Zepto Eagleworks - Z-51 "Cobra" V/STOL

[Giggleplex777]

 

 

 

Logo design by segaprophet

Building advanced experimental aircraft.

Released Projects:

Z-51 "Cobra" V/STOL

Behold, Zepto Eaglework's most advanced aircraft! Powered by (PATENT PENDING) Swivel-Jet 2.0 technology, the Z-51 can switch from a mediocre VTOL to a forward-flying brick in seconds! Yes, you heard right. This stock aircraft (which is totally not meant to be an F-35B replica) has a pivoting engine! Powered by Magic™ .

The older model demonstrating the Swivel-Jet:

 

Action groups:

Spoiler

 

1: Toggle forward lift fan

2: Toggle main (rear) engine

3: Toggle bay doors

4: Toggle main engine gimbal

5: Toggle VTOL reaction wheels

6: Toggle main engine afterburners

0: Toggle ladder

 

How to fly (Read carefully!):

Vertical Takeoff:

Spoiler

1. Parking brakes on.

2. Start engines.

3. Throttle to 100% (lower when fuel is low)

4. Apply back pressure (pitch up) to keep the aircraft level as the engines start up. This is because the Panther revs up faster than the Junos.

 

Horizontal Takeoff:

Spoiler

 

1. Parking brakes on.

2. Start the main engine (press 2)

3. Right click the docking port on the attached to the structural intake and undock it.

4. Throttle to 100%. If the engine doesn't reach the top docking port you may use the afterburner to give it a little boost. The engine should now be locked in horizontal flight mode.

5. May press 3 to close the doors, disengage brakes and takeoff conventionally, or you could activate the lift fans for a shorter takeoff.

• To perform a short takeoff, press 1 to activate the lift fans.
• Disengage brakes and takeoff.
• Deactivate the lift fans once you reach ~40m/s
• Press 3 to close the doors.

 

Transition to horizontal flight:

Spoiler

 

1. Make you are:

• At 100% throttle
• At least 75m above terrain and that are no nearby obstructions

2.  Keep a slight nose-down attitude until your airspeed reaches at least 20m/s

3. Deactivate the main engine's gimbal by pressing 4.

4. Right click the docking port on the attached to the structural intake and undock it.

5. Press 1 to deactivate the lift fan right after or at the same time as step 2. The engine should snap in place.

6. The aircraft needs to reach at least 45m/s before it can pitch up. You may activate the afterburners (action group 6) if you start falling too fast.

7. Press 3 to close the bay doors and B to close the airbrake.

8. Press 4 to activate the main engine's gimbal. You may also press 5 the VTOL reaction wheels. (Optional)

 

Transition to VTOL mode:

Spoiler

 

1. Parking brakes on.

2. Press 3 to open the bay doors.

3. Throttle down to <30%

4. Press 1 to activate the lift fan.

5. Right click the middle docking port on top of the aircraft and click undock. The engine should dock to the lower docking port.

6. Throttle up so you don't stall!

 

Flight Tips:

• Always leave the aircraft on VTOL mode when not in use.
• Wait until the plane has stopped before dropping the rear engine if you want to takeoff vertically after you have landed horizontally.
• The open-end of the cargo bay creates tremendous amounts of drag and will prevent the plane from flying faster than ~150m/s.

 

Download: http://kerbalx.com/Giggleplex/Z-51-Cobra-VSTOL

Difficultly to fly: Intermediate

Status: Completed and Released

 

 

Experimental Projects:

SET (Swiveling Engine Testbed)

Testbed for Swiveling Engines for VTOL applications.

Lift Fan on and main engine swiveled down. Vertical Liftoff

 

Lift Fan off and main engine swiveled inline. Horizontal flight

Status: Testing Completed (0.20)

 

Future Projects:

These are proposed project ideas for the future. They may or may not be realized, but they are quite intriguing.

• New Variable swept wing fighters (Prototypes exist)
• Variable-Geometry Oblique Wing Aircraft (Prototypes exist)
• New twin-engine tilt-jet or tilt-wing.
• New Variable Incidence Wing Aircraft
• A more efficient and reliable Swivel Jet v3

 

Legacy Builds (Incompatible with the current version of KSP):

Spoiler

Z-50 "Cobra"

Behold, Zepto Eaglework's most advanced aircraft! Powered by (PATENT PENDING) Swivel-Jet 2.0 technology, the Z-50 can switch from an okay VTOL to a forward-flying brick in seconds! Yes, you heard right. This stock aircraft (which is totally not meant to be an F-35B replica) has a pivoting engine! Powered by Magic™ .

