Spaceplane Jet Engines Shut Off Unevenly

[penguinmanners]

Hello there ksp forum! My spaceplane steers left when I reach high altitudes, close to where my jet engines stop functioning. Here are some screenshots of my issue.

http://imgur.com/P7WQEXb,if5PQYA,jORBgZC#0

Any idea what is causing this? General tips for spaceplanes appreciated.

[Amram]

If it is the engine shutdown that's getting you, they don't get equal air, the first one gets everything it needs, then the next, so one will always starve first. Which ever is placed first gets its air first, whichever was placed last starves first. if you place them with symmetry, then the one you placed is the first and the one symmetry added is next and will starve first. There isn't much you can do to avoid that that i know of, short of not having your engines away from the center of mass to reduce their kick when one flames out, or to shut them down a tad early to avoid the issue entirely.

Alternatively, a little redesign might make the off center thrust a useful thing.

For example, if you stack them one on top of the other, then you get a pitch instead of a yaw when one flames out, and i've found the pitching is often easier to recover from when it occurs. If its a spaceplane, placing the upper engine second will make it flame out first, so you get a sudden upward pitching motion when the upper engine flames out, which is a good time to trigger your rocket engine too since you'll get that helpful upward kick to get you pointed right.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Amram

[Scorched]

I guess you could try setting up an action group to close the intakes.

[numerobis]

Two solutions: first, don't flame out. Reduce your throttle instead.

Second, if you have a design with an odd number of jets, build your craft, then just before you launch, delete the middle jet and place an identical new one in its place. That new engine is the one that will flame out first, which means you'll still have symmetric thrust for the instant after it flames out.

[Dispatcher]

Try the new RAPIER engines out, if you haven't yet. Yet the above advice is good. It all hinges on your design preferences and piloting techniques (including the use of Action groups). Good luck on your SSTOs!

[Sirrobert]

Switch to rocket engines before you run out of air.

[TheDarkStar]

If you need to see what your current fuel/RCS fuel/electricity/air amounts are, there's a tab in the top right corner you can click.