How to make oversized planes with B9?

[WhiteWeasel]

How do I make huge planes with the B9 parts, seems like I don't get enough lift to get off the runway or my landing gear keeps crushing.

Edited March 22, 2014 by WhiteWeasel

[TechnicalK3rbal]

1. You do know those fuselages are upside-down, right?

2. The B9 landing gear have a nasty habit of spontaneously breaking, use the stock ones.

[WhiteWeasel]

1. You do know those fuselages are upside-down, right?

2. The B9 landing gear have a nasty habit of spontaneously breaking, use the stock ones.

1. That's intentional

2. Still annoying, but the real issue is inability to takeoff.

[WhiteWeasel]

1. You do know those fuselages are upside-down, right?

2. The B9 landing gear have a nasty habit of spontaneously breaking, use the stock ones.

1. That's intentional; they are cargo bays btw

2. Still annoying, but the real issue is inability to takeoff.

[TechnicalK3rbal]

Try rocket assisted takeoff

[WhiteWeasel]

I want to try the underslung engines, but A) How do I get fuel to them without connecting them with a bunch of fuel lines, I need enough clearance for them not to smack into the ground, C) More engines, = More fuel = More weight = harder to takeoff

[Taki117]

I'm not sure how much control authority those large wings have, but you might need to add more control surfaces, also you could move your rear landing gear further forward to provide a better tipping point (Closer to the CoM and further from rear wing edge) As far as landing gear breaking, I know it sounds weird, but add struts to them.

For design ideas:

http://hodo.imgur.com

[Hodo]

Taki thanks for the link.

But one more thing, there is a bug in the B9 landing gear cfg file. It is set to the wrong number, there is a fix somewhere in the B9 fixes thread, but I am on my work computer and dont have that one saved on this machine.

For large planes with B9 parts the trick is you will need a couple of things.

1- Kerbal Joint Reinforcement by Ferram4, it just stiffens the stock linkages between parts to where they should be not to where they are.

2- use the B9 struts, they really help.

Lastly, not saying you have to, but it is strongly encouraged if you don't have FAR, get FAR.

That is my largest non-spaceplane SSTO aircraft currently. It can lift 120 tons with ease and take it anywhere on Kerbin.

[Hodo]

I want to try the underslung engines, but A) How do I get fuel to them without connecting them with a bunch of fuel lines, I need enough clearance for them not to smack into the ground, C) More engines, = More fuel = More weight = harder to takeoff

A-The trick with underslung engines is you run a fuel line to the wing root. I often hide them in that silly little gap you always end up with between the fuselauge and the wing. The fuel line to the wing will feed all of the engines on that wing.

B-The B9 landing gear HL or tall gear work for the clearance but you need to adjust the cfg on them so the stiffness value is the right value.

C- There is a fine line between to much and to little. It depends on what I am trying to do with the craft, but most of my SSTOs are flying fuel cans, they often have a fuel volume of 55%-70% of the total mass of the vehicle. Some of my non-SSTO aircraft are hauling much less fuel, they don't need as much for jet engines, they are REALLY effecient in KSP. You can fly around the world with the B9 turbine engines (the ones that look like a 747 wing engines), with only one Rockomax 16 filled wth liquid fuel.

EDIT- One thing I noticed about your craft, you will need a larger tail stabilizer. Your aircraft will have quite a bit of yaw with the current setup.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Hodo

[WhiteWeasel]

I finally got it to fly! and here's the secret inside those upside down cargo bays:

Edited March 22, 2014 by WhiteWeasel

[Hodo]

Nice WW.

A few suggestions for to improve that craft.

First I will say, I HIGHLY suggest you get FAR.

I am not sure you can do this in the stock KSP but, I would set your control surfaces jobs, Ailerons=roll, Elevators = Pitch, Rudder = Yaw. It will help with stability and control of the craft.

You can also drop that tail wheel off of your craft. None of my craft have tail wheels unless they are tail draggers. With good control you can actually keep your nose up at the V1 line without having to deal with a tail wheel.

Last but not least, you need more power, or better engines. The B9 turbines that are meant to be hung under the wings actually work great.

[WhiteWeasel]

Nice WW.

A few suggestions for to improve that craft.

First I will say, I HIGHLY suggest you get FAR.

I am not sure you can do this in the stock KSP but, I would set your control surfaces jobs, Ailerons=roll, Elevators = Pitch, Rudder = Yaw. It will help with stability and control of the craft.

You can also drop that tail wheel off of your craft. None of my craft have tail wheels unless they are tail draggers. With good control you can actually keep your nose up at the V1 line without having to deal with a tail wheel.

Last but not least, you need more power, or better engines. The B9 turbines that are meant to be hung under the wings actually work great.

B9 does not have tweakable wings, the tail wheel is there to keep it from smashing into the ground. Those engines have more thrust than the underslung turbines, plus they make my center of mass marker disappear.

[Voculus]

Carpet bombing! I love it! I noticed in your vid, your plane is loaded with over 3500 units of fuel. Cut that down to about 1200, which is more than plenty, and that ship will climb like a monkey.

Edited March 23, 2014 by Voculus