Better SSTO Spaceplane Challenge (0.23.5+0.24) Fin!

[Westi29]

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This is a working replica of the Star Citizen ship Constellation Phoenix Variant with Snub Fighter and Rover. Replace the Lack Luster Labs 1x1 nuclear engine config file with the one provided. It adds the new effects and ups their power and Isp.

Get the craft: http://kerbal.curseforge.com/shareables/223564-curse-cobalt-web-forms-textfield

Action Groups:

1. Toggle All Jet Engines

2. Toggle All Intakes

3. Toggle Nuclear Engines

4. Toggle Cargo Bay

5. Toggle Extendable Docking Port

6. Toggle Weapons

7. Toggle Front Jets

8. Toggle Rear Jets

How to Fly: Press Spacebar to activate jet engines. Turn on SAS and RCS. Full Throttle. Lift vertically until 8km. Press Spacebar to activate nuclear engines. Pitch up to 45 degrees. Press 1 & 2 at 20km to turn off jets and close intakes. Push apoapsis to 100km and cut engines. Coast to apoapsis and burn to complete orbital insertion! Rover connects with port on top in cargo bay. Snub fighter connects in back.

You will need:

BD Armory: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/85209-BDArmory-v0-4-1-Dev-Thread-(-camera-angles)-Aug-3

Bobcat DEMV ANT: http://.....................com/space/modpart-demv-mk-5-3385.html

Lack Luster Labs: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/24906-WIP-LLL-Lack-Luster-Labs-LLL-12-2-10MAY2014-SXT-16-5-28JUN2014-KSC-v2

B9: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/25241-0-22-B9-Aerospace-Pack-R4-0c-New-pods-IVAs-engines-fuselages-structures

Hybrid Ion Engine Pack: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/31286-0-22-Ion-Hybrid-Electric-Pack-30-08-13-Soon-FKSP!!!-See-Development-Monitor

Edited August 20, 2014 by Westi29

[Wanderfound]

Incidentally, y'all would be more than welcome to have a go at my spaceplane speed challenge: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/90354-Spaceplane-speed-challenge-shortest-elapsed-time-from-runway-to-orbit?p=1346130#post1346130

FAR, NEAR and stock aero all welcome; bring your own plane or use the one provided if you'd like to show off your piloting skills.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Wanderfound

[British_Rover]

My Submission the Kord TriPower. Flies fairly well with FAR installed no idea if it will fly in stock so keep that in mind.

I have made lots of SSTOs but I realized I never made a fully stock interplanetary one so that was the goal. She is fully stock as I removed kerbal engineer for the download link.

No ion engines here. As Jeb says, "It is not a real spacecraft unless it's ass shoots fire."

Need to make adjustments for FAR version changes on Rapiers. Will put up updated link once I have it figured out.

OK fixed the problems but had to drop the two capsules and make a few other minor changes.

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Correct link.

She is not particularly pretty but she will take three Kerbals to at least a flyby of any planet in the system except maybe Eeloo. Round trips to Duna and Ike are possible or Eve and Gilly just don't try to land on Eve unless you want to get stuck. Full of fuel her flight characteristics are like a fat pig but she is fairly maneuverable once mostly empty for the return landing.

I currently have one going to Jool but I screwed up my transfer burn and used up nearly all my fuel. I have just enough to hopefully make a mid-course correction for a perfect aero brake. Then I will have to use the Kerbals own fuel packs to raise my periapsis to a stable orbit. I have a refuel craft on the way so I want to see if I can land on all the moons of the Jool system.

Instructions as follows.

1 Toggle Nuke engine¨

¨2 Toggle Rapiers¨

¨3 Switches Rapier¨

¨4 toggle VTOL engines¨

¨5 Toggle landing legs¨

¨7. Decrease flap angle¨

¨8. Increase flap angle.¨

¨0 Toggle air intakes.¨

¨B air brakes¨

4,000 plus delta-V calculated by kerbal engineer in the album once at a 100x100 orbit.

