Help! B9 aerospace design is uncontrollable.

[AfterburnerDave]

So the other day I got Bac9 aerospace pack, and it got this sweet little F-22 style engine, they vector at 20+- degrees and probably means they can make you plane super agile.

But the thing is that they are wayyyyyyyyy too agile, I always get flat spins, crazy rolls and angle of attack at nearly 90 degrees, sometimes even at 180 degrees. My new jet bomber seems to do nicely with those engines, but on smaller fighters they go crazy!

So can anyone help me with some designing tips and trick when it comes to thrust vectoring fighters. Images and examples are much appreciated.

[Superfish57]

I'll get on KSP soon and take a look at what I can do for you. I'll change this post with some tips later.

[espm400]

The only design I have that employs that engine is my F-15 MTD/ACTIVE. It's very maneuverable, but fairly stable, not to mention it can take some pretty rough landings.

Keep in mind that a) It's strictly atmospheric, I'm using FAR, and c) I'm also using an XBox 360 controller.

[TheHengeProphet]

A screenshot of the craft you are working with would be helpful in telling you what's up with it.

espm400, those are some impressive planes! Do I see an F-18, F-4, and F-5 in there with that F-15?

[espm400]

A screenshot of the craft you are working with would be helpful in telling you what's up with it.

espm400, those are some impressive planes! Do I see an F-18, F-4, and F-5 in there with that F-15?

These are from .20.2 and I currently have yet to switch them over as I haven't played much .21 (been taking a break and playing some X3: Albion Prelude). However, I can't remember all of them, but the F-15, F-18, and F-16(far right) all have their CoL directly behind the CoM (touching the yellow ball), and in the case of the F-15, a bit above as well.

Also, from left to right:

- YF-23: very much WIP, but employs those same engines

- F/A-18: most stable one here, but not very maneuverable due to the stock control surfaces

- F-15 MTD/ACTIVE: The best aircraft I've made in KSP. It can hold a stalled turn (see: Pugachev's Cobra maneuver)

- random 0.5m body drone-type-thing: Was just a testbed for some other things (though I don't recall exactly what )

- F-16: Just a basic jet. Haven't used it much, since at the time I was still enamored with that F-15.

Background:

- near - X-15: Rocket-powered test plane. Never did get the drop craft to work, but the plane itself flies.

- far - X-29: Just as maneuverable as the F-15, with a minor hitch; as soon as you get close to the sound barrier, it has a tendency to lose control instantly and detach itself from its control surfaces and engine. Still haven't got it supersonic...

Pre-post edit: Before I posted I remembered I did have one SPH pic of an old version of the F-15. I'll see if I can get those planes into .21 tonight and update with more pics, but no promises, as I'm currently in the middle of building my first gaming rig in over a decade.

[Hodo]

First post here, but I have been fiddling around a lot with the flight in this game.

I have these mods currently installed.

-FAR

-B9

-KSPX

-Kerbal Engineer

-Deadly Re-entry

-Arcturus Thrust Corrector

-CrewManifest

-TacFuelBalancer

-SubassemblyManager

I wanted a bit more realism in my setup so I went with those and they made a huge difference in how planes react in atmospheric flight.

I have three aircraft that are stable in flight, one is nimble and slow, at any speed below .72mach it is able to turn 180deg in the width of the aircraft hanger on the field.

The other two are like turning pregnant yaks. One I expected it be that bad, its a cargo and retrieval plane. The other is a hypersonic high alt test plane, I was testing to see if I could build a SSTO aircraft. The SSTO side failed but I build a plane that can fly at 25km at 6.5mach and be completely stable.

The three things I learned with plane building in game is.

1- Center of lift should be on or slightly behind, but not far behind the Center of Balance.

2- Having control surfaces or stabilizers behind engine exhaust is bad.

3- Center of Thrust should always be in line with the Center of Balance. To high or to low will lead to the plane spinning nose down or up.

With those thrust vectoring engines, it is best to lock the gimbles on take off. And have them set to an action group. I highly suggest the variable geometry intakes with them. Otherwise you will lose to much intake air and stall one engine or the other causing a flat spin.

Lastly good luck, and have fun.