Better SSTO Spaceplane Challenge (0.23.5+0.24) Fin!

[Sirine]

@StevenJ nice entry.

1st thread updated.

[KandoKris]

Hi Sirine could you please update the pic for my craft in the Op I wish to try and give it a better chance against all the cool craft

Also I've given it a name befiting its new place in my fleet

Roger Rescue

So far over 20 missions without skipping a beat or a spinout

[Sirine]

@ KandoKris Cool, Red Plane. Roger that.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Sirine
Done

[WafflesToo]

Here's my entry

RAV-1 "Swallow"

FAR

B-9 Aerospace

Spaceplane Plus

Infernal Robotics

Technical data:

Cost: ~37k

Part Count: 56

Weight loaded: 16.78t (w/ 3t payload)

Dry weight: 7.96t

Crew Capacity: 0 (Drone)

(Warning to Remotech users, you will need to install an antenna somewhere on the craft before use)

Key '0' Master start (turns jet engines on, turns rocket engine off. Be certain to check the condition of the intakes before flight)

Key '1' Toggle engine mode (air breathing / rocket engine)

Key '2' Toggle air brake on / off

Key '3' Deploy wing flaps

Key '4' Retract wing flaps

Key '9' Open / close cargo bay and docking port

Edited August 19, 2014 by WafflesToo
Updated information & included link to craft file

[DaMichel]

A nice challenge indeed. And FAR planes are accepted, too. So here is my entry.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gq23kcn4u03bfuv/X-74%20Laythe%20Wing.craft

What it is:

A VTOL capable single seat science space plane for the exploration of Laythe and Kerbin. The VTOL capability is obviously the fun part. It has two jet engines which allow it to land at very slow speeds or even vertically (dangerous!!) in a (relatively) safe manner in the rough terrain surrounding points of interests on Laythe and Kerbin. Built for career play, a full suite of experiments is included.

What it not is:

Capable of going to Laythe on its own. It has about 2500 m/s, penty to reach orbit and perform rendevouz maneuver.

Mods:

* Spaceplane+ required

* FAR strongly recommended. All my remarks are w.r.t. FAR gameplay. I don't know whether this plane works in stock!

* KerbalFlightData & KerbalFlightIndicators recommended

* Engineer recommended

You'll want something to show you the available air for the engines in a reasonable manner. KerbalFlightData can do this as can FAR's FlightData window or MechJeb (i think). Pick whatever you like. But make sure not to starve the engines. If you don't take care you'll get unsymmetric thrust and probably spin out of control!

You'll also want something to show you your orbital stats. There are many plugins that do this. I use KerbalFlightData, and Engineer for more details.

Mods used for building:

* Firespitter for the awesome wheel alignment guide.

* The uber awesome RCSBuildAid for balancing CoMs (full/dry) with thrust.

* Engineer, which is pretty awesome, too.

Handling:

* Is quite stable in flight and in a hover. I fly it mostly without SAS, using

Keyboard tapping and trim (ALT+WASD).

* Tends to "roll into the turn".

* Hovering requires the additional stability and control of SAS and RCS.

* Its air brakes (2) are very effective at sub sonic speeds. You can dive pretty steeply with them deplyed without overspeeding & they are very useful to control speed on a landing approach. Elevators are set up to automatically compensate for most of the induced pitching moment.

* Regarding fuel usage: I set this up so that all engines consume fuel symmetrically from the side tanks (8). Once those are empty you have to manually pump fuel from the fwd. (6) and aft (7) tanks into the side tanks. I suggest you pump fwd->left side, aft->right side or vice versa so the distribution stays even.

* I suggest you disable the vernor engines (10) manually for space flight. That is to save fuel because they consume LFO. I could not get them to work with action groups, sadly.

* There is a light (4) inside the cargo hold: manual activation as well because again i could not make it work with action groups.

* Deploy the access ladder (12) and stick your Kerbal on it to be able to take the sience from the experiments.

* Fun fact: the VTOL engines generate enormous amounts of drag when the cargo bay is open (that's why they are in a cargo bay - to shield them while they are not in use). It will slow you down a lot. Anticipate this during landing and takeoff!

* The VTOL engines react very very slowly. Anticipate this. Moreover very minor adjustments around the hover point lead to rather uncomfortable rates of climb/descent. You'll notice this the more severe the slower you fly.