¨To reach LKO hit spacebar toggle off all engines but rapier She is a pig to fly full of fuel so you will need the whole runway to take off.

A quick tap 4 to activate the VTOL engines will help.¨¨ Don't break off the nuke by pitching up to far if you don't wait till end of runway.

Maintain 10-20 degrees up till past 10K meters.

¨¨She will get unstable at supersonic but only for a second. Keep an eye on fuel and keep it balanced. You will have to fight it at the top as you pass 20,000 meters.¨Very unstable till the rapiers switch mode just keep fighting it.

Switch over to nuke as needed in upper atmo. It might be useful to toggle nukes and or rapier depending on how shallow your ascent is.

Once in stable orbit there is enough fuel to land and return from Mun, Minimus or just about any low gravity moon assuming a good ejection burn and aerocapture. I haven't had any luck landing on Duna yet.

¨¨Use inline clampotron to control from for VTOL

The nuke thrust is a bit below the center of mass so you will need to have stability on and maybe RCS on to keep her pointed correctly during full burns. Playing around with the fuel and removing most of it from the big rockomax tanks will help too.

Here is a big 70 image album of the various versions. I was called it the mun_shuttle_pig at one point. http://imgur.com/a/M5edH

Landing is a challenge with FAR. I recommend opening both docking ports to increase drag and holding down the brakes. Firing RCS in reverse helps too once you are touched down.

Edited August 22, 2014 by British_Rover
Updated craft file and album

[Hodo]

My Submission the Kord TriPower. Flies fairly well with FAR installed no idea if it will fly in stock so keep that in mind.

I have made lots of SSTOs but I realized I never made a fully stock interplanetary one so that was the goal. She is fully stock minus mechjeb to calculate Delta-V and give me extra info.

No ion engines here. As Jeb says, "It is not a real spacecraft unless it's ass shoots fire."

Download link from Google drive.

http://imgur.com/a/1kqlh

She is not particularly pretty but she will take five Kerbals to at least a flyby of any planet in the system except maybe Eeloo. Round trips to Duna and Ike are possible or Eve and Gilly just don't try to land on Eve unless you want to get stuck. Full of fuel her flight characteristics are like a fat pig but she is fairly maneuverable once mostly empty for the return landing.

I currently have one going to Jool but I screwed up my transfer burn and used up nearly all my fuel. I have just enough to hopefully make a mid-course correction for a perfect aero brake. Then I will have to use the Kerbals own fuel packs to raise my periapsis to a stable orbit. I have a refuel craft on the way so I want to see if I can land on all the moons of the Jool system.

Instructions as follows.

1 Toggle Nuke engine¨

¨2 Toggle Rapiers¨

¨3 Switches Rapier¨

¨4 toggle VTOL engines¨

¨5 Toggle landing legs¨

¨7. Decrease flap angle¨

¨8. Increase flap angle.¨

¨0 Toggle air intakes.¨

¨B air brakes¨

3,600 delta-V calculated by mechjeb in the album once at a 80X80 orbit.

¨To reach LKO hit spacebar toggle off all engines but rapierShe is a pig to fly full of fuel so you will need the whole runway to take off.

A quick tap 4 to activate the VTOL engines will help.¨¨ Don't break off the nuke by pitching up to far if you don't wait till end of runway.

Maintain 10-20 degrees up till past 10K meters.

¨¨She will get unstable at supersonic but only for a second. Keep an eye on fuel and keep it balanced. You will have to fight it at the top as you pass 20,000 meters.¨Very unstable till the rapiers switch mode just keep fighting it.

Switch over to nuke as needed in upper atmo. It might be usefull to toggle nukes and or rapier depending on how shallow your ascent is.

Once in stable orbit there is enough fuel to land and return from Mun, Minimus or just about any low gravity moon assuming a good ejection burn and aerocapture. I haven't had any luck landing on Duna yet.