 

Action groups:

Spoiler

 

1: Toggle forward lift fan

2: Toggle main (rear) engine

3: Toggle bay doors

4: Toggle VTOL/secondary reaction wheels

5: Toggle main reaction wheels

6: Toggle main engine gimbal (off by default)

0: Toggle ladder

 

How to fly (Read carefully!):

Spoiler

 

Vertical Takeoff:

1. Parking brakes on.

2. Start engines.

3. Throttle to 100%

4. Apply back pressure (pitch up) to keep the aircraft level as the engines start up. This is because the Whiplash revs up faster than the Wheesly.

 

Horizontal Takeoff:

Spoiler

 

1. Parking brakes on.

2. Start the main engine (press 2)

3. Right click the docking port on the attached to the structural intake and undock it.

4. Throttle to 100% and set thrust limiter to 100%.

5. Disengage brakes.

 

Transition to horizontal flight:

Spoiler

 

1. Brakes off and make you are:

 

• At 100% throttle (thrust limiter set to 70% on the main engine)
• At least 75m above terrain and that are no nearby obstructions

2. Right click the docking port on the attached to the structural intake and undock it.

3. Press 1 to deactivate the lift fan right after or at the same time as step 2. The engine should snap in place.

4. Keep as slight nose-down attitude until your airspeed reaches ~45m/s and then pitch up so you don't hit the ground.

5. Press 3 to close the bay doors.

6. Set the thrust limiter on the main engine to 100%. You may also press 5 and/or 6 to disable the reaction wheels. (Optional)

 

Transition to VTOL mode:

Spoiler

 

1. Set thrust limiter to 70%

2. Parking brakes on.

3. Press 3 to open the bay doors.

4. Throttle down to <30%

5. Press 1 to activate the lift fan.

6. Right click the middle docking port on top of the aircraft and click undock. The engine should dock to the lower docking port.

7. Throttle up so you don't stall!

 

Flight Tips:

• Always leave the aircraft on VTOL mode when not in use.
• Wait until the plane has stopped before dropping the rear engine if you want to takeoff vertically after you have landed horizontally.
• The open-end of the cargo bay creates tremendous amounts of drag and will prevent the plane from flying faster than ~200m/s below 10,000m.
• If you want to go supersonic, set your attitude to 20 degrees above the horizon and wait until you are ~10,000m, where you may level out.

 

Download: http://www./download/n2pf22oqlb9sppl/Z-50.craft <- link broken, sorry!

Difficultly: Intermediate

Status: Completed and Released (1.0.4 only)

ZF-22 "Wasp II"

The ZF-22 is a retrofitted ZF-21 (the stock swivel-jet) with new hinges and missiles.

 

 

Action groups:

1: Toggle lift fan

2: Toggle main jet

3: Fire long ranged missiles

4: Fire short ranged missiles

0: Toggle crew ladder

How to fly:

Vertical Takeoff:

1. Throttle up to 2 notches above 1/3 throttle.

2. SAS on

3. Parking brakes on.

4. Press 1 and 2 to activate engines.

Transition to level flight:

1. Right click the docking port on the lower part of the "L" and click undock.

2. Throttle up to 100% and press 1 to deactivate the lift fan and the engine should snap in place.

3. If the engine isn't docked to the top docking port yet, pitch up and then pitch down.

Vertical Landing:

1. Throttle down to 0%

2. Right click the docking port attached to the rear engine and click undock. The engine should dock to the lower docking port.

3. Press 1 to activate the lift fan.

4. Carefully land the aircraft.

Flight Tips:

 

• Wait until the plane has stopped before dropping the rear engine if you want to takeoff vertically after you have landed horizontally.
• Since the rear engine is angled, the plane will move forward while hovering.
• The plane has a tendency to yaw right due the fact that there is only on docking port on the left side holding the rear engine.
• Pitch up while rolling to prevent it from flipping and stalling.

 

Download: http://www./download/5ygng1vnipmynvb/ZF-22.craft

Status: Completed and Released Only Works in 0.25 and below!

 

 

ZTW-7 "Verticalbird" (0.25 only)

A stock tiltwing that can hold 6 Kerbals.

 

 

Action groups:

1: Toggle jet engines/deactivate rockets

2: Toggle rockets/deactivate jets

3: Arm claws

0: Toggle crew ladder

Backspace(Abort): Arm parachute

How to fly:

Vertical Takeoff:

1. Press 3 to arm the claws

2. SAS on

3. Parking brakes on.

4. Press 1 activate engines.

5. Throttle to 70%.

Transition to level flight:

1. After you are at least 30m above the ground, throttle down to 50%.

2. Right click the bottom claw and click release.

3. Allow the wing to snap on by itself. If it doesn't lock after a few seconds, you can pitch up and down until it is attached.

