A family of dragonflies (planes)

[cremasterstroke]

4 variants of dragonflies:

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Common part mods: Retro Future, Procedural Dynamics (pWings), Firespitter. Engines vary between different variants, so other mods are required.

CTOL variant (album): Uses Bahamuto Dynamics engines. Simple, agile, light, and very fast.

ER variant (album): Uses the same Bahamuto Dynamics engines as the smaller CTOL. Larger, still quite fast, and greatly improved stamina.

VTOL variant (album): Requires B9 and TweakScale. Restricted performance (<Mach 2) due to the thrust curve of the engines. B9 air-RCS ports provide greater control if activated. Hover throttle level is ~95%.

SSTO variant (album): Requires B9, TweakScale, and Procedural Parts. Capable of reaching and returning from LKO with scope for limited orbital manoeuvres, capable of flying unmanned (e.g. for Kerbal retrieval).

Action groups:

1. toggle wheel motor on/off (middle pair of landing gear) - VTOL has motor on by default, other variants motor off
   
2. toggle ladder
   
3. VTOL: rotate engine back in 22.5º increments; SSTO: toggle intakes and switch engine mode
   
4. VTOL: rotate engine down in 22.5º increments; SSTO: switch engine mode only
   
5. toggle intakes only
   
6. blank
   
7. toggle Klaw
   
8. SSTO: toggle solar panels
   
9. blank
   
10. toggle airbrakes
    

Notes:

• Only tested with FAR - may not work with stock aero. Very unlikely to work with NEAR at this time (incompatible with current version of procedural wings - either wait for PD to update or use FAR).
  
• The large gimbal range of the Baha engines (CTOL and ER variants) can occasionally cause exhaust to hit the tail - it shouldn't actually damage anything but may lead to a bit of unwanted yaw. This can be largely mitigated by reducing the gimbal range of the miniJets to ~4 in the part.cfg or with a ModuleManager script - some turning performance will be lost, however.
  
• SAS is recommended, especially when manoeuvring at high speeds.
  
• The short wheelbase and low nose mean care needs to be taken when braking. Using the airbrakes, pitching up and cadence braking (as well as sufficient runway) is recommended when landing conventionally.
  
• Minimum take-off and landing speed is around 80-90m/s.
  
• The rudder is likely to hit the ground during take-off - this shouldn't cause any damage.
  

Craft files