Aeris 3A SSTO - Itty Bitty Space Plane!

[Immashift]

So I set about creating an SSTO from the Aeris 3A - the plane nobody expects anything from, and the one only ever used to Buzz the various KSC buildings.

I don't consider it too huge an achievement because of how well it turned out, but may I present this:

All images clickable for fullsize

I wanted to stay as true to the stock design as the original Aeris, but have it be a functional, viable SSTO.

It retains all of the Aeris' maneuverability - still takes off WELL BEFORE the end of the runway:

Can still do all the aerial acrobatics the stock aeris is known for too! Here's a picture of the underside:

And here's the obligatory orbit shot:

The vessel comes in at 6 tons and 35 parts (lolololol). Great for crappy computers.

Also note it has RCS and a monoprop tank for docking with, as well as a Jr. port on the underside. Also, the landing gear lights can function as docking lights!

Action Groups:

1: Turbos

2: LV-909s

3: Turbos/LVs/Intakes (all in one *I want to go to orbit now* button).

4: Just intakes

Flight profile:

1: hit 1 for turbo activation, push full throttle, and pull off the runway as soon as you can.

2: Pitch to 45 degrees and lock it with SAS

3: Phyiscs warp (yup) as fast as you're comfortable with (craft can handle 4x) to 18km up (yes that far up).

4: pitch down to 15 degrees.

5: accelerate like nuts to about 1700m/s, pitch up as necessary so pro-grade vector doesn't go below horizon.

6: At roughly 1700m/s and as high as you can get it, hit 3 to convert from atmo flight to space flight mode, and immediately pitch to 45 degrees.

7: Hold 45 degree pitch till you reach desired apoapsis, then cut throttle and coast to apoapsis (touch it up as necessary till out of atmosphere - yeah it accelerates that fast).

8: circularize at apoapsis (durr)....

You should have over 500m/s to mess around with once in orbit.

.CRAFT FILE

Note this does not come with MechJeb plugin or part, which was only used for precise testing purposes.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2gU8i82Ok0VZV9UMF9MZnhpTVE/edit?usp=sharing

Enjoy.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Immashift

[Senja123]

Awesome! Downloading when I get back to my computer.

[Justin Kerbice]

This craft is nice and quite effective (I've been able to go over 1000 m/s near 22km altitude with jet engine only), but the single nuclear reactor is not enough and a few flat solar panels on wings and fuselage help a lot, I completely lost control due to lack of electrical energy on my first flight.

[speedboiae86]

No pics, no clicks.