Kerbodyne Wedgetail: a bulk fuel tanker for Spaceplane Plus and FAR/NEAR

[Wanderfound]

Are you finding that you're spending a fortune on rockets just so you can keep your orbital refuelling stations supplied? Would you like to be able to lift more fuel than a Rockomax 64 into orbit for just a few thousand √? Then you need the Kerbodyne Wedgetail...

As usual, check the action groups and save the Vernors for when you need them. It can take off without them, but you may find it easier to lift the nose with them on. Deactivate Vernors when docking; the RCS ports are balanced, but the Vernors aren't.

Trim the flaps back down to normal after you lift off, and use a fairly normal ascent profile: 30°-45° to 20,000m then a medium-slow climb to 30,000m. Turn the RAPIERs off as soon as they switch to closed cycle and don't turn them back on until the turbojets start to choke. Leave the turbojets on for the final ascent; there are plenty of intakes to feed them once the RAPIERs stop hogging all the air.

There's an abort system and a drone core on board, and a spotlight in the cargo bay for use during docking.

The decoupler used for the abort system requires this minor hack: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/entries/1650-Making-decouplers-for-Spaceplane-Plus

Handle with care; she's a big 'un.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gg1668tq2mwz0v4/Kerbodyne%20Wedgetail%20ST.craft

Edited August 17, 2014 by Wanderfound

[Voculus]

Your Photobucket image isn't showing up.

[Wanderfound]

Dang it, deleted by accident. Will fix.

[Voculus]

Very nice! Do you have problems with it flexing and wobbling? I've noticed that even with small planes, the Space Plane Plus parts don't seem to stick together as well as they should.

[Wanderfound]

Very nice! Do you have problems with it flexing and wobbling? I've noticed that even with small planes, the Space Plane Plus parts don't seem to stick together as well as they should.

You'll get a bit of flex on the wings, particularly if you use physics time acceleration, but it isn't really a problem. Better to bend than to break.

So long as you treat it like a heavy cargo plane rather than an acrobatic dogfighter, you shouldn't have any trouble getting the Wedgetail to orbit. It may be a smidge wobbly for the first few thousand metres, but it'll smooth out once you gain some speed.

If you want some rock-solid SP+ spaceplanes, see http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/90747-Kerbodyne-SSTO-Division-Omnibus-Thread?p=1353924