FAR fully functional RTG ion-glider

[Pds314]

Yesterday, I made a monster of an ion glider with 96 RTGs and 12 engines and a Mk I cockpit.

Today, I've made a compact single-engine, 12-RTG probe version. It's got a TWR of 0.11, so, you know, it isn't gonna take off like a rocket.

It has no tail surface, but plenty of torque, meaning it can side-slip all over the place. Keep in mind that it also WILL side-slip all over the place.

Craft download

Flying instructions:

Don't take off until your velocity exceeds 40 m/s. When it does, pull up hard. Alternatively, just gently take off at 50 m/s or higher.

This isn't a fighter jet. It is a paper airplane that's trying to carry the weight of an obese Hippo. I'm not even sure what will happen if you stall it, and I know for sure that it isn't gonna fly well above 10 degrees AOA. If you can get a sustained climb rate of 3 m/s near the ground, I'll be quite impressed.

I haven't gone above 2500 meters yet, so I'd be curious to see if someone could mod it or something and get the thing into orbit, or at least to high altitude and speed. I'd estimate it ought to be able to reach orbital velocity at around 33000 meters... if it still has fuel by that point.

In fact, I should issue this as a challenge: See how high you can get in an ion-glider with no solar power with FAR.

[Pds314]

Got 11371 meters, 153 meters/second, and 670 kilometers range with a version with no control surfaces.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

You might get better performance and lift out of the lighter composite wings. Solar panels could also give you better range if battery is the limitation.

[KotDemopan]

You might get better performance and lift out of the lighter composite wings. Solar panels could also give you better range if battery is the limitation.

Yeah, well, solar panels don't allow you to fly in the night, do they?

[Pds314]

You might get better performance and lift out of the lighter composite wings. Solar panels could also give you better range if battery is the limitation.

You realize that the entire point of this craft is that it has power to run indefinitely, which means that solar panels are pointless unless there is a truly immense battery capacity.