¨¨Use inline clampotron to control from for VTOL

The nuke thrust is a bit below the center of mass so you will need to have stablity on and maybe RCS on to keep her pointed correctly during full burns. Playing around with the fuel and removing most of it from the big rockomax tanks will help too.

Here is a big 70 image album of the various versions. I was called it the mun_shuttle_pig at one point. http://imgur.com/a/M5edH

Landing is a challenge with FAR. I recommend opening both docking ports to increase drag and holding down the brakes. Firing RCS in reverse helps too once you are touched down.

That is an old picture of that craft, does it still work in the current FAR version? I suggest you check your design before submitting, it maybe unflyable in the current FAR.

[Sirine]

1st Thread updated.

Please check for your own link and poster picture, if any mistake, please let me know.

[Wanderfound]

EDIT: Entry changed. The original was the best I'd ever built, but then I surpassed myself. See http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86202-Better-SSTO-Spaceplane-Challenge-%280-23-5-0-24%29-Extended?p=1372294&viewfull=1#post1372294 for the updated presentation.

Okay; got something good for y'all.

The Kerbodyne Epinephrine:

* Four RAPIERs, two Aerospikes.

* Very fast: maximum TWR 2.22 wet, 4.36 dry.

* Able to reach orbit with tanks 2/3rds full.

* Radio and ample space for scientific equipment.

* Large cargo bay, right on top of CoM so that it doesn't disturb the flight balance.

* Capable of lifting up to a 20 ton payload.

* Distance between CoM and dCoM is 0.06m.

* Well-balanced RCS: below 0.3kNm of torque in all directions, easily cancelled by SAS.

* Ventral Vernors sufficient for VTOL landings on the Mun or Minmus.

* Nose-mounted Vernors for stall recovery.

* Docking port, illuminated by a spotlight in the secondary cargo bay.

* Two seater, pilot and co-pilot.

* Drone core for remote piloting.

* Front tank and drone core battery configured as dedicated emergency reserves; isolated from the fuel system by default. Access through right-click menu.

* Easy to fly, stable handling.

* Very strong airframe.

* Aesthetics...judge for yourself:

Action groups:

1: Inner RAPIERs toggle

2: Outer RAPIERs toggle

3: Aerospikes toggle

4: Inner RAPIERs switch mode

5: Outer RAPIERs switch mode

6: Toggle nacelle intakes

7: Toggle shock cone intakes

8: Toggle cargo bay doors

9: Toggle solar panels

10: Toggle Vernors

Part count: 128

Wet weight: 34.407 ton

Dry weight: 17.102 ton

Price: √102,301

Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/4xh410nyk6mjmhr/Kerbodyne%20Epinephrine.craft

Requires Spaceplane Plus (soon to be stock! ) and FAR/NEAR (due to tuned control surfaces).

Edited August 25, 2014 by Wanderfound

[British_Rover]

That is an old picture of that craft, does it still work in the current FAR version? I suggest you check your design before submitting, it maybe unflyable in the current FAR.

It is a little harder to take off but it seemed ok at least until I got up to speed. They must have changed something with the Rapier engines they don't build power as fast. I will see if I can figure something out tonight and will delete the link for now.

[Wanderfound]

It is a little harder to take off but it seemed ok at least until I got up to speed. They must have changed something with the Rapier engines they don't build power as fast. I will see if I can figure something out tonight and will delete the link for now.

The latest update to FAR nerfed the power output of RAPIERs and Turbojets by 50% and sharply chopped the top end of the speed/thrust curve. They've still got plenty enough power to get you to orbit, but it's no longer as easy to brute-force your way past flawed aerodynamic design.

[Sirine]

Is time to promote your craft. Times remaining. 8 days. (From my geo-location).

After that, on 31-Aug-2014 the voting process start and you got 7 days to test and vote. (There are no cooling periods of test flight). Test and vote at the same times (7 days). Vote close and top 3 winner announce at 7-Sep-2014.

[Wanderfound]

Is time to promote your craft. Times remaining. 8 days. (From my geo-location).

