KerbalX

Description

The Chausiku Kibowen class of heavy lifter spaceplane is an attempt at squaring the circle: combining the simplicity of a rocket with the efficiency and recoverability of a spaceplane. While that may be impossible, the Chausiku Kibowen comes close. It takes off easily, flies to orbit easily, re-enters easily, and lands easily.

Most of the body is structural: it is not intended to fly with full fuel load. The supplied craft file has plenty to get into orbit with the payload.

To fly up, lift off at about 100 m/s, and once you’re at about 200 m/s, point the nose up at just under 20 degrees. Then do nothing at all until the jets start to flare out: at this point you should be still climbing healthily at about 25 km altitude, going at around 1400 m/s. Then hit 2 to toggle mode and start the tail engine, and fly yourself to orbit.

To return, hold attitude between 45 and 60 degrees until transition to normal flight. If you have any fuel left, it helps to pump it towards the nose, as in very balanced regimes it may want to get into a flat spin when you hit thick air. To get out of it, apply thrust.

Approach and landing are extremely easy. It touches down below 40 m/s at a reasonable angle.

The included payload is an ISRU-tanker-lander combination built for airless worlds up to and including Vall gravity, i.e. any of them except Tylo.

NOTE: I fly all my planes nowadays with Atmosphere Autopilot’s standard fly-by-wire. If you’re full stock, your mileage may vary.

A stock aircraft called Chausiku Kibowen. Built with 244 of the finest parts, its root part is Size3SmallTank.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.3.1.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: lifter
• Part Count: 244
• Pure Stock