Take this plane to orbit and back.

[Galane]

A client built this airplane using some parts from the ReStock catalog and was happy with how it flew, then figured with the mounting points on both sides of the wings it might find some customers as a heavy missile/bomber or perhaps as a launch platform for research rockets.

BigWing 2 by g_alan_e, on Flickr

The client kept thinking up possible uses for the plane but still found no buyers willing to pay for a production run - when the idea to adapt it into a spaceplane crept up behind him in a dark alley and hit him over the head. That's when he became a client of Alan Aerospace Recycling and Packaging.

"Make my plane go to space today." he said. "Okay!" we said. We should have been a bit less enthusiastic about the project...

Here is one of our many, many failed attempts to strap enough extra bits onto the plane to get it to orbit.

BigWing 2 by g_alan_e, on Flickr

The client requests that nothing currently on the plane be moved or removed (as shown in the first image) because as a plane it flies perfectly well and if engaged at the right distance from KSP or the Island runway, MechJeb can land it quite nicely.

Aside from that, anything goes on *adding* parts and pieces.

No points, just a challenge to stretch your creativity to achieve a goal. (But you win the internet if you manage to get the plane to another planet or moon.)

P.S. The Abort system shuts down the RAPIER engines, pops all the decouplers on the wings and deploys the four parachutes. You'll probably need to use it during R&D, unless you like killing Kerbals. The plane is also equipped with an RGU so it can be flown unmanned.

P.P.S. Notes on flying. Before adding anything, it's very easy to get off the runway but be careful not to over rotate or you'll have the tail off. Fuel first drains evenly from the foremost and rearmost tanks, then it drains from the mid-forward tank before the mid-rear tank, so fuel shifting may have to be done to avoid a tail heavy condition.

P^3.S. Why RAPIERs when it has no oxidizer? When asked, the client replied "Because that's like having eight engines, isn't it?"

Edited July 17, 2014 by Galane

[Galane]

I did it, but not without having to alter the empennage. Dunno why, but soon as it'd go vertical under MechJeb control it'd yaw left or right and wouldn't pull out of it. After changing the tailfins it works.

Extra odd is with rockets above and below the wings, it wouldn't yaw, but the thrust would run out too soon. Soooo, turbojets, which combined with the Rapiers use up all the fuel in the wing tanks by the time orbit is reached, leaving just a bit more than enough oxidizer in them to deorbit. Since I don't have it setup for fuel to flow *to* the wing tanks I dumped them and their engines after the flight path was on target back to KSP - but they could be kept for a fully reusable SSTO spaceplane.

Still wishing for a spaceplane ascent guidance module for MechJeb so it won't try to fly them like rockets. I might try it again with this configuration and the original tail by setting the gravity turn height really low.

Big spaceplane by g_alan_e, on Flickr