Race To The North Pole

[stardust0123]

Hello everyone, stardust0123 here with a challenge!

After watching kurtjmac fly is spaceplane tediously for an hour to the northern pole of the beloved planet Kerbin, I set out to do it in a record setting time. My spaceplane, the Z-3 Super Sonic Explorer was able to reach the North Pole in what I believe to be the fastest time (16:42). Just to prove how I did it, I made a video about it on my YT Channel.

But what I am here for, is to see if the KSP community can beat that time (16:42)!

Regular Mode!

Rules:

-Spaceplanes Only

-No Mods

-No using the debugging client

A Video or pictures of you completing the mission would be much appreciated! Post your times and video/pictures and you will get a rank on this post!

1. glacierre (9:42)

2. KinkyFerrets (11:16)

3. stardust0123 (13:02)

HARD MODE!

Hard mode consists of flying over the Kerbin North Pole, Landing, and then returning to within 5 km of KSC. May the person with the best time win!

Rules:

-Jet Engines Only

-Spaceplanes Only

-No mods or debugging client

1. stardust0123 (36:43)

2. searlefm (38:43)

3.

Sincerely, stardust0123

A KSP fanatic

Edited August 8, 2013 by stardust0123
New Challenge portion

[Wolfmaster112]

I, a newby to KSP shall accept your challenge.

What was your top speed btw?? (i dont have to bandwidth to watch the video )

(i have mods on my client but i will only use all stock pieces since the mods are mechjeb and B3 aerospace thing)

Edited August 3, 2013 by Wolfmaster112
more info

[KinkyFerrets]

Just lettin you know, a challenge like this was posted before the massacre. I think the fastest speed was about 10 minutes. Found my old submission: (MechJeb used as proof of crossing the NP)

Crossing the North Pole, 9 minutes 31 seconds

End Flight data screen.

Edited August 3, 2013 by KinkyFerrets

[Wolfmaster112]

thanks for pointing that speed out, but i feel the need to say this, Aeroplanes can't get to that altitude in 21.1 nearly as easy b/c something was changes (at least for me i've built 15 or so unuque planes none of them can get over 25K without running out of air also, i can't get over 2.0K speed anyways :( aerodynamicy is my weakness

edit: Question? What is The Massacre ??

My first time

gonna try for 15.00 or less i litterly built the plane in 3 minutes

Edited August 3, 2013 by Wolfmaster112

[KinkyFerrets]

thanks for pointing that speed out, but i feel the need to say this, Aeroplanes can't get to that altitude in 21.1 nearly as easy b/c something was changes (at least for me i've built 15 or so unuque planes none of them can get over 25K without running out of air also, i can't get over 2.0K speed anyways :( aerodynamicy is my weakness

edit: Question? What is The Massacre ??

My first time

gonna try for 15.00 or less i litterly built the plane in 3 minutes

Fair enough. Once again, MechJeb used for Coords only. Left the main thing open so you could see that the Utilities isnt green, so the balancer isnt being used.

Crossing the NP at 11:16.

[stardust0123]

Fair enough. Once again, MechJeb used for Coords only. Left the main thing open so you could see that the Utilities isnt green, so the balancer isnt being used.

Crossing the NP at 11:16.

I do believe you take my #1 spot! Now my race is on to build an even more efficient rocket.

[FearlessWarren]

Heres mine

I had lost air flow to one of my engines earlier on in my flight causing me to drop from 20000M to 3000M and lost about 3 minutes on my flight.

Oh well, I'll make another attempt later.

[rockytop00]

Interesting challenge... question, is it time to land at the north pole or fly over it? A

[KinkyFerrets]

Fly over it, it would appear. Although it would be nice if we can clarify if it's jet only, or no sub orbital hops.

[Tw1]

edit: Question? What is The Massacre ??

A big glitch that happened in April, where pretty much everything after August 2012 was lost, threads, blogs, profiles, the lot.

Also known as the Great Forum Wipe, the Forum Kraken Attack, and the Big April Derp.

My last flight to the pole was done with a mainsail plane (shuttle orbiter, really), with the infinite fuel cheat, so it's not exactly eligible...