After that, on 31-Aug-2014 the voting process start and you got 7 days to test and vote. (There are no cooling periods of test flight). Test and vote at the same times (7 days). Vote close and top 3 winner announce at 7-Sep-2014.

So, folks: how should we go about this? Just leave the entries to passively appeal as they are, or should everyone post a "why I should win" message?

[Hodo]

Is time to promote your craft. Times remaining. 8 days. (From my geo-location).

After that, on 31-Aug-2014 the voting process start and you got 7 days to test and vote. (There are no cooling periods of test flight). Test and vote at the same times (7 days). Vote close and top 3 winner announce at 7-Sep-2014.

Can you sort them by FAR and non-FAR.

I would hate to download and fly a craft that has no business in FAR. And thus bombing my review of it.

[Sirine]

So, folks: how should we go about this? Just leave the entries to passively appeal as they are, or should everyone post a "why I should win" message?

In Eastern (Asian) country. Yes, we do post a "Why I should Win" message. This is generally the culture of us that competition is so great for every expect that if we don't, someone else will do that. In fact, that is the reality here in Eastern country. Especially this kind of competition introduce in early childhood, among kids. Sportsmanship? no, put that aside. Winner takes all.

You might not realize, but it is easily noticeable whenever an election is there. Or whenever a competent product launch. Such as smartphone, computer etc... All products advertise.

I'm sorry if I offended someone or somehow with above saying. But hey, thats what I'm trying to say.

[Wanderfound]

In Eastern (Asian) country. Yes, we do post a "Why I should Win" message. This is generally the culture of us that competition is so great for every expect that if we don't, someone else will do that. In fact, that is the reality here in Eastern country. Especially this kind of competition introduce in early childhood, among kids. Sportsmanship? no, put that aside. Winner takes all.

You might not realize, but it is easily noticeable whenever an election is there. Or whenever a competent product launch. Such as smartphone, computer etc... All products advertise.

I'm sorry if I offended someone or somehow with above saying. But hey, thats what I'm trying to say.

Nobody's offended; I was just asking what my fellow competitor's intentions were. Don't want to be the only one going for the hard sell.

Most of the selling points are already in my original post, though.

[OgreMagi]

I have decided to enter the challenge but I decided to go for simple.

No Mods, except MechJeb for showing the stats, Dv ect ect. and to show that a simple space plane is a capable design and all those mods do is just add weight, the bane of every aerospace engineer.

SO I give you the Puddle jumper. While Jeb loved his rockets Bill was allways a pilot and wanted something to run around in but inorder to get funding he needed to make it space capable.

Taking the shuttle cockpit, so he could bring friends and the odd investor, he added fuel, and simple wing and flap, some air intakes, and a single turbo jet engine.

Part count 55.

major parts

one Turbo Jet engine, two Rocomax 48-7s rockets 4 ram intakes, 4 radial intakes, one advanced inline stabilizer and MechJeb.

Seats 3 and carries a few extras,....

2 extra batteries for running the DVR and the avionics, ( hate when you run out of power and cannot control the ship.

2 stratus V monopropellant tanks powering 6 RCS ports ( for fine control while docking).

6 solar panels ( never know when you might need them) and 2 PB-NUK radioisotope power generators ( yea had to please the atomic workers union)

Stats.....

Trw 2.39 max thrust 285. mass 12.134 t. max acceleration 23.49

DV. fueled on the ground (Note the rocket and turbojets are NOT CROSSFED each has their own fuel supply.)

engine atmo Vac

Turbojet 13089 19634

Rockomax 1342 1565

Hot Keys.

1. turbo jet

2. Both Rockomax 48-7s

9 forward Ram intakes

10 aft Ram Intakes.

SSTO Ground to Orbit Flight profile.

max out the throttle and hit one, pull back at 80 m/s and lift off.

