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[0.24] Spaceplane Plus 1.3

Porkjet

By Porkjet
in KSP1 Mod Releases

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Firov

Firov

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It's an F-35 "Lightning 2", which is basically a VTOL-capable version of the F-22 "Raptor"...In a way, the F-22 was a "prototype" of the X-35 design that was so good it was rushed into production...but now that the X-35 design is finished, and the resulting F-35 model is approved for production, the F-22's production has been stopped, because it is was more expensive and less versatile (since it was a "prototype", as far as Lookheed Martin [the designers and fabricators] were concerned).

That's... not entirely accurate. The F-22 was always intended to be the pinnacle of 5th generation air superiority fighters, which meant sacrificing any and all other capabilities that might have interfered with that role, such as ground strike. Keep in mind, at the time it's requirements were drafted, in the early '80s, the Cold War was still ongoing, and the Soviets had just introduced two new high-end 4/4.5th generation air superiority fighters, in the form of the Mig-29 and the SU-27. The F-22 was designed specifically to counter that threat.

However, in the process of designing the ultimate air superiority fighter, they sacrificed everything else, such as external stores (to maximize all aspect stealth), VTOL and STOL capability (to reduce weight and allow additional internal stores), self laser designation capability for ground attack (additional weight/complexity), etc.

In the process, though, they made an extremely fast, extremely stealthy, extremely maneuverable air superiority fighter that was easily a match for anything the Soviets had at the time, and is arguably still the ultimate air superiority fighter. Unfortunately for them, by the time it finally flew, in 1996, the Soviet Union was little more than a memory. As such, the threat environment the F-22 was designed to fight in no longer existed. Instead, the US now mainly faces small regional opponents with limited, if any, A2A capability. That's why the F-22 was discontinued, the threat it was designed to counter doesn't exist anymore. Though had the Soviet Union not collapsed, I rather expect we'd still be producing F-22's.

In comparison, the F-35 is definitely more "versatile", but it has sacrificed much of it's A2A capability to gain that versatility. It's about as agile as a brick, loses much of its stealth capability when carrying external stores or fuel tanks (which it almost always has to do, due to limited internal capacity for either), is much slower in both top speed and cruise (mach 1.6 vs mach 2.25) and has a glacial climb rate. However, against the threats currently faced by the US, it's a better bet, since it's better at ground strike. Its inability to effectively fight 4.5 and 5th generation air superiority fighters doesn't matter, since it doesn't have to face them.

In a serious conflict with a capable opponent though, I expect the F-35 is going to be relegated to second tier support roles, due to the many compromises made in it's design.

Remember, a jack of all trades is a master of none.

All that said though, VTOL lift fans would be a great addition!

Edited by Firov
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AetherGoddess

AetherGoddess

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The F-22 is an air superiority fighter, designed to shoot down anything else up there, replacing the F-15 Eagle as the aircraft that holds the skies.

the F-35-A was designed as a land based multirole strike aircraft, replacing the F-16 Falcon as the Air Force's workhorse. The F-35-B was designed as a VTOL striker for the Marine Corps to replace the Harrier JumpJet. the F-35-C is a carrier launched multirole fighter designed to replace the F-18-A/B/C/D as the Navy strike aircraft. all three aircraft are based on one common F-35 frame, making parts and maintenance cheaper.

the Predator can do all of that, and more, with no pilot risk, for 1/25th the cost.

can we get a space-plane-plus drone core?

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Red Iron Crown

Red Iron Crown

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the Predator can do all of that, and more, with no pilot risk, for 1/25th the cost.

The F-35 has air-to-air capabilities, the Predator does not. It also has a more complete sensor suite, low observable technology, and much greater payload. While I think the F-35 is turning into a boondoggle, it's not fair to say it has no more capability than a Predator.

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King_komodo93

King_komodo93

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Idea for a somewhat new part. A stream lined nose cone meant to allow for a smother look for those who put 3 fuselage parts side by side and allows you to put 4 engines closer together in tandem with a bi-coupler could also have one (though don't need one) that goes along side the long and short nose cones.