Action Groups:

(AG3) Toggle cargo hold door & VTOL engines

(AG4) Toggle main engines

(AG5) Toggle air brakes

(AG6) Toggle air breathing / rocket mode

Rolling Takeoff and Ascent:

* activate stage, then activate (AG3) and (AG4)

* rotate at 100 m/s speed

* assume ca. 30 deg pitch up attitude and go full throttle

* slowly level off as you approach 20 km altitude

* watch your intake air; throttle back and decrease climb rate if needed

* accelerate to mach 4.5 and keep climbing at 5 - 15 deg pitch attitude to 25 to 30 km altitude

* activate SAS and activate rocket mode (AG6)

* keep pitch attitude at 15 deg and increase Ap to 40 km

* cruise to Ap, point prograde and raise Ap to target altitude

* circularize

Vertical Takeoff:

* activate stage, SAS and RCS

* throttle up to ca. 80%

* once you start to hover, activate main engines (AG4)

* accelerate in level flight to 100 m/s

* gear up

* disable VTOL engines and close cargo hold (AG3)

* you'll have to pitch up slightly to compensate for the loss of lift

* adjust throttle

* turn off SAS and RCS

Vertical Landing:

* come in at ca 110 m/s, descending at 10m/s or so

* shut off main engines (AG4)

* enable VTOL engines (AG3) and throttle up to 50%

* enable SAS and RCS

* engage air brakes as needed

* at ca 80 m/s increase throttle to 70%

* keep descending until you are a few meters above the ground, adjust throttle accordingly

* when you are slower than 30 m/s you can initiate a flare to reduce your speed drastically without gaining much height.

* then either land with a short roll (recommended) or vertically

* if you come in short, just give it a burst with our main engines (AG4)

Atmospheric Entry:

Enjoy!

I sure did. Cheated it to Laythe for testing and flew it to some easter eggs on Kerbin. It's also pretty fun to just hover and try to land on the helipad.

(holy ... did i just make all of that ... )

[Sirine]

1st thread updated.

Still no discussion going on. I believe thats the cultural differences. Asian tent to compete each other and still wins each other trust. Perhaps a bit difficult for forum-er here.

[Scarecrow88]

Only just seen this thread, but as entry is still open, thought I would submit my SSTO.

SSTO One

Completely Stock

Showing off the goods

Activate SAS, throttle up and stage to start rolling. Pull up to 45 degrees when airborne

At 10,000m, drop the nose to approx. +20degrees, and keep the prograde marker just above the horizon

Make adjustments to attitude every so often to keep climb rate down. Later stages of airborne flight will only need nose to be at +10 degrees or so. When Rapier engine automatically switches to rocket mode, pull nose up to +45 degrees until desired apoapsis is made, and cut engine to coast to apo. With a good ascent, you should be able to achieve 33000m altitude and 2200m/s before the rocket kicks in.

At apoapsis, burn to circularise

This particular flight established a 85k x 86k orbit, with roughly half the fuel load remaining. A docking port is fitted if you would like to rendezvous with an orbiting station to refuel.

A small retrograde burn is enough to de-orbit you. I like to manually switch the engine to air breathing mode once the de-orbit burn is complete, so that it is ready right away once back in the atmosphere.

Homeward bound.

Flight over, job done.

SSTO One craft file

Edited August 18, 2014 by Scarecrow88

[DaMichel]

Still no discussion going on. I believe thats the cultural differences. Asian tent to compete each other and still wins each other trust. Perhaps a bit difficult for forum-er here.

This i suppose. There is also the usage of various mods and the time it takes to simply try out other planes. I'm not complaining though. And i think it is fair to judge just by the look.

I'll probably try another FAR plane. After the end of the submission deadline there will be an evaluation period, correct?

@WaffelsToo: In the spirit of discussing things, i say i like the video. It was entertaining. And the plane looks cool

[WafflesToo]

@WaffelsToo: In the spirit of discussing things, i say i like the video. It was entertaining. And the plane looks cool

Thank you, I'm glad you at least liked it I wasn't so happy with the video editing myself, first time with MM8 and I feel I cut too quickly on a lot of the scenes (not to mention the rendevous and docking maneuvers taking place at night didn't make for the best video :$) But thank you all the same.

