Arctic Eagle: My first trip to the North Pole

[GrizzlyJones]

My first post, so here it goes

Well lately I've been hooked on making "Space" Planes, especially since I started using the Firespitter Propellers Mod, I love it! So last night after having update to 0.21, of course the SPH is the first place I went. I made some small little jet, that was pretty decent, but I wanted something better (Bigger and Faster!) So I decided to take after a pic of someone else's craft i had seen, something like a giant flying riangle, with the engines and cockpit underneath. Now it didn't really come out like that, the wings weren't form like the big Dorito I was going for, cause I guess I was just being lazy i guess, and this was just supposed to be a test craft for the idea.

Now when it came to flying this thing, took off pretty good, i had flipped an earlier model very violently but anywho...in flight it was, well not the best, pitchin up or down when it felt like it, and had to use the softened controls (caplocks) Using the trim to level the ship worked fairly well, except for some reason eventually the trim would get funky and start flipping out, and diable my roll to the left, and only go right (I think one of my Alt keys is messed up) so mostly ened up making my own adjustments the whole time. After being up for a minute, I figured i wouldgo after the Second Space Center, but being adventurous, I just went where i though I Remember it being when I saw some map some time ago (I never found it...ooops)

So giving up I decided to just fly around Kerbin, and then wanted to see how high i could get. After getting around 10,000-15,000m i started burning up in the atmosphere, and was a man-made fire ball for while

eventually getting to 20,000m, I figured out thats where the air seems to run out and cut out my engines, but not all at the same time of course, so one sided still powere for an extra few seconds, sent me into a deadly spiral. As I was spinning out of control, one of my engines snapped off, and the uneven thrust sent me spinning worse, so I jettisoned the second side engine leaving me with the one center one...yay...

Luckily gained control and checking my map, realized I was close, and heading towards the Arctic, and made that my destination. But as i got that sweet white snow in my view on the horizon, I noticed the fuel to my remaining engine was getting fairly low, and was worried I wouldn't make it, or at least i would be stranded in the arctic. But I remembered that cause I lost two engines, there should still be some ample amount of fuel left in thier tanks, and alas there was, and i realized that you can transfer fuel between you tanks, I mean I've known you could when docking and what not, but didn't realize you could on same craft, guess I never really needed it before so...whatever. IN doing that, i drained one side first...not a good idea, cause leaving extra weight on the right side causing the plane to roll over, so struggling to empty the right side while keeping upright, I almost crashed.

Continuing on my journey with restored fuel, I came into the arctic! I was feeling proud, It was the longest flight I've made, or at least one in full control, and I've had some trouble, and made my way through it. I was really starting to appreciate this game like I hadn't before, it was awesome!

I was actually doing something rather than making some short lived craft on a useless flight. So I ended up getting near the pole, cause my compass was starting to rotate, and, well I passed it, ooops... So i circled back around, and started to power down and and get as close to the pole as I could, and BOOM I laned! I wasn't as close as I wanted to be, and cause my plane didn't really like to yaw very well, i can't taxi my way to the pole, and I din't add a ladder so I can't even make the final hike to the pole, if I ever want to return my Kerbal Home...

So here I am, landed near the North Pole on Kerbal, Successful on this Test flight of a new plane, to place I haven't been, where I hadn't even planned to go...and I've acquired a new appreciation for this amazing game.

I plan to eventually return to KSC and bring back the news to my family, but for I'll enjoy the fluffy white goodness!

[Rune]

Hint: the last engine you place on your craft flames out first. A triple engine arrangement is actually easy to keep from flameout induced spirals of doom if you do that.

[GrizzlyJones]

Well sometimes it's just the simple things that get you, and ignorance that induces it. There are probably a million little things like that, to help any ship, and I'm more about just trial and error with things like that, or at least until I get extremely frustrated!

[ixolate industries]

Nice design, there are so many things that can go wrong with a plane but yours did actually succeed in getting to the North pole so although it could be improved with all those little tricks it seems to function well enough.

Have you thought of making a rescue plane with more fuel to save Jeb so he's not stranded there?

[GrizzlyJones]

Well right now I'm in the process of trying to build a recovery vehicle, as I've got some Command pods returned from orbit that I want to pick up the crew from.

But with this plane it still has plenty of fuel on board, and I should be able to make it back to KSC, and if I didn't have fuel I've got not way to refuel it...

[Tw1]

The pole is a cool place to go. Good luck rescuing Jeb!

[GrizzlyJones]

Well it sure was a nice flight.

And I have thrown some passenger parts (stuck with duct tape of course!) onto an existing Bi-plane jet I have, and have rescued three of my Kerbals...don't bring up the fact that two of them were stranded from the first tries at rescuing one...