Should I be able to do this?

[Behemoose]

I built a very simple aircraft. It has one turbojet, two radial intakes, and a couple tanks of fuel. I'm in stable flight at about 31 km and my velocity is around 2200 m/s. I didn't think this was possible.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Behemoose

[quasarrgames]

its possible. some well-designed planes get above orbital velocity in the atmosphere!

It's quite an acheivement if you can do it with only radial intakes, though! i can get a 2-ram-intake 1 turbojet vtol about half the size of yours to only about 2000m/s at about 45km up.

also, are you using any mods?

[Behemoose]

I have PF and MechJeb installed. I'm not using either at the moment; I don't even know how to use MechJeb yet! My best efforts at high-altitude flight so far have resulted in flameout at around 20 km. I'm still in flight as we speak and I'm up to about 32km and just over 2200 m/s.

[Taki117]

Congrats, you are well on your way to building an SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) Add some oxidizer and a couple of small engines and you are good to go.

[MarvinKitFox]

KSP has very capable turbojets!

Try hard enough, add a few intakes, and you can up that performance to 2600m/s at 48km. At that point you are pulling about 0.2g of *negative* force, constantly flying down just to keep yourself in the atmosphere.

[Behemoose]

I've already built a couple of SSTOs. I have a conventional one and a VTOL. And Marvin, I have seen what you're talking about. I'm trying to stay level and it keeps wanting to ascend.

[John Crichton]

My latest SSTO does that too...picks up speed very quickly with a great glide profile

[Kasuha]

If you're getting reentry effects, you're flying too low and getting unnecessary drag. Get higher and it will push you to orbit.

[Jouni]

For non-airhogging designs, moderate re-entry effects are a sign of a good ascent path. For example, one ram intake per turbojet gives a ceiling of about 33 km, so if you don't get re-entry effects, you're not flying fast enough.

[Behemoose]

So this was the original design. It maxed out at 2,188 m/s at just under 32,000 m before flaming out.

I added a tank of rocket fuel and a couple of radial engines, moved the landing gear, and came up with this. After getting to about 1500 m/s at 27,000 m, I pointed the nose up, lit the rockets, sneezed twice and ended up in a 150x150 orbit.

[John Crichton]

SSTOs are so addictive

[Claw]

SSTOs are so addictive

Agreed. I especially enjoy making small ones. They are fun to play and see what kind of wacky or interesting designs come out.

[Othuyeg]

Yup, it is quite normal. Turbojet engines are great. I love playing around with them. Here is an example of how easy it is with ram intakes. http://www.twitch.tv/othuyeg/c/3797590

Also. In my opinion the burn effect is not a bad sign if you are going about it with jet engines as you have good fuel economy and can afford it. Also to keep the engines on high power you need the speed to be able to scoop in all that thin atmosphere.

However, sometimes I try sounding like I know what I am talking about and this happens: http://www.twitch.tv/othuyeg/c/3802657

Edited March 11, 2014 by Othuyeg

[Behemoose]

I played around some more with that first design and ended up getting a top surface speed of 2176 m/s at 48,000+ meters. The orbital speed was far north of 2300, though I don't remember exactly how much. That was on one turbojet and two radial intakes. Holy cow.

That was also my first circumnavigation.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Behemoose