As you can no doubt guess, my little RAV-1 is a no-frills trash-hauler. It's job is to haul material into LKO as quickly (and cheaply) as possible. I LOVE your little V/STOL aircraft. The idea of using VTOL to explore Laythe is a stroke of genius; it sure beats looking for level-ish ground to land on

Also... I FORGOT MY CRAFT FILE! Crud! I'll have to get that uploaded as soon as I get home

[Evis03]

So I'm thinking of entering this. http://imgur.com/a/18OhO#0

What do you all reckon? If it's up to snuff I'll post a proper submission.

[KandoKris]

Hi scarecrow nice little craft there I love the simple yet stylish design will definetly give it a fly tonight.

mmmm Is the docking-port hidden underneath ?

Oh and Evis03 - Your B9 SSTO looks eligable if only alittle huge with those Really long reverse wings

[Scarecrow88]

Hi scarecrow nice little craft there I love the simple yet stylish design will definetly give it a fly tonight.

mmmm Is the docking-port hidden underneath ?

Yes it is. You can just about see it in the 3rd image down, just underneath where the leading edge of the wing meets the fuselage.

[WafflesToo]

Alright, I got the craft file uploaded.

RAV-1 X2

There's an info-drive mounted inside of it with the keybindings in it. Just press 'i' to bring it up.

Requires:

B9 Aerospace, Spaceplanes Plus, and Infernal Robotics (removed IR bit). It was designed to fly in Ferram Aerospace Research and I doubt it would even be able to get off the runway with stock aerodynamics; you have been warned.

Key '0' Master start (turns jet engines on, turns rocket engine off. Be certain to check the condition of the intakes before flight)

Key '1' Toggle engine mode (air breathing / rocket engine)

Key '2' Toggle air brake on / off

Key '3' Deploy wing flaps

Key '4' Retract wing flaps

Key '9' Open / close cargo bay and docking port

Ascent is easy; run it down the runway until your speed is over mach 0.32 and kick the nose up to about 30-degrees. Level off at about 17km (let the nose rise again on its own), and toggle engine mode to rocket powered at 27km or above (depending on how the jet engines are holding up). Watch your AoA once the rocket is active; it can oversteer the aircraft so you should let the nose drop at some point. I've never had it go out of control before (it seems to have good stall characteristics) but all the same, don't be the first.

Remember to transfer any remaining fuel back to the front tank before reentry or the craft may become unstable.

The jet engines have their own fuel tanks on them (the FL-T100s that each is mounted to). I've never run them out of fuel but it may be worth checking on them before reentry if you're expecting a long-cross-range trek. It may also be worth transferring any excess fuel out of them if you need a little more ballast in the nose.

The air brakes will slow you down quickly and may drop your descent path too steeply to survive if you have DRE installed. Use with caution.

Drop wing flaps to '3' before landing to reduce landing speed to manageable rate (even deployed, keep airspeed above Mach 0.23)

I've reliably gotten up to 3 tons into 150 km orbit with this gal, but I think it should be good for up to about 4 tons (on paper).

Edited August 28, 2014 by WafflesToo

[O-Doc]

Still no discussion going on. I believe thats the cultural differences. Asian tent to compete each other and still wins each other trust. Perhaps a bit difficult for forum-er here.

I think it's more a case that there's no real judging criteria to compare each craft. I will fly each craft that doesn't use mod parts and will judge them mostly on how they feel to fly. Do I have to struggle with the craft to orbit? Can I have fun flying the plane around the KSC? How about a trip to some mountain range for a spot of polygon surfing?

I'm not prepared to install mods to test craft so I'll be working with a short list when judging. Functional craft are a plus and getting to orbit doesn't need to have an experience attached to it. But, ultimately my pick will be fun enough to fly to be begging the question as to whether or not she'll take a place in the O-Dock spaceplane hanger.

[Hodo]

I think I should stay out of this contest, and let some new blood show what they have got. I may download a few of the FAR craft and test them out and give my 2 cents.

[WafflesToo]

@Hodo

I both eagerly anticipate and dreadfully fear what you have to say

@Sirine

I don't suppose you could mark the FAR entries as such could you? Planes that fly well in stock rarely fly at all in FAR and vice-versa. It would make sorting them out easier for us, thanks.

Edited August 19, 2014 by WafflesToo

[Evis03]

*Base drums in a slow roll please*

What creature could cast such a shadow?

It's the ACSP!

