Preferred vehicle and aerodynamics

[Cirocco]

okay so I know the sample size is pretty low and probably not representative, but still... the amount of people that prefer stock spaceplanes is equal to the ones that prefer FAR/NEAR spaceplanes?!

mind = blown.

I go spaceplanes because I just love the look of them, and I'm too lazy to install and get to know the intricacies of FAR, but I have no doubt at all that planes would work/fly a crapton better in FAR. In fact I know for sure because I ran FAR for a while.

Wow.

I thought spaceplane stock users were a minority.

[KerikBalm]

I like to use spaceplanes to lift my rockets to orbit.... what should I vote for?

^ Thats a tug + fuel depot being deployed by my heavy lift spaceplane, in 0.24 using the SP+ mod (before it was stockified) and NEAR.

I've never done, and never intend to do a single stage space plane to Duna or Dres or a Joolian moon, etc.

I like to do reusable spacecraft: Space plane to orbit, stages for escape velocity (aerobrake down to low orbit to boost the next payload), interplanetary stage (goes to an eliptical orbit, nearly at escape velocity), stages to circularize and then get back to the interplanetary stage which is in an eliptical orbit, fuel depot and lander stages....

I like FAR/NEAR, because the worlds with atmospheres seem more fun to visit, and wings actually work on Duna with FAR/NEAR, they pretty much don't work in stock (for practical purposes) - for duna, I don't really have any spaceplanes, I have a lander with a pair of advanced canards and the small clipped "delta deluxe" winglets - it allows for more control over where it lands (much like a guided bomb with little control fins), but on ascent, its pretty much a rocket.

I wouldn't call this a spaceplane:

But it can glide a bit...

(I wish there was a way to connect the shielded docking port to something in the VAB, so I could have a rounded top on that lander. The lander was stuck on the end of a payload, so I needed something that could attach to a stack -> normal docking ports do, the shielded doesn't because you can't retract the shield in the VAB)

Edited January 21, 2015 by KerikBalm

[gmiddlemass]

I'm another stock aero and spaceplane builder...

[eddiew]

I really like the look and concept of spaceplanes, but I struggle to use them to get things done sometimes. I have a couple of fast lifters that get satellites to LKO in an excitingly fast 5 minutes, but they have the range issues inherent to any SSTO that can't shed weight. Trying to expand into using them for all Kerbin SOI stuff, which is just about viable, but going interplanetary (at my current tech level) requires a refuel - probably from a staged rocket tanker - so currently all my long range missions are rocket based, including most of my probes.

Also Station Science and MKS tend to give me heavy loads that simply can't be lifted by an MK2 hull - and I don't have the grunt yet to get an MK3 off the ground xD

And FAR is mandatory - with disintegration disabled for sanity reasons

[sewerbird]

As a stock spaceplane lover, the main thing I appreciate is the fact that I can throw something reasonable together quickly without tooo much fiddliness. I'll adapt to whatever changes are introduced in stock, but I don't feel much need for the update. It's hard to separate the fact that I'm just used to stock aerodynamics from any opinion I'd form of an alternative. I have tried FAR, but I hated how it made rockets to orbit easier and planes more fiddly.

[foamyesque]

FAR and rockets is my fav combo. I can do spaceplanes (wings are handy for Eve, for example) but rockets are so much more fun to mess with

[Van Disaster]

Put wings on your rockets!

My spaceplanes are quite often the first stage of a multi-stage mission, but the poll didn't get that detailed - and presumably it's just about the launch to orbit & back bit anyway

[Levelord]

okay so I know the sample size is pretty low and probably not representative, but still... the amount of people that prefer stock spaceplanes is equal to the ones that prefer FAR/NEAR spaceplanes?!

mind = blown.

I go spaceplanes because I just love the look of them, and I'm too lazy to install and get to know the intricacies of FAR, but I have no doubt at all that planes would work/fly a crapton better in FAR. In fact I know for sure because I ran FAR for a while.

Wow.

I thought spaceplane stock users were a minority.

Keep in mind that the poll is also using the combined numbers of NEAR and FAR users. People who use NEAR have a different needs to those who use FAR (they want a better aerodynamics model but think that FAR is too much).

[Norpo]

Keep in mind that the poll is also using the combined numbers of NEAR and FAR users. People who use NEAR have a different needs to those who use FAR (they want a better aerodynamics model but think that FAR is too much).

It's also skewed towards forum users, which probably interact with the community, and thus, mods more often. Food for thought, eh?

One could also say it's skewed towards "the type of people who give a crap about polls", but that's a bit sketchy (no exact numbers/percentages)

[Yukon0009]

I personally like aeroplanes (hence my company) but I use rockets for practical stuff.

[nadreck]

I answered the poll "Stock and Rockets" but I have a class of wingless vehicle that either uses turbo jets or Rapiers (depending where I am in career mode). This vehicle is for point to point travel on Kerbin and Laythe as well as orbital shuttles.

[Sufficient Anonymity]

I know you said you didn't want an "I like them all" option, but I think I'm probably one of the more awkward players when it comes to fitting into your poll - I've got FAR installed, and I use rockets and spaceplanes in about a 70:30 split, and my primary long-range crew bus is basically Spaceship Two (feathered reentry, high crew capacity) crossed with an X37 (small, stack launched).

[justidutch]

Stock and rockets. I've built planes and enjoy them but have always been loathe to get tied to them as I knew that one day all the aero would change. And the new model is coming, so at that point I will definitely get much more into planes of all types.

[Groot]

stock with rockets, because haven't had enough experience for spaceplane!

[RainDreamer]

I choose FAR/NEAR and rocket, but I simply do that because most of the locations in Kerbol doesn't have an atmosphere. I still use planes to reach other places on kerbin or hauling some equipments that require cargo bays to space, but that doesn't compare with the amount of rocket launches I made.

[Hodo]

I love space plane SSTOs, but that is because I think they look cool and are fun to fly.

[SorryDave]

Stock and Rockets

I do lbuild a lot of aircraft and spaceplanes but not nearly as much as rockets.

[adsii1970]

I went with Stock Rockets. While I am becoming much more proficient at building planes, I haven't quite managed a spaceplane yet. It's pretty fun to fly jet aircraft around Kerbin and collect the data for Kerbin-based contracts, but I think that rockets are easier for me to understand and fly, as well as put to good use.

I agree - Although I am quite proficient with rockets, I am getting quite proficient with planes using stock and B9 parts. I do wish that there was a two-seater cockpit like the Navy used in the F-14 and other aircraft. There are some craft that I've designed that has some pretty decent aerodynamics, quick take-off and easy landings, but I am nowhere near being able to design single stage space planes.

Here's a few screenshots of one of my favorites, the Knat Mk 1!

I'd love to see some of your designs, as I am always curious to what others are doing...

[Basilo1146]

I called it a spaceplane, because it's basically that, but more realistically it's a first stage meant to efficiently insert objects into a suborbital trajectory using lift to overcome a low thrust/weight ratio. In simpler terms, it's a plane that can't quite make orbit, but can easily carry a second stage which can.