[Apache600]

Over flew in 14:45. Using no mods, or even Mech Jeb. And with nothing but jet engines. Landed at the pole at something like 22:00 with just more than half my fuel left. Jeb went on an EVA and found the exact spot of the north pole. Camera does some funny things once there ... and it got Jeb stuck in the terrain sideways, and then he turned into of puff of smoke RIP Jeb. The north pole is a heartless killer. DO NOT GO THERE. haha.

Top speed ~1550m/s at 25,500m

http://i.imgur.com/gQiSsT2.jpg

- Apache600

[stardust0123]

Interesting challenge... question, is it time to land at the north pole or fly over it? A

Flying over it. I am about to add a section of flying there, landing, and THEN coming back.

[Planetkerbin]

I was flying over snow at 9:00 even with a lot of flameouts. top speed f 1780 m/s at 23000m

then i decide to glide towards ground.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Planetkerbin

[Planetkerbin]

Normal Mode:

Second atempt with a second engine, not much diference :S

I was flying over snow at 8:59!! Just that one big flameout at the end

http://imgur.com/a/jp0cZ#0

Edited August 5, 2013 by Planetkerbin
second atemp to challenge

[searlefm]

may i present the 650 (a slightly modified version of an aircraft i used on a different challenge (the 700 challenge))

so i was over the ice cap and circling away high in only 15 minutes and managed a clean landing by the 18 minute mark,

then i immediately took of and headed back to the space center.

Once i got to the space center i decided to turn far to tight caucusing the non-strutted craft to collide engines wing and genuinely itself together that ripped the engines from the craft.

And then somehow landed far far far to fast loosing a wing but bob survived.

somehow i had enoth fule just to make it,

all in all it was a good flight totaling in at 38:43 and would have taken bloody hours if i flew the thing in low atmosphere only.

Edited August 5, 2013 by searlefm
gramatical mistake

[stardust0123]

Here is my own submission and update to my previous scores. I went over the North Pole at 13:03 and Landed back at KSC at 36:35

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEIdem6Eedg&feature=c4-overview&list=UUtzVxHJ8CR-g2Hyvs3OBgHA

[searlefm]

nice flight stardust0123

but couldn't you have landed on the runway it only costs you a minute or 2, and if your woried abought landing on the runways then i might have stayed in first place on hard mode, Gaarrrr!

but all in all it was a good flight and a nice craft well done

[glacierre]

Long time I did not make a challenge (I was one of the erased in "The Massacre")

I went for the minimalistic design, with very good results. I have no mechjeb so no accurate way to measure where the north pole is, between 9:25 and 9:40 the north point was escaping from me, so I assume I passed nearby around that time. By 10:18 I was already on the other side of the ice cap, so comfortably faster than 11 minutes in any case.

The album http://imgur.com/a/n7vsP#0

[stardust0123]

nice flight stardust0123

but couldn't you have landed on the runway it only costs you a minute or 2, and if your woried abought landing on the runways then i might have stayed in first place on hard mode, Gaarrrr!

but all in all it was a good flight and a nice craft well done

Haha that one time where professionality got to the best of you. I knew that using my time to turn and land on the runway was unnecesary so I just decided to land next to Astronaut Training Centre/Mission Control and stop as soon as possible. Besides, it met the quota of within 5 km.

To accomplish a better time I decided to create an entirely new spaceplane, but in the end I determined it was lacking control and would have spun out multiple times. After I pulled the plug on that, I went back to my previous Z-3 design and ripped out more luxury parts like ASAS and an extra fuel tank. I mean, who needs an Avionics Package when you can just micromanage every aspect of your altitude and speed, which I also broke a personal record of 26km high and 1.6km/s with running TurboJets. After that was completed, I moved on to my voyage to Duna, which at the moment has been stalled becuase I have no idea how to use the Sr. Docking Ports.

Anyways, thanks

[searlefm]

my record for a running TurboJets is only 30KM~ with my white bird SR-1 that somehow gets air at much higher heights but the terbojets just stop after a center altitude, I'm not sure why but its a slow craft only achiving 75mp/s by the end of the runway and and somehow flys but cant relay turn once it gets up to speed and altitude.

[GusTurbo]

Do the rules require that this be done on jets only, or does any "space plane" count?

[searlefm]

it would appear the challenge do not require you to use jet engines but all of us have only used the so far