She's big. And she's got more lift than a crane.

Here's the full album for the mission! Note that there's a lot of filler in here: http://imgur.com/a/dsGmG#0

Here's the end result:

None too shabby.

The ascent profile is in the craft file as per the rules of the competition, but here's some useful stuff:

Has good roll stability but tends to twitch vertically*. Recommend disabling SAS and flying on pure aerodynamics.

Control groups:

1. Toggle Sabres (NOT mode switch)

2. Final ascent mode- switches Sabres to rocket mode and fires up the nuclear engine. Maximum thrust.

3. Distant travel mode, shuts down Sabres and turns on nuke. Very good ISP but lower thrust. Works in Vacuum.

4. Nucelar toggle. Good to disable this when descending.

5. Manual Sabre Mode Toggle. go into open cycle before you use sabres in atmo.

*A lot when transonic. When supersonic she flies nice and stable.

So, you wanna the craft file? You can havva the craft file!

Mods:

B9

FAR (of course!)

Hot rockets for pretty engines.

Astronomers pack for texture upgrades.

Better atmospheres for... well.

Distant object enhancements (you can see Minmus in a couple of the ascent shots).

I can't think of anything else I've got running that's relevant (I have a LOT of mods).

Oh, and this is it's theme tune. I was listening to this when I sketched the basic design. And the behavior of the craft is very fitting:

Edited August 19, 2014 by Evis03
clarity

[raygundan]

I'll enter my little SSTO-that-could. I've added the instructions for takeoff and in-space flight to the .craft files and linked them. There's a version with MechJeb and a pure stock version attached.

The Loon III:

.craft file (includes MechJeb)

.craft file (No MechJeb or other mods)

* Less than ten tons!

* Room for two kerbals!

* Only stock parts! (MechJeb optional)

* Capable of making a Kerbin-Minmus-Duna-Jool-Laythe-Tylo-Pol-Bop-Kerbin circuit with landings at Minmus, Laythe, Pol, and Bop in one flight!

* Complete science package!

* Spends most of its time flying backwards, on purpose!

* An exciting array of ladders for kerbal exercise!

It's not going to win any beauty contests, but it'll do an awful lot with just ten tons.

Complete test mission writeup with exciting pictures and sarcasm!

In orbit, with MechJeb delta-V window and resource tab open:

Edited August 20, 2014 by raygundan

[Evis03]

I think the ACSP and the Iolite Mk1 might be cousins!

[kklusmeier]

I actually just made my first spaceplane today!

Link to album: http://imgur.com/a/GeCVH?gallery#0

It's a light SSTO (3.2 ton payload to orbit), but it looks nice and it is my first successful one ever.

Modlist:

FAR

Spaceplane Plus

Goodspeed (only for the nuclear reactor on the payload)

Edited August 20, 2014 by kklusmeier

[Westi29]

So I can make an entry that breaks a bunch of rules?

[Wanderfound]

Any guidance on what y'all are looking for here? Practical cargo haulers, speedsters, aesthetics, most ridiculous, all rounders? I've got a stack of equally shiny candidates, but choosing which to submit is giving me difficulty.

[Darren9]

So I can make an entry that breaks a bunch of rules?

It seems so, not sure you'll get any votes but you will be allowed to vote for one of us.

Any guidance on what y'all are looking for here? Practical cargo haulers, speedsters, aesthetics, most ridiculous, all rounders? I've got a stack of equally shiny candidates, but choosing which to submit is giving me difficulty.

Coincidentally I'm looking for a fast, practical, stunning, all-rounder that can haul cargo, the one that does that will prolly get my vote.

[Wanderfound]

It seems so, not sure you'll get any votes but you will be allowed to vote for one of us.

Coincidentally I'm looking for a fast, practical, stunning, all-rounder that can haul cargo, the one that does that will prolly get my vote.

I may have just the plane you're after...

Which is more important, range or speed? They can both manage Minmus return trips with a VTOL landing on the flats, but the faster (and prettier) one needs to refuel in Kerbin orbit while the other can do it on a single tank.

[Westi29]

It seems so, not sure you'll get any votes but you will be allowed to vote for one of us.

Coincidentally I'm looking for a fast, practical, stunning, all-rounder that can haul cargo, the one that does that will prolly get my vote.

I also have the 'plane' you are looking for in my next post!