Gear up at 200M and up to 45 degree climb until about 15k m

nose down between 30-20 degrees watch you vertical speed and keep it between 40-50m/s climb to 30k m

then nose down between 10 to 20 degrees keep vertical speed around 10-20m/s

typically I can get 1900 m/s around 29-30km, and you can tweek it to get about 2200m/s

activate mechJeb and go for orbit when above 30Km and Orbital speed above 1950 m/s.

Overall a simple ssto design, not struts needed only a pair of cubic struts behind the rear ram intakes to mount the Rockomax 48-7s with some built in safety, ( extra batteries, radioisotope power). If you don't want to go to orbit you can remove the oxidizer and save on the weight. This is my base craft from which I have developed all my other SSTO space planes and I have found that the basic airframe is very adaptable with only minor changes.

currently I have several mods on this design.

a Kethan modded variant that can self refuel as long as it can land in a kethan patch.

a nuke variant replacing the rockomax engines with a pair of nuke engines, ( the LtbY 14KN ) doubles the DV in orbit.

a Fast variant with 3 Turbo jets and a pair of LV-909 rockets that can make it to orbit in about 1/3 of the time.

[British_Rover]

Links for the Kord TriPower are updated and it now works with the Current version of FAR. Actually ends up with more potential delta V in LKO then the old version but only seats three kerbals now instead of five.

[WafflesToo]

Nobody's offended; I was just asking what my fellow competitor's intentions were. Don't want to be the only one going for the hard sell.

Most of the selling points are already in my original post, though.

I'm kind of in the same boat, I'm not really sure what is wanted but heck, here goes.

The RAV-1 should win, not because it does so much but because what little it does do it does so well. It is a simple day-in-day-out workhorse. It's simple, it's reliable, it requires very little skill to use. Just point it at the 30 and it pretty much flies itself into orbit.

It's cheap ($37k) and low-tech (tier-4 with one or two tier-5 nodes), perfect for a carreer game.

It has proven to be rugged and very forgiving of rough handling (I've had the AoA as high as 80-degrees before and all I had to do to recover is let go of the controls) and I've never witnessed one of them go out of control.

...and at the end of the day, even if the worst happens and the craft is lost, its an unmanned drone which will save your PR team a ton of headaches

Edited August 23, 2014 by WafflesToo

[Wanderfound]

Suggestion: put a link to your original release post in your pitch, along with your one best screenshot, without hiding it with spoiler tags. If you can't decide which to use, edit a bunch into a single image the same size as one normal one.

We don't want to just duplicate the initial posts, but it helps to remind people which is which and provides an easy comparison for aesthetic judgements.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Wanderfound

[Wanderfound]

UPDATE: Although the Kerbodyne Epinephrine is still available at all Kerbodyne showrooms, it has now been superceded as Kerbodyne's official contest entry by the Kerbodyne Migration. See http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86202-Better-SSTO-Spaceplane-Challenge-%280-23-5-0-24%29-Extended?p=1372294&viewfull=1#post1372294 for the new release.

-----

Now you can fly with the technology of tomorrow today.

The Kerbodyne Epinephrine represents the pinnacle of modern-day SSTO multipurpose spaceplane design. Featuring a superbly balanced combination of cutting-edge parts, the Epinephrine’s sleek, lifting body airframe and substantial bank of high-performance engines delivers speed more normally associated with specialist interceptor aircraft.

And yet, the Epinephrine is also a capable workhorse, able to deliver substantial loads of cargo to a wide variety of terrain and destination. Low-gravity VTOL capability, substantial fuel capacity, refueling ability and high-efficiency Aerospike propulsion make the Epinephrine the spaceplane of choice for any first-rate space program.

Don’t be fooled into false economy; the Epinephrine remains exceptionally cheap to operate. This is a spacecraft that will more than return your investment, in both practical use and sheer piloting enjoyment.

Kerbodyne. Quality you can fly.

