown
  
• LANDING: Kill ASAS at touchdown. It will keep the nose up and refuse to land until it has no choice, otherwise
  
• TAXIING: The landing gear are motorized! If you don't want to deal with braking against the engines all the time, right click the nosegear and enable the motor. It will now drive like a rover (assuming you've turned on steering with group 3!)
  

EDIT:

If you were too quick for me and downloaded AACT-104 before I updated, check the lower engine nacelle for a radial attachment point and decoupler. I put those on to figure out the takeoff distance but initially forgot to take them off before offering up the .craft file. Fixed now, but just know that's not part of the intended design if it's on yours! [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Edited November 26, 2013 by Deadweasel

[Exothermos]

Woah, that thing looks mean! I'll give it a whirl, as it's also a good reason to actually install Fueltastic.

[Deadweasel]

Woah, that thing looks mean! I'll give it a whirl, as it's also a good reason to actually install Fueltastic.

Hehehe enjoy!

Oh, small bug I discovered in FuelTastic (the developer has already been made aware): it will throw constant NullReferenceErrors in 0.22 unless you modify the part .cfg files.

Comment out the final call to

MODULE

{

name - FuelTastic

}

This reference calls the .dll that ostensibly adds sound and light effects to the fuel converters, but there's something bugged about that module in the current version. Personally that feature has never worked for me anyway, but commenting out that last section eliminates the errors, and the units work just fine otherwise (and is why my ships include an indicator light that's triggered with them, so I don't forget they're turned on!)

><

[Hodo]

I get those NullReferenceErrors, and I don't have FuelTastic. The funny thing is, they aren't very regular. Sometimes I get them non-stop other times I wont see them at all.