4. After the wings are locked in place, you may throttle to 100%.

Vertical Landing:

Note: You should be at least 50m from the ground when you perform this maneuver.

1. Throttle down to 50%

2. Right click the claw at the top and click release.

3. Press 2 to activate the rocket engines.

4. Once the wing is locked on to the vertical position, press 1 to reactivate the jets and throttle up.

5. Carefully land the aircraft.

Download: http://www./download/c93flpsrp2nirdj/ZTW-7.craft

Status: Completed and Released Only Works in 0.25 and below!

 

 

ZF-31 "Sweepback"

Probably the first stock variable-sweep wing plane.

 

 

Action groups:

1: Wings extended

2: Default wing position

3: Full sweep

4: Toggle engine

0: Toggle crew ladder

Note: The wings may shift slightly asymmetrically. You can try to press the action group again to reset the struts, but it's probably going to keep doing it anyways.

Download: http://www./download/5nqef3ne9cbpcpb/ZF-31A.craft

Status: Completed and Released Only Works in 0.24 and below!

 

 

ZF-32 "Switchblade"

A modified version (actually, it was built from scratch ) of the ZF-31 with the ability to switch its wings from forward-swept to rear-swept.

 

 

Action groups:

1: Forward sweep

2: Default wing position

3: Full sweep

4: Toggle engine

0: Toggle crew ladder

Note: The wings may shift slightly asymmetrically. You can try to press the action group again to reset the struts, but it's probably going to keep doing it anyways.

Download: http://www./download/x5y23xl9h582s34/ZF-32A.craft

Status: Completed and Released Only Works in 0.24 and below!

 

 

 

 

ASMX (Aircraft Super-Maneuverablity eXperiment)

An extremely agile aircraft without the use of reaction wheels or internal control surfaces.

 

 

Features:

 

• Reverse-swept wings
• Dihedral and Anhedral angle wings
• Afterburning Turbojet (Turbojet and Basic Jet)
• Supersonic biplane configuration
• Balacanced fuel flow system
• Advanced yaw system

 

Action groups:

1: Toggle Basic Jet

2: Toggle Turbojet

3: Toggle ladder

0: Extend antenna

May be flown unmanned.

Download: ASMX

Status: Completed and Released Only Works in 0.24 and below!

 

 

VIWT (Variable Incidence Wing Testbed)

Testbed for Variable Incidence Wings for STOL and greater maneuverability infight.

 

 

High angle of incidence. Short takeoff

 

 

 

Wings level.

Download: http://www./download/q9by26u5bq4aq9j/VIWT-3.craft

Status: Testing CompletedOnly Works in 0.25 and below!

 

 

ZF-21A "Wasp"

Experimental VTOL with a swiveling engine.

 

 

Lift Fan on and main engine swiveled down. Vertical Liftoff

 

 

 

Lift Fan off and main engine swiveled inline. Horizontal flight

How to Fly:

Vertical Takeoff:

1. Throttle up to 2 notches above 1/3 throttle.

2. ASAS on, fine controls on.

3.Parking brakes on.

4. Press 1 and 2 to activate engines.

Transition to level flight:

1. Right click the docking port attached to the rear engine and click undock.

2. Throttle up to 100%.

3. Once part of the docking port is over the other, press 1 to deactivate the lift fan and the engine should snap in place.

4. If the engine isn't docked to the top docking port yet, pitch up and then pitch down.

Vertical Landing:

1. Throttle down to 0%

2. Right click the docking port attached to the rear engine and click undock. The engine should dock to the lower docking port.

3. Press 1 to activate the lift fan.

4. Throttle to 4 notches above 0% throttle

5. pitch up a little to kill as much horizontal velocity as possible without flipping over.

6. Carefully land the plane.

Flight Tips:

• Wait until the plane has stopped before dropping the rear engine if you want to takeoff vertically after you have landed horizontally.
• Since the rear engine is angled, the plane will move forward while hovering.
• The plane has a tendency to yaw right due the fact that there is only on docking port on the left side holding the rear engine.
• Pitch up while rolling to prevent it from flipping and stalling.

 

Download: ZF-21A

Status: Completed and Released Only Works in 0.20!

 

 

Edited February 1, 2016 by Giggleplex777
Added "Future Projects" section.

[Giggleplex777]

I can imagine mounting a pair of the swiveling engines on an aircraft to make it a VTOL without the extra bulk of the lift fan. Hmm...

