Spaceplanes - Function over form

[Khatharr]

So I recently started messing with the SPH for the first time, and I was surprised to find that it was sort of fun to tinker. Whenever I see spaceplanes in videos they're always either replicas of real-world planes or insane behemoths made with hundreds of precariously edged-together (or just blatantly clipping) parts. I'm not really interested in either of those things, but I find that I really am interested in experimenting and making efficient planes, hopefully eventually ones that can fly straight into space.

I just unlocked high-altitude flight yesterday (after restarting career for the 100th time) and I was able to make a little 3-engine 'kite' that can leap out of atmo like a dolphin and get a 60km apoapsis. It's not really anything like a real-world plane, but I'm experimenting with it and seeing if I can actually create a vehicle that can get orbital that way.

What I mean is, I'm not interested in making efficient planes as much as I am in rethinking aeronautical engineering from the ground up and seeing what I can come up with.

Does anyone else do this?

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

I dont know if this will answer your question but, yes...

I have built a Spaceplane and I docked it to a drive stage in Orbit around Kerbin which will take it to Laythe.

Seems the only appropriate Biome for an airbreathing Plane to me, so I will only use it when I am going there.

It's only purpose is to bring a Science Spare Part down there which contains all Science Parts.

Then the Kerbal will scrape the science out of These parts and place them into the Cockpit and discard the Spare Part.

Form did not matter, allthough I dont like Part Clipping and too big ships.

[Rakaydos]

I've done nuclear powered flybys of Eeloo and slingshotted from Jool into interseller space, but I only recently started to mess around with jets myself.

The key, it seems, is having 2+intakes per Turbojet. With a fairly basic design I called the Hammerhead (because of the bi-coupler that mounted the doube-intake in front of the cockpit) I was able to reach a 60km apoapse (after my engines cut out at 35km), RCS to a 60 km PERIAPSE with a 90 km apoapse, and circularize from there.

[Pds314]

Really? I find that most orbital spaceplanes, SSTOs in particular, are tiny or medium sized, often running on a single jet engine and some R 48-7S rockets or a single RAPIER. In fact, I just built a 340-part, 330 tonne spaceplane specifically to have one that could carry 77 Kerbals to other planets (unfortunately not Jool, just about 200 m/s too slow for that).

[Pds314]

I've done nuclear powered flybys of Eeloo and slingshotted from Jool into interseller space, but I only recently started to mess around with jets myself.

The key, it seems, is having 2+intakes per Turbojet. With a fairly basic design I called the Hammerhead (because of the bi-coupler that mounted the doube-intake in front of the cockpit) I was able to reach a 60km apoapse (after my engines cut out at 35km), RCS to a 60 km PERIAPSE with a 90 km apoapse, and circularize from there.

Well, It is in FAR, but my current 77-Kerbal interplanetary spacebus has just 32 intakes on 30 RAPIERS and 3 Turbojets.

[Aragosnat]

Really? I find that most orbital spaceplanes, SSTOs in particular, are tiny or medium sized, often running on a single jet engine and some R 48-7S rockets or a single RAPIER. In fact, I just built a 340-part, 330 tonne spaceplane specifically to have one that could carry 77 Kerbals to other planets (unfortunately not Jool, just about 200 m/s too slow for that).

What no refueling? Or even with refueling not enough? If not enough with refueling how possable is it to do an Interplanatery dock ops?

[Mobjack]

An efficient plane is easy to make if you start small. Don't use more than one jet engine to start out with. Once you can make a small plane, then you can experiment making something bigger.

[Anton P. Nym]

I started building SSTOs because of the challenge more than any "practical" aspects, but after I got to Laythe (and discovered that the dry mass of my landers was enough to make it either a scrubbed mission or a much longer mission until I could send a LOT more fuel) I really started looking at making some lighter and more efficient crafts.

I've just made one now that's about a third lighter than the birds I dragged out to Jool, and some unmanned SSTO probes with all-up weights less than half the fuel load of my old Skybolt designs.

-- Steve

[tobjv]

I had trouble with space planes and balancing them. This thread helped me out a lot in how to build them efficiently. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52080-Basic-Aircraft-Design-Explained-Simply-With-Pictures

[Levelord]

My spaceplane is more about form and my interplanetary drive to carry it is more functional looking. For me they look nice when combined together with an industrial feel to it.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Levelord

[dudester28]

One major guideline I abide by while building is to avoid airhogging. Not only does it look unsightly, it's completely unrealistic. I limit each engine to only have one inline intake maximum. I like B9 Aerospace's radial intakes.

[Voculus]

Holy buckets, Levelord! What an outstanding vid that was! I love the ingenuity of your designs. Proof that form and function can coexist as equals!

I'm curious as to how you achieved that camera work, and what mod you're using for the cockpit. My flight sim hairs stood up on end the instant I saw it!

[AmpsterMan]

I tend to follow form pretty heavily because of a wide plethora of houserules that limit me. I don't see why function and form are diametrically opposed, however.

As a wise little girl once said:

Why not both?

[Moar Boosters]

That's one of the things I love about KSP. You can built unconventional craft that are not only efficient, but also look good. The trick is to hide all the ugly bits within the design.

[Khatharr]

I dont know if this will answer your question but, yes...

I have built a Spaceplane and I docked it to a drive stage in Orbit around Kerbin which will take it to Laythe.

Seems the only appropriate Biome for an airbreathing Plane to me, so I will only use it when I am going there.

It's only purpose is to bring a Science Spare Part down there which contains all Science Parts.

Then the Kerbal will scrape the science out of These parts and place them into the Cockpit and discard the Spare Part.

Form did not matter, allthough I dont like Part Clipping and too big ships.

Yeah, that's kind of how I'm looking at it. I see that this thread is already done for, though.

I had trouble with space planes and balancing them. This thread helped me out a lot in how to build them efficiently. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52080-Basic-Aircraft-Design-Explained-Simply-With-Pictures

Nice link. Thank you.

I dont know if this will answer your question but, yes...

I have built a Spaceplane and I docked it to a drive stage in Orbit around Kerbin which will take it to Laythe.

Seems the only appropriate Biome for an airbreathing Plane to me, so I will only use it when I am going there.

It's only purpose is to bring a Science Spare Part down there which contains all Science Parts.

Then the Kerbal will scrape the science out of These parts and place them into the Cockpit and discard the Spare Part.

Form did not matter, allthough I dont like Part Clipping and too big ships.

I had trouble with space planes and balancing them. This thread helped me out a lot in how to build them efficiently. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52080-Basic-Aircraft-Design-Explained-Simply-With-Pictures

Nice link. Thank you.

[Cupcake...]

Kind of gatecrashing the spaceplane party here but you can get great efficiency from just a pair of jet engines.

Cupcake...

[Aghanim]

The ultimate function over form spacecraft:

Sure, for some of you it looks ugly as hell, but it could go SSTO with proper additions, it survives 1km drop without SAS and engine power yet it could still fly normally, and have enough volume to hold the orange tank

But I will make that into a proper looking spacecraft in the future...

[Levelord]

Holy buckets, Levelord! What an outstanding vid that was! I love the ingenuity of your designs. Proof that form and function can coexist as equals!

I'm curious as to how you achieved that camera work, and what mod you're using for the cockpit. My flight sim hairs stood up on end the instant I saw it!

The cockpit interface mod is from RasterPropMonitor: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57603-0-23-RasterPropMonitor-make-your-IVA-a-glass-cockpit-%28v0-14%29-24-Jan

The camera I believe is Kerbcam. The same one Cupcake uses for his videos.