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The Embracer flying west, high over Kerbin.
- And surprisingly, at a higher altitude and with a better range than the fourth Plane Prime (though not necessarily a better speed). On the other hand, while the Embracer only has to carry 3 people plus a light cargo load, that other plane has to carry 20 with a larger load.
The Embracer with its cargo inventory on display in the SPH.
- I started with removing the prop engines from the Beachcraft (and the cones behind them) and replacing them with jet engines. The Beachcraft was for short-range pleasure flights, and the Embracer was for getting serious.
- After that, I raised my wings’ AoA by 5 degrees and then rearranged my landing gear in a tricycle configuration. I mean, how many jets do you see with a tailwheel sticking out?
The thermometer’s still there in case you want to take thermal surveys (mostly because I forgot to remove it). If you wish to upgrade your Embracer with other scientific instruments, go ahead.
Description
Despite the rising popularity of jet-powered aircraft, the Wynter Kerman family held on to the propeller-driven Beachcraft for personal use. For business use, however, jets were fair game – and in popular demand by WinterOwl Aircraft Emporium’s highest-ranking employees. The Embracer was designed and built using the Beachcraft’s airframe design, but with jet engines and a tricycle landing gear configuration. After successful test runs, WinterOwl’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to sell Embracers to paying customers, including Kerbin’s (then-young) central government. Production eventually came to a halt in favor of better jets, but Embracers are still being used and repaired nowadays.
Just like the Beachcraft, the Embracer was not equipped with a probe core – or, for that matter, Kerbnet. It did have an early autopilot, however, as it was not intended for pleasure flights. When the Incapacitated Pilot Act was passed many decades later, all Embracers had to be retrofitted with probe cores, later autopilot models, and Kerbnet. That was when WinterOwl directors and other business executives who had those jets started using them for personal purposes instead of business trips.
A stock aircraft called Embracer. Built with 66 of the finest parts, its root part is probeStackSmall.
Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.12.4.
The Embracer turning around and climbing soon after takeoff from KSC. Like the Beachcraft, I had a pretty low liftoff speed. As predicted, I was able to clear Alt Test Mountains with ease. It was just a matter of how to cruise around afterwards.
Some time after flying west in the dark (literally), the Embracer is seen flying towards the sun.
- If one didn’t know the heading, s/he would assume the plane was flying towards the sunrise the whole time. However, it’s technically a setting sun; it’s just flying faster than 175 m/s, which is the speed that sunlight moves west along Kerbin’s surface.
The full HUD on when the plane has 50 fuel units left and requires an immediate landing. Here, one can see:
- Cruise altitude and velocity.
- How far away I am from the KSC. In this shot, I am flying TOWARDS the KSC since I’ve already passed the halfway point around Kerbin.
- How long I’ve been airborne.
- Whether or not I’m over water, which is real handy if flying at night.
Kerbnet was on because, when I started flying the Embracer, I didn’t know if I would need to land in the dark and would therefore need to see if I was over water or not. Of course, it would be hours (both in-game and IRL) before I would get to that point - and it was on the sunny side of the planet too.
Details
- Type: SPH
- Class: aircraft
- Part Count: 66
- Pure Stock
- KSP: 1.12.4
RECOMMENDED CRUISE
Altitude: 9.4 km (~30.8k ft, which is Class Alpha airspace)
Velocity: 300 m/s (671 mph)
Expected flight time: 3 hours
EXPECTED RANGE
Approximately 3,350 km before immediate landing necessary.
- I was 416 km away from the KSC flying WESTWARD TOWARDS IT (as in I had completed most of the planet’s circumference) when I had 50 units of fuel left (out of 1,370). I rounded the range down to add a safety net, albeit a slim one.
- Fortunately, this plane doesn’t spend fuel at a high enough rate to be concerned about.
Jeb Senior (Jeb’s dad) stepping outside after a bouncy yet otherwise successful landing.
- By the time he was rich enough to buy his own Embracer, WinterOwl had already stopped producing them. Fortunately, he managed to locate a used model that was well-maintained by its previous owner and purchased that one (and at a lower price than what he originally expected).
- Jeb Senior didn’t want to buy anything supersonic due to his son’s (and late wife’s) history of reckless piloting and he couldn’t risk tempting him with something fast.