Available at all of the best spaceplane dealerships, prices starting from √102,301. For the discerning pilot.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86202-Better-SSTO-Spaceplane-Challenge-%280-23-5-0-24%29-Extended?p=1364206&viewfull=1#post1364206

Requires Spaceplane Plus and FAR/NEAR.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Wanderfound

[Sirine]

Keep it coming. This is what I'm looking for. Come on where is others entries advertiment?

[Hodo]

So I am doing my independent reviews of the FAR capable craft.

My rating system is going to be simple 3 areas of rating from 1-10. 10 being Excellent.

The first one is in.

ACSP

-Take off and ascent performance- 7

The take off performance of the ACSP was very good, but it was hampered by the needed training wheels in the back, it actually took off faster with them raised. The high take off speed of over 200knts was a bit of a surprise for a craft of this size. But the biggest shock to me was actually its agility, it is a quite agile craft. The wings could use with a bit of strutting to stiffen them up a bit more, but they weren't horrible. It did lack some yaw stability at lower speeds but I will get to that on part 3 of the review. The 2 SABRE-M engines provide a great deal of power while in air breathing mode and more then enough when in closed cycle. The action grouping is a bit confusing if it was changed up so the SABRE-Ms and LV-1N were not on the same action group. But overall it is a breeze to fly.

-Orbital performance 5

This is where this craft suffers unfortunately. The single LV-1N just does not provide enough thrust to keep the burn times at a reasonable level, the orbital burn to achieve a 100km x 100km orbit (my test orbit for all craft including my own) was over 3minutes. This was cut down to a 8 second burn with the SABRE-Ms in closed cycle, but this greatly reduces the delta/V available to the craft and is horribly inefficient.

Unfortunately I couldn't give it more than a 5 because of this.

-Re-entry and landing 6.

If it were not for TAC fuel balancer I think I may have lost control of this craft on re-entry and landing. I ended up coming the atmosphere with less than 50% of the fuel on board. I did quite a bit of testing in space and dumped a fair amount of fuel just to see how it performs when low on fuel. The CoM shifts back quite a ways and actually puts the CoL infront of the the CoM. This makes the craft very nose light and nearly uncontrollable. The landing was quite scary at first then I shifted fuel to the forward tank and it flew fine. Its landing speed was actually quite good, and was able to land and stop in under half of the runway. The training wheels in the back actually came in handy there as they kept the engines from striking but an experienced pilot wouldn't have this problem.

I gave it a 6 because of the lack of balance when the fuel drains.

Overall it earns a solid 6 out of 10.

Not a bad craft, but could use some improvements. I like it, it reminds me of some of my early designs.

[Hodo]

The next craft I tested is the Mu_Shuttle.

-Take off and Atmospheric flight, 4.

This being the only stock craft in the bunch this one also has the most problems I have seen as of yet. The Center of Thrust is well below the Center of Mass causing the craft to pitch up when under full power. Take off is long for a craft this small, the lack of real lift is a problem and the landing gear position leads to a very narrow yet surprisingly stable base. You end up using most of the runway if not all of it to get off the ground. This is fine for normal atmospheric flight but it nearly makes the craft uncontrollable at altitude. Much like other craft that rely on the RAPIER or SABER engines for power, they lack a real way to keep the electrical system charged until the rocket engine kicks in. This is a major problem on this craft because it uses so much electricity just trying to counter the engine force to keep the nose pointed where you wanted and not pinwheeling through the sky. This is extremely bad when you switch over to closed cycle on the RAPIERs and the LV-1N engine to do your orbital climb and burn. The pitch up causes an nearly instant stall situation that no amount of fighting overcomes. You basically use brute force to get the craft to space. Once it is there it doesn't get much better.

-Orbital Handling, 3.

In space you no longer have the atmosphere to give you added control for the craft to counter the lower CoT. This means the RCS thrusters are working overtime just to keep your craft mostly pointed the right way, and don't even think about using the RAPIER engines with the LV-1N while in space, it will just cartwheel out of control. The burn times on the LV-1N was pretty decent on the other hand, and it handled marginally well on just RCS thrusters.

