This is by far the stupidest idea I've ever had

[Red Dwarf]

And the best part about it is, it worked! It worked so well I'm legitimately shocked!

Behold my masterwork: The NWIH Mk.1!

My plan for this puppy was to have a shuttle that's easier to use, with more recoverable parts. Mounting the external fuel tank on the nose looks ridiculous, but it also means I don't have to offset engines. This version of the No Way In Hell was meant to be a test rig to check out fuel flow and COM balance as the fuel tank burned out, but I had a little mishap with my staging...

Much to my surprise, it actually maintained stability, and on top of that, it started climbing!

I decided to roll with it. Sure, why not, let's see if this monstrosity can make it out of the atmosphere.

Still going...

Still going...

No way. No way in hell.

It actually made it to orbit! With fuel leftover! And it didn't need boosters, or wings, or anything! This is so stupid. I'm absolutely going to keep developing this.

[Captain Sierra]

I have no words . . .

[vitekc45c]

Meanwhile in (still) soviet Russia...

Its hard to belive you did this by accident btw

[Rune]

Meanwhile in (still) soviet Russia...

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-snm5HqR2Uc/hqdefault.jpg

Its hard to belive you did this by accident btw

Did you see my take on that? I've got almost the same pic:

Rune. Crazy Soviet engineering FTW.

[Red Dwarf]

The idea isn't super original, it's true. I think mine is the only one I've seen that isn't a stratolaunch-type thing, though.

Anyways, update: The launch system works pretty well, with enough fuel margin to move on to dummy payload tests.

However, I've encountered a problem. This thing glides like an overweight lawn dart. I can't get it to not do that, so I turn to the nerds of the forums for help. Here's how the NWIH is built right now. Y'all got any advice for me?

[Rune]

The idea isn't super original, it's true. I think mine is the only one I've seen that isn't a stratolaunch-type thing, though.

Anyways, update: The launch system works pretty well, with enough fuel margin to move on to dummy payload tests.

http://i.imgur.com/sYWXu9i.png

However, I've encountered a problem. This thing glides like an overweight lawn dart. I can't get it to not do that, so I turn to the nerds of the forums for help. Here's how the NWIH is built right now. Y'all got any advice for me?

http://i.imgur.com/XYhYwq0.png

Ok, I have a couple ideas:

-With that CoM position, any control surfaces on the nose would have twice the lever arm of your ailerons. Canards maybe?

-Also, have you checked the CoM with the fuel tank empty? That's how you land, and you would be surprised how far forwards it can move when you have all your fuel on your ass.

-And while we are at it, that CoM is too far forward, if you are confident it will only move further forwards during flight. When you are too stable is when you start behaving like a lawn dart and need huge control torque to control your flight.

Rune. Hope that helps!

[Guest Space Cowboy]

Red Dwarf nice to see you on here

[MockKnizzle]

Red Dwarf, change your wings to move the CoL forwards. Your craft feels like a lawn-dart because that's exactly what it is