Basic airplanes (career mode)

[bigbangnet]

I've tried several types of aircraft in career mode when you only have stability and flight control researched and it always seem to be a failure. Does anyone have a basic design ? I seem to suck at it lol. Bur I'm very good at blowing up everything I try to fly...but no contracts on that

thanks for any help, its appreciated

Edited December 19, 2014 by bigbangnet
its answered

[Janos1986]

The real problem is how late you unlock jet engines and intakes. Rocket engines use too much fuel to be both of any use and cost-effective.

[RocketScientistsSon]

I wanted to start messing with plane design since I thought it would be easier for me to get around Kerbin to get the science from all the different biomes. However, the "basic" jet engine is at the 3rd or 4th tier of science. What? How does that make any sense?

meh.

[The_Rocketeer]

Until you get gears, planes really aren't a viable option.

Assuming you have gears, designing a plane with a single LV-909 and two inline T400 tanks will give you a slow and range-limited plane, but it should be able to reach the island runway and a short way beyond. I tend to use a biplane configuration for the wings, with the main wings top and bottom just in front of CoM and a tailplane in back (CoL should be behind CoM if you have things in the right place - having three wing locations (top wing, bottom wing and tail wings) gives you more precision about your CoL).

For best results, fly highish but keep an eye on fuel consumption - there's a balance to strike between the fuel cost of climbing and the range gains of being higher.

[WanderingKid]

One basic design, as requested: Puddle Jumper

Craft File:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kpup05mnr7nofu3/Puddle%20Jumper.craft?dl=0

[The_Rocketeer]

I wanted to start messing with plane design since I thought it would be easier for me to get around Kerbin to get the science from all the different biomes. However, the "basic" jet engine is at the 3rd or 4th tier of science. What? How does that make any sense?

meh.

Rocket technology has been around since at least the 14th Century, and possibly far longer. Gas turbine jet engines were invented in the early 20th Century. It might seem back to front, but rocket technology is far more primitive than aeroplane jet engines.

[The_Rocketeer]

One basic design, as requested: Puddle Jumper

http://i.imgur.com/jLwc0xD.png?1

Craft File:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kpup05mnr7nofu3/Puddle%20Jumper.craft?dl=0

I see several parts not available at the OP tech level, not least basic jet engine, air intake, LF fuselage, delta deluxe winglet, etc.

[zarakon]

I think the minimum research you need for reasonable planes is Stability, Flight Control, and Aerodynamics. Jet engines are a must! If you're using rocket engines, you're better off just using it as a rocket because you won't get very far trying to fly it as a plane. All of those techs are available in the level 1 R&D center, and only one of them is in the 90 science tier.

Landing gear is nice to have, but instead you can just use the girder segments that you start with, since they have an 80 m/s crash tolerance.

The real gotcha is the ladders! It's a real facepalm moment when you fly a plane to an exploration site that requires you to EVA on the ground, then you realize you'll have no way to get back into the damn plane!

Edited December 17, 2014 by zarakon

[WanderingKid]

I see several parts not available at the OP tech level, not least basic jet engine, air intake, LF fuselage, delta deluxe winglet, etc.

Ah, you're quite correct Rocketeer, my bad.

OP: Don't bother with planes until you've got jet engines and landing gear open. They simply aren't worth it. It's like flying a high speed rock. Basically you need to open most of the 90 science/node tier.

[bdito]

Until you have the jet engine it's a futile effort. Rocket engines have far too little ISP and guzzle fuel like there's no tomorrow. Even then you're better off building planes when you've unlocked the landing gear too.

Without the landing gear unlocked I made a very basic jet with parachutes and a decoupler that jetisoned the rest of the plane since I couldn't land without destroying the thing. I also had to launch it vertically.

Edited December 17, 2014 by bdito

[bigbangnet]

Ya my science level is too low for landing gears. jet engines and all those "neat" shinny stuff. I only have fuel tanks for fuel which is counter effective if you ask me - too heavy, contains oxidizer and mass is heavy as well. Looks like I'll have to do more research for my science.

The science tree needs to be redone. It would make sense me to to research for a small about of points something basic for aircraft like a fuselage, jet engines, landing gears at a minimum...not 90 points ffs

[Jovus]

I had several FAR-viable rocket planes with no technology higher than tier 2 (beginning is tier 0) based on SRBs and girders attached to radial decouplers.

The longest-ranged one could get out just past the island runway. It's doable, but not worth it unless you view the challenge as an end in itself.

[DarkStar4thh]

bigbangnet Try opening up a new world in sandbox, veihicle assembly building, then click on "load" and load up a premade ship take a good look at it, and recreate it in your career mode.

o! and if u don't have landing gears it will not work

[katateochi]

Yeah landing gears are overrated!!!

As zarakon said, you can use girders, and there is a couple of tricks that I've found.

Use two girders so there is flex when you land and Protect the engine!

(1st pic) The lower girders on the front landing skids will flex quite a bit during take off and landing.

(2nd pic)There is also a set of two girders protecting the engine and acting as the rear landing skid.

This is one I've used to do a couple of the survey contracts, it's range is not that great, but it can glide for ages (its slow so I use 4x physics warp when gliding).

It takes off on its boosters and gains alt. Then once the booster run out I drop them and carry on using the main engine (LVT30, cos that's what I had. a 909 would pos be better)

I'd run out of fuel before reaching the contract target and was still several km from the shore, but with a bit of dipping up and down to trade speed for lift I reached the contract, made it to the shore and landed.

This was my tech tree except the Science Tech and Survivability nodes (bottom two) weren't unlocked when I made that plane.

(click for larger)

A couple versions of KSP ago I did an entire career using only "aircraft" and wrote it up as a story, The Wrong Brothers. You might get some (mad) ideas from that!

[Signo]

I made up a basic one too to train the freshkerbs and to complete some "visual survey". TBH in my new 0.90 career save (moderate settings) my main issue is cash, not science atm.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[panzer1b]

Like it or not, with the current tech tree, jets, SSTOs, and just about anything that isnt a rocket is just impossible to make and make VIABLE.

Yes you get wings fairly quickly, but so what if you get wings, without at least A jet engine.

This is probably my biggest turn-off from career mode in general, it seems to force rockets, with no real planes (which is what i enjoy making alot more), until late game, by which point you have most likely landed on every nearby planet at least once (and aside from laythe, spaceplanes arent exactly all that useful at least in comparison to rockets). And yes, you can make rocket planes, but these are expensive, and have garbage range.

Edited December 17, 2014 by panzer1b

[Greenfire32]

Rocket technology has been around since at least the 14th Century, and possibly far longer. Gas turbine jet engines were invented in the early 20th Century. It might seem back to front, but rocket technology is far more primitive than aeroplane jet engines.

Still though, it's really off-putting when you can say you've been to the moon...

...but you haven't been to Kitty Hawk.

[bigbangnet]

pre-made ships ? I'll take a look at it

[SickSix]

I agree jet technology should be lower. However you can by pass landing gear for a while by using chutes. I made a vertical take off jet using SRBs. The cockpit was detachable. I made two airborne surveys then jettisoned the cockpit over ground target.

[WanderingKid]

... I'm ashamed to admit I've obliterated two of my planes (Tier 4, fully geared up) on a mountain in attempts to get a temperature reading while landed.

I finally gave up, parachuted nearby, and 'rovered' the plane over to it until I was in range...

[bigbangnet]

Well I decided to start a new game, take the contracts with the most science points and finally unlocked the landing gears and jet engines...OMFG what a difference compared to fuel tanks and all. katateochi , I tried your plane multiple times and I kept crashing...I'm fell like a mass murderer now lol