The White Knight (virgin galactic inspired)

[mellojoe]

This took several versions. The final version uses part clipping simply to stack intakes. It works and is orbital without it, but it makes it much easier. I don't have the patience to wait around, so I just zerg-stack some intakes and it simplifies everything. All else is completely stock.

Follows normal SSTO plane liftoff profile: Take off as a regular plane, climb to 10k, level off some, increase velocity to beyond 1700m/s while increasing altitude beyond 23km, drop the space-ship, use rocket to climb to space. Unlike the real White Knight, mine can actually make orbit and stay there. The real one is only sub-orbital.

It can then de-orbit and land as a conventional plane.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/723chvrgwd4621p/eMFlZwtPa3

Dropbox Link for full album

for reference, here is the actual White Knight 2

Edited September 13, 2013 by mellojoe

[TheAndrewTaco]

Is this White Knight capable of traveling to and returning from, say, the Crusades?

For real though, well done! I love the design. Not quite SSTO but I would agree it is in the style of Virgin Galactic or SpaceX.

[Karmacoma]

nice plane you should try the challenge someone made up, even tho the point system is a bit wrong

challenge is here

i did a replica of White knight 1 and spaceshipone

[mellojoe]

That's awesome. I was looking at WhiteKnite 1. Yours is a much closer replica than mine. I started out thinking I was going to make a replica, but then I just sort of did my own thing. The concept actually works extremely well. I've never really been able to make SSTO planes to work. My most recent attempt works, but runs completely out of fuel and requires 1/3 of my onboard RCS to hit orbit. This, however, is a much easier plane to fly, much easier ship to get into orbit. You drop so much weight and drag when you switch to rocket power.

I'm thinking of trying another option that uses an even larger spaceship simply because the concept works so well.

[Karmacoma]

That's awesome. I was looking at WhiteKnite 1. Yours is a much closer replica than mine. I started out thinking I was going to make a replica, but then I just sort of did my own thing. The concept actually works extremely well. I've never really been able to make SSTO planes to work. My most recent attempt works, but runs completely out of fuel and requires 1/3 of my onboard RCS to hit orbit. This, however, is a much easier plane to fly, much easier ship to get into orbit. You drop so much weight and drag when you switch to rocket power.

I'm thinking of trying another option that uses an even larger spaceship simply because the concept works so well.

Thanks, its a bit of a pig to fly tho still could use a bit of balancing but it did what it was meant to and i have made a couple of others since that one that are more practical/useful. Spaceplanes are fairly easy if you use enough air intakes (8 per engine seems to work for me.) Its just a matter of getting them above 2Km/s and up as high as you can (i normally go for 36Km minimum) before switching to the rocket engine of your choice. Once you have that kind of speed and altitude it only a bit of fuel to make orbit.

I agree tho its a great concept, all i need is $200000 to try it for real! hurry up lottery win

[mellojoe]

I went back and played with my mother-plane, and I've not got her to where she can land as well. I hadn't really paid attention to that side of the operation, but now we are FULLY OPERATIONAL!

Essentially, we just needed a few struts. The original design had both halves of the mother-plane connected only by an octo-strut. Some additional regular struts welded the two halves together.

[Aqua667]

For that design, turn on part clipping and slap a turbojet on the back of SpaceShipOne, right on the aerospike. But make sure to lead to fuel line to both engines first. Then add few RAMs on onto the wings. Then if might be able to SSTO (well, JATO SSTO). I'm not sure, but parts might block thrust, I have no idea if that's implemented or not.