Space Cowboy's Easy Glider SSTO [0.21.1]

[Guest]

30000 without rocket:

Circularized orbit with a bit of fuel and lox remaining:

What can I say? This is the first stock craft I have done in a long time. I recently built my first successful SSTO with non stock parts, and more or less "unlocked the secret" for what it takes to do that, for myself at least. I decided to try SSTO again with stock parts. I got a little one in orbit quickly but it was out of balance landing. Later I settled on a 4 jet 2 rocket combo. It was crude. The only thing remaing from the original design is the wing, which I had sketched on paper at work. It's nothing spectacular, however it is directly inspired by the airliner wing from the B9 mod.

If you run it out of gas and oxidizer, it will glide quite well with no SAS and no trim! I discovered this by accident. Logically, it should glide well with full or partially full sideways tanks - which do empty last btw.

Spaceport / download: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/space-cowboys-easy-glider/

Questions and comments please!

What I would enjoy seeing is someone dock it and head off to another planet. I have no idea how to do either of those things.

Forgot to mention it has good re-entry handling characteristics - stable and positive control.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Guest

[KissSh0t]

Clever fuel layout.. very good : >

[Guest]

Thanks. I had made an SSTO with 6 of those short 180 barrels, side by side, to keep fuel on COM throughout burn. Then I decided why not try transverse tubes. I figured the cool way would be with the yellow 6 port docking thing. Big mistake. It is not capable of symmetry. There is a simple CFG hack to make it capable, but I am trying not to go there at the moment. Everything - the tanks, the engines, landing gear, were done without the help of symmetry. Plus that 6 adapter weighs a lot too. I was too far in to back out of it when I learned all this.

[KissSh0t]

Does it handle re-entry and landing ok?

[Guest]

I did a couple and it was real docile. It's super balanced.

[KissSh0t]

Very nice : >

It's one thing to go SSTO.... it's another to land again with the same craft and in one piece xD

[Guest]

I will be doing edited movies sometime. Watching full flights is boring. Probably gonna demo everything in my fleet.