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Sabor

Sabor

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That's... not entirely accurate. The F-22 was always intended to be the pinnacle of 5th generation air superiority fighters, which meant sacrificing any and all other capabilities that might have interfered with that role, such as ground strike. Keep in mind, at the time it's requirements were drafted, in the early '80s, the Cold War was still ongoing, and the Soviets had just introduced two new high-end 4/4.5th generation air superiority fighters, in the form of the Mig-29 and the SU-27. The F-22 was designed specifically to counter that threat.

However, in the process of designing the ultimate air superiority fighter, they sacrificed everything else, such as external stores (to maximize all aspect stealth), VTOL and STOL capability (to reduce weight and allow additional internal stores), self laser designation capability for ground attack (additional weight/complexity), etc.

In the process, though, they made an extremely fast, extremely stealthy, extremely maneuverable air superiority fighter that was easily a match for anything the Soviets had at the time, and is arguably still the ultimate air superiority fighter. Unfortunately for them, by the time it finally flew, in 1996, the Soviet Union was little more than a memory. As such, the threat environment the F-22 was designed to fight in no longer existed. Instead, the US now mainly faces small regional opponents with limited, if any, A2A capability. That's why the F-22 was discontinued, the threat it was designed to counter doesn't exist anymore. Though had the Soviet Union not collapsed, I rather expect we'd still be producing F-22's.

In comparison, the F-35 is definitely more "versatile", but it has sacrificed much of it's A2A capability to gain that versatility. It's about as agile as a brick, loses much of its stealth capability when carrying external stores or fuel tanks (which it almost always has to do, due to limited internal capacity for either), is much slower in both top speed and cruise (mach 1.6 vs mach 2.25) and has a glacial climb rate. However, against the threats currently faced by the US, it's a better bet, since it's better at ground strike. Its inability to effectively fight 4.5 and 5th generation air superiority fighters doesn't matter, since it doesn't have to face them.

In a serious conflict with a capable opponent though, I expect the F-35 is going to be relegated to second tier support roles, due to the many compromises made in it's design.

Remember, a jack of all trades is a master of none.

All that said though, VTOL lift fans would be a great addition!

The F-22 can mount external pylons for fuel and munitions and jettison them at any time to regain its stealth advantage, and can carry 8 small bombs on 2 bomb racks internally. It can also cruise so fast that it can drop JDAMs from 30 miles away and hit its target, and has already been used in Air to Ground strike missions in Syria

Edited by Specialist290
Nothing to see here...
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bakanando

bakanando

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Is there any plans for MK2 decoupler and/or docking ports? And I don't mean the inline decoupler already in 0.25, but MK2 size decoupler/docking port parts.

The 1.25m size ones have some wobble and break the smoothness of the parts.

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Starwaster

Starwaster

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Is that from an existing mod, or are they being created anew for 0.90?

Apparently it's something Porkjet is working on for Squad. It'll be in a future version of KSP. Hopefully 0.90, but there's no guarantee of when exactly it'll appear. (and some pieces might be released before others)

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DragonShadow

DragonShadow

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Perhaps not if it continues any non-integrated parts like KSPX does, but that's Pork's decision.

I think every part (and more) was brought into stock, but they aren't the same as the mod parts. These are like the old Mk2 parts, asymmetrical from top to bottom, and they have the heat-tiles on the underside, which is awesome. As cool as it is to have parts flippable for different ship designs, I really wish they at least had the option to swap to textures with heat-tiles or something.

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TheReaper

TheReaper

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i wonder if porkjet is stil arround, i would love a wing mod from him considaring he is the very founderof all plane parts in the game now. with the added mk3 parts and mk4 part mod from Nertea, the fuselages are just too big or heavy. it would be awesome if we had some bigger or better wings and engines. Before people attack me with procedurels or b9 or what not, they all look horrible to stock parts.

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Alshain

Alshain

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Alright, one thing I noticed is missing when this was ported over to stock...RPM configs! Will the ones available in the OP download work properly?

RPM handles the configs for stock parts in it's own distribution.

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