SR-71 Replica (FAR Compatible)

[Lord Aurelius]

Hi Everyone,

I noticed (along with some other people as well apparently) that the new SP+ parts were perfect for an SR-71. I built it with FAR installed (I'm assuming it would work with stock aerodynamics as well) with all stock parts, no mods needed.

The handling is kind of wonky at low altitudes and speeds (if anyone can recommend a fix for this it would be appreciated) but it is stable at hypersonic speeds around 20,000m. Jet engine flameout around 25,000m, top speed around 1500m/s. Has enough fuel to circumnavigate Kerbin.

Note that the engine nacelles are empty fuel tanks, when they're full it moves the CoM too far back and you can't get in the air without flipping. I was too lazy to swap them out for the structural fuselage or something similar and just drained the fuel.

DOWNLOAD (Dropbox)

[Wanderfound]

The first step in improving the handling would be to sharply reduce the size of the chines. Use strakes, not structural pieces, and don't go for 360° coverage. I'd also try losing the reverse dihedral on the tailfins.

Post stability analysis screens with temp 0, density 0.5 and speed 0.8 and we'll see what's up.

You may want to have a poke at the third post in the Kerbodyne thread linked below.