The runway burm needs to go.

[regex]

Am I really the first one to mention it's a Berm? O_o

It's been bugging me all day too.

[Cranium]

Removing the burm? Definitely. Might I also suggest lengthening the runway for larger planes? My Heavy tanker just can't get the speed required before clipping the end of the burm.

[SkyHook]

Just did some sleuthing and calculation, and discovered that the runway is exactly 1800m X 50m on its landing surface, which is about 5900 feet, or 1.12 miles. The Space shuttle landing facility's runway is about 15,000 feet, or 3 miles long. I think that a runway with doubled length and width would be welcomed, just much later.

[Sethnizzle]

I like it, I use it to test the jumping abilities of my rovers.

Same here. Until they add an official rover testing facility (crosses fingers) they need to keep as much interesting terrain around the KSC as possible.

[Goldham]

I think it could be a small bit larger but It takes practice to land in general, landing is often one of the hardest parts of flying. (Although I use a joystick so i dont have many problems with squirreliness)

[BFGfreak]

I actually took a few measurements with a radar altimeter, and from my readings the berm is smallest where you spawn at 1 meter, for the most part it stays about constant until the final quarter of the runway where the terrain begins to get a little uneven, with the largest discrepancy between runway and terrain being at the far end of the runway at 3 meters. That said the ramp does remain at a constant angle throughout the entire length of the runway. Also for those claiming that the berm gets in the way of landing, I should point out that those spot lights on the western end do have colision meshes enabled, so even if the runway was perfectly flat, odds are it won't help you as you'll still clip those lights. (fun fact: there are no lights on the eastern end of the runway)

[espm400]

Same here. Until they add an official rover testing facility (crosses fingers) they need to keep as much interesting terrain around the KSC as possible.

I'll third this motion. Since I build my rovers in the SPH, having some form of 'terrain' within a couple metres of where your craft spawns is very agreeable. Especially if you just want to do a quick strength test with a slow rover and don't want to drive it over to the launch pad.

Personally, I'm also fine with it for landings. IRL you've got to hit a fairly small patch if you're landing a large plane anyways. Yes, it could stand to be scaled up a bit, but if you're having trouble landing your space planes there, I would suggest getting an Xbox 360 controller. They make space planes a damn-sight easier to fly.

Also, if you thing the berm at KSP is bad, apparently you've not tried landing at the island runway...

[PDCWolf]

Just did some sleuthing and calculation, and discovered that the runway is exactly 1800m X 50m on its landing surface, which is about 5900 feet, or 1.12 miles. The Space shuttle landing facility's runway is about 15,000 feet, or 3 miles long. I think that a runway with doubled length and width would be welcomed, just much later.

remember we are on a 600km world with max 2.5m diameter based planes.

[Goldham]

I'll third this motion. Since I build my rovers in the SPH, having some form of 'terrain' within a couple metres of where your craft spawns is very agreeable. Especially if you just want to do a quick strength test with a slow rover and don't want to drive it over to the launch pad.

Personally, I'm also fine with it for landings. IRL you've got to hit a fairly small patch if you're landing a large plane anyways. Yes, it could stand to be scaled up a bit, but if you're having trouble landing your space planes there, I would suggest getting an Xbox 360 controller. They make space planes a damn-sight easier to fly.

Also, if you thing the berm at KSP is bad, apparently you've not tried landing at the island runway...

Cant tell you how many fighter jets I sent flying off that Berm in my Island Occupation.

[Sir Nahme]

1- If your planes need the runway burm, you are doing something wrong.

2- Please, remove it, it causes more accidents than what it helps.

3- The runway is more than OK in size and lenght.

A way to still have the burm or simply something to kick the planes up would be to make the runway completely flat but the ground at the end a little bumpy, so even if you're out of the runway you can still have a little kick for your spaceplanes.

1- If you can't land your planes on the runway, you are doing something wrong.

2- I am indifferent to removing it, it has caused no more accidents since I learned how to land.

3- The runway is more than OK in size and length.

A way to not have the burm cause problem's on approach is to fly directly at the run way

[espm400]

Cant tell you how many fighter jets I sent flying off that Berm in my Island Occupation.

That was the main reason I got 'Lazor Guided Weapons' by Romfarer. The first couple times I attempted it (before I got FAR) was with a jet that was far too wide. After a couple incidents of going off the side and one interesting one where my wing clipped the control tower, the runway was so littered with debris that landing anything there was out of the question. Now I stick to my smaller crafts when landing there.

EDIT: Surprisingly, out of the first four crashes, not a single Kerbal died. This ended up in the design of a jet to get the eight guys stranded on the island back. A design that (after some minor changes) is now a twelve man crew transfer SSTO.

Edited July 16, 2013 by espm400

[MachXXV]

I think the berm should stay. If you run your aircraft off the runway, you're supposed to have a bad time.

[DerekL1963]

I don't normally do this... but it's "berm" not "burm".

[Deadweasel]

The current runway is 100% fine with me. If your plane can't fit or take off from that ample area, or isn't durable enough to taxi off and go somewhere else to launch, you need to re-design, or you shouldn't be building that big.

Also, if you're using the berm to get into the air, good luck using your plane anywhere else, where you can't be guaranteed a drop-off. If you can't take off from flat land, the plane is not usable and needs a redesign.

A wise man once said...

KSP is more like an Erector set than a Lego set. You can do a lot of cool things, and your imagination will take you far, but you have to stay within some kind of limits of the system.

Anyhow, the current runway is perfectly fine, consider spending more time in the SPH. Make each launch an event, not a to-do.

Huge designs fly just fine on what's there, IF you design it right.

I'm just gonna leave this here...