-Re-Entry and Landing, 7.

Re-entry is where this craft actually shines, it handles pretty well as a re-entry vessel, it is easy to handle with the engines off, and if the batteries are fully charged thanks to the solar panels it does quite well. It can almost glide all the way back to KSC from an orbital re-entry from half way around the world. Landing is also pretty easy, it has a much lower then take off landing speed, and with the added spoilers and flaps it is quite stable at low speeds but its stopping distance is a bit long but nothing to horrible.

Side note- It has VTOL engines on it but they do not work on Kerbin, as the gravity is to high, I did not test them anywhere else to see how they would work, but by my calculations they would be plenty strong enough for a landing on Minimus or maybe the Mun.

Overall score-4.67

The design could be improved on a great deal, while I respect the use of stock parts, there are better designs that are easier to handle and control.

[KandoKris]

It’s a poll isn't it? A Popularity contest for craft

I'm going to vote on a scoring system;

3-looks, As simple as it sounds like art !

3-practicallity, 1 for making orbit 1 for making it docking & 1 for extra

3-Ability, 1 for how it fly’s 2 for how good it can do what it can do i.e. rescue/science/0g landing/get to Duna etc. etc.

1-Stock/Mods, Sorry I like stock

So far I've tested

Airbus Kerbin, needed docking port & RCS added.

Looks, while her shape is nice all those extra fins are a little ugly 2

Practicality, 1 orbit, 0 While it can dock with the amount of fuel left over I had to add the docking port and RCS to the file, 0 for extra as its only a ferry, lots of potential if you can add maybe a nuke rocket to do Mun trips.

Ability, 1 It fly’s well on the way up but landing can be touch heavy. 1 It can carry a lot of passengers to orbit enough to fill up a colonizer

Stock/Mods, 1

2, 1, 2, 1 - 6

Heavy SSTO, it took a while but made orbit looking forward to docking

looks, 1 Sorry but she is Ugly but Art is in the eye of the beholder ïÂÅ 

Practicality, 1 orbit 1 for docking, & 1 for extra - had a good amount of left over Dv perhaps enough for a forgiving re-entry

Ability, 3 Flight was easy responsive simpleïÂÅ . A surprisingly agile craft that forgiving all-round good flying experience landing was easy and short. As a craft that claims to be an easy station ferry it lives up to the reputation and surprises your expectations.

Stock/Mods, 1

1, 3, 3, 1 - 8

Mun_shuttle12345,

Sorry Dude must be a FAR thing but this baby just would not make orbit. I tried many times but...it’s to tail heavy and slow even getting off the runway was a challenge highest alt was 13000m

pity as I really liked the tail design.

Looks, 1 while puggy at the front I liked the tail design and was looking forward to see how it would handle docking.

Practicality, 0 – Highest alt was 13000m I tested in stock game not FAR

Ability, 0

Stock/Mods, 1

1, 0, 0, 1 - 2

Loon 3 UL 3.7 No MJ, Wow the little bird that could,

Looks, 2 it looks like a plane, it fly’s like a plane, and it’s a plane -1 as it’s a bi-plane

Practicality, 2 Gets to orbit without too much of a fight and once there can go almost anywhere if you have enough time on your hands. -1 Docking, As it needed to lose the pod before it could dock I took this point off. I know on a long Jool solo mission the pod and plane would linkup for big trip but the slow speed of pod plus plane made this really impossible to sit through so I added an extra bit or 2, a simple dock on the under-fuselage and that worked well. ïÂÅ 

Ability, 2 While it fly’s well and handles x3 time warp with the pod attached it can’t fly correctly without it this made landing ….Taxing… and explosive, landing with pod is easy, without, leaves you falling not flying

Stock/Mods, 1

2, 2, 2, 1 – 7

I liked the potential so much I had to have a crack at improving it ()

SSTO One, Looks awesome

Looks, 3 it’s so fancy

Practicality, 2 It fly’s well considering it has no canards still very controllable it makes orbit in a nice time and docking is a breeze with RCS in just the right place to make docking from the cockpit fun ïÂÅ  landing is light and simple on even 0 thrust – 1 because other than joyride’s this little beauty has no other purpose ïÂÅ’

Ability, 2 As a joyrider’s pleasure craft this ship excels but falls short if only for the need to maintain control of the stick, no simple set and forget with this baby.