[Itchono]

Wow! Are you using lander leg hinges to swivel the engines on the VTOL?

This sir, is absolutely amazing! I've failed to make a swivel engine with Infernal Robotics hinges let alone 100% stock hinges! Congratulations on your innovations.

[Giggleplex777]

Wow! Are you using lander leg hinges to swivel the engines on the VTOL?

This sir, is absolutely amazing! I've failed to make a swivel engine with Infernal Robotics hinges let alone 100% stock hinges! Congratulations on your innovations.

Landing land hinges are too weak. The engine moves itself.

This is what it looks like barebones:

Edited July 11, 2013 by Giggleplex777

[DisarmingBaton5]

That's amazing. Ever thought about trying to build a bomb bay with the hinges?

[Giggleplex777]

That's amazing. Ever thought about trying to build a bomb bay with the hinges?

Yeah, but sgt_flyer can do that better than I can.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Giggleplex777

[Naten]

Please explain how those things work. I would love to know, so I can make a Harrier or something for my entertainment. I won't steal any of your ideas.

[Giggleplex777]

Please explain how those things work. I would love to know, so I can make a Harrier or something for my entertainment. I won't steal any of your ideas.

Structural Pylons, Docking ports and engines.

[Lazro]

Man, you just LOVE those structural bendy hinges Pylons, don't you?

[Giggleplex777]

Man, you just LOVE those structural bendy hinges Pylons, don't you?

Yup!

_______________________

I've already started arming the SET (now the ZF-20)!

[Naten]

So, the Pylon is so weak, you use the engine thrust to bend it down, where a docking port catches it?

[Giggleplex777]

So, the Pylon is so weak, you use the engine thrust to bend it down, where a docking port catches it?

Yup.

See this thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/39481-new-motorized-hinge-system-now-with-a-cargo-spaceship

sgt_flyer made a pretty good cargo bay with this trick.

[cesarcurado]

They look amazing, just awesome.

My fav is the first one, the "SET".

Also I love how you stay away from the "patterns" of design, making such aircraft.

[Giggleplex777]

I might release the SET (now the ZF-21 Wasp) tomorrow.

[Giggleplex777]

One more aircraft today: the CESTOL (Cruise Efficient Short Take-Off and Landing)

There's a passenger version too. It holds 12 Kerbals (including the pilot).

[firerider521]

My gosh... That swivel engine is BEAUTIFUL!

[MoreasGamin]

I'm tryind to build a VTOL using your system and... Well, it's kinda working

The problem is that action groups don't seem to work to undock the docking ports...

[sgt_flyer]

you should link your two engines, put a single structural pylon in the middle, and have also only a single docking port with two target positions. (also, it can help, keep in mind that the parts behind the structural pylon can freely clip through the rest of the ship, without damaging something. (maybe except if you move through animated parts, like engines or control surfaces), even the docking port can freely clip through the docking port you just undocked it from (as they won't magnetize yet), to reach another docking port further ahead of the swivel course.

[Giggleplex777]

you should link your two engines, put a single structural pylon in the middle, and have also only a single docking port with two target positions. (also, it can help, keep in mind that the parts behind the structural pylon can freely clip through the rest of the ship, without damaging something. (maybe except if you move through animated parts, like engines or control surfaces), even the docking port can freely clip through the docking port you just undocked it from (as they won't magnetize yet), to reach another docking port further ahead of the swivel course.

I did exactly that. There's a bar that connect the two engines so I can undock it and both will move at the same time. In fact, that was what the early versions of the SET had it. I didn't keep it because it was too heavy. I'll try it on a bigger plane next time.

[Giggleplex777]

I just released the ZF-21A!

The B variant will have 2 missiles.

[zombiphylax]

Excellent job with the VTOL, I hadn't seen the cargo bay yet, but I like how you adapted it.

[Giggleplex777]

Excellent job with the VTOL, I hadn't seen the cargo bay yet, but I like how you adapted it.

It was actually my own design. The cargo bay is based off the same concept, but it's a bit different.

Mine's powered by engines and the cargo bay is powered by landing legs.

Early version of my hinges:

Edited July 12, 2013 by Giggleplex777

[zombiphylax]

Yeah, those lander leg systems seem really finicky, yours seems to be a bit more stable.

[iDan122]

WHY DOES IT SAY "INCOMPATIBLE WITH THIS VERSION OF KSP???" I have 0.20

[Giggleplex777]

WHY DOES IT SAY "INCOMPATIBLE WITH THIS VERSION OF KSP???" I have 0.20

Do you have 0.20.2?