Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program

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Fernland SP-24 "Strada"
   
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Craft
Craft Type: Plane
File Size
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3 Oct, 2024 @ 4:01pm
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Fernland SP-24 "Strada"

Description
UPDATED VERSION: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3342888694

This vessel, however unassuming it may look, was birthed from a challenge I and Scrapcat :3 have done together.

The challenge was simple: Stock only, under 70km ASL altitude, airbreathing engines only, circumnavigate Kerbin in the shortest amount of time; from the KSC runway back to the KSC runway, just the long way around :)

This craft can indeed go fast. At its operating altitude (20km), it can reach 17km/s. Efficiently, too.

However the original version has one flaw. You see, I haven't thought about the fact that parts in ksp conduct heat to other parts. This effectively limits the speed of the craft to 12 km/s, just to not burn up the probe core, the heat tolerance of which is a mere 1200 kelvin, compared to the structure which has a heat tolerance of 2000 kelvin and higher. Therefore, if I am to update the craft, I'll probably redesign the front to have a service bay instead of a fairing. and attach the probe core to some part that doesn't conduct heat as well or maybe even at all like a 0.625m heat shield.

Now let me enumerate the design choices which may not seem clear at first glance:

Rapier engines instead of Whiplash engines: If you look in the statistic, you'll find that the rapier engine actually generates more thrust at higher mach numbers than the whiplash engine.

probe core inside fairing instead of a cockpit: Because I saw that the heat tolerance of the other crew modules were around 1100 kelvin and 1700 kelvin, meanwhile the heat tolerance of a fairing is like 2400 kelvin, which is much more. Of course, the original version didn;t think about the heat transfer to the probe core, but when that's resolved, it'll be all fine.

Traditional wing and tail design: Yeah because I'm not so good at designing in stock. Normally I would've used procedural wings to create a design that would be more fitting for this, like a delta wing or a (non-delta) flying wing.

The others are trivial and needn't be discussed.

Alright then, enjoy flying at very high speeds then. Of course if you want to use it in some stunts, you can try, but mind that the craft wasn't tested for agility so it may turn slower than a cruise ship, for all I know.

Modified versions of the craft must have the link of this craft in the description.