Stock/Mods, 1

3, 2, 2, 1 - 7

Alrai SSTO+VTOL,

This one surprised me not only for the 3 turbojets in the centre line but for how smooth it all went. Nice place handles well VTOL is a good touch.

looks, 2 A Sleek and nicely finished design, I was worried about the docking but this turned out to be un-necessary

Practicality, 1 Orbit was easy. 1 Docking quick but RCS could be placed better,

Ability, 2 It Fly’s well and can be recovered from a spin without to much hassle it does the job of 3man crew transfers and dose so with style.

Stock/Mods, 1

2, 2, 2, 1 - 7

ODIN - Robin, What a little bullet. I got distracted doing vertical rolls I didn't realise I was already at 20000m lol. Robin is a speed demon to orbit

Looks, 3 Hubba Hubba this little demon is so the F1 of the sky’s

Practicality, 1 it’s easy to make orbit it this… to easy. 1 Docking is like a pleasure as its fast and responsive even on RCS Unfortunately there is not much else to this pocket rocket.

Ability, 3 it Fly’s like an redbull aero racer and handles like them to, it makes orbit in a flash and can take u anywhere on Kerbin in no-time at all

Stock/Mods, 1

3, 2, 3, 1 - 9

Astro-Cruiser B, I went with B As I could not tell the difference between A,BorC

Looks, 2 I like it, big yet not to big, sleek yet sturdy

Practicality, 1 Orbit took an age…. But it did make it. 0 To be fare I know this craft was not ment to dock its meant to go somewhere far far away ïÂÅ . 1 For the far far away part.

Ability, 3 While large for a 2man SSTO this craft handled well and is forgiving, slow(due to weight) but the wait is worth it as the choice of destination is large for this one Landing and docking (once port was added ) where simple as the craft has been expertly put together and balanced.

Stock/Mods, 1

2, 2, 3, 1 - 8

Docking tests:

Looking forward to testing as many as I can so I can give every craft the same looksee.

Edited August 25, 2014 by KandoKris

[Wanderfound]

I have the B9 Spaceplane 1, a 61 part, 11.8T, 3 man spaceplane originally designed for a Laythe skydiving mission. Extremely agile in the lower atmosphere combined with low stall speed, it can land virtually anywhere.

http://i.imgur.com/JYUKD7v.png

http://youtu.be/UO_IsRcRCwQ

Easy to fly on Kerbin with a very forgiving ascent profile to LKO it typically makes orbit with around half the fuel remaining. The final production version has slight changes at the forward cockpit, main intakes and rear battery bank to accommodate the "no-clip" rules of this particular challenge. JSI camera systems, retro rockets, skydivers parachutes and Mechjeb were removed as they were specific to the Laythe mission.

http://i.imgur.com/8s5dscU.jpg

http://imgur.com/a/4rw2g

Uses B9 with D12 Expansion and IVA Extension, Spaceplane+ and IR robotics Rework Structural parts. B9 Spaceplane 1 craft file.

Noice.

Any idea if it flies in FAR/NEAR? It looks like it has a decent chance of doing so.

[Darren9]

Noice.

Any idea if it flies in FAR/NEAR? It looks like it has a decent chance of doing so.

The rear control surface arrangement would need adjusting, I'd have to ditch it and have them on the wings for FAR most likely which would spoil the look a bit and both wings and control surfaces are FS_MeshSwitch which apparently FAR doesn't like, it may go in NEAR OK. I might do a NEAR/FAR version though as there's a few days left. Edited August 23, 2014 by Darren9

[Wanderfound]

Hodo: pics with the reviews?