KerbalX

Description

The F-104. The Starfighter. The missile with a man in it. The Widowmaker. The lawndart. The flying phallus.
Whatever you want to call it, you can’t deny it’s a marvel of science and engineering. Screaming up to incredible speeds and altitudes, with the ability to kill anything with a red star on it and a complete disregard for any turning capability, this aircraft is the embodiment of ‘Murican spirit.
It can fly at any hour, day or night, and it can perform missions usually requiring several different aircraft: photo reconnaisance; interdiction; close support; interception; air superiority; and even nuclear weapons delivery. It served with the US Air Force since 1958 until 1969, and with a number of other air forces, perhaps most notably the German Luftwaffe, for far longer than that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-5ExkcQ-7k

Alright, so marketing talk aside for now. I built this craft as close as I could to the real thing, going for function over looks, which is why it might not look as close as some other replicas on this site. However, it is fairly close in it’s specifications and performance, as you can see on the right. Due to this, Atmosphere Autopilot’s Fly By Wire function is highly recommended - it’s rather difficult to fly, just like the real Lawndart.

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Takeoff procedure/checklist:
-Brakes to full, canopy closed, ground crew cleared;
-Flaps to 2 with standard load, 3 with max T/O weight;
-Turn on Atmosphere Autopilot and it’s moderation function;
-Caps Lock for gentler control;
-Action group 1 to start the engine;
-Throttle up to 100%;
-Release the brakes and immediately press Action Group 2 to light the afterburner;
-Keep it centerline, using both rudder and ailerons to avoid roll-overs;
-At about 400kph IAS depending on your loading, rotate; the plane should lift off at about 450kph
-Retract landing gear before 550kph and flaps when appropriate

Landing procedure:
ILS is recommended.
-Start final approach from about 6km before the runway, going 550 kph at 800m altitude and with your gear and flaps fully deployed;
-Ensure you’re fully lined up with the runway heading;
-Use the airbrakes and throttle to get into a glideslope where your nose is pointed ~5 degrees up and fly the prograde vector onto the start of the runway (much easier with the aforementioned ILS system, just select the flag at the start of the runway as a target and align the prograde vector to just above the target mark on your navball)
-Right before landing, flare to a maximum of 12 degrees and gently touch down
-Brakes on, use the drogue chute if necessary (it almost always is, even on the KSC runway, let alone smaller ones like the island runway)

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Atmosphere Autopilot set up:
Moderate maximum AoA to 30 degrees, 35 without wingtip tanks
Maximum G to 9 units, 12 without wingtip tanks

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There is also a ZELL (Zero Launch Length) version available.

A mod aircraft called F-104G. Built with 93 of the finest parts, its root part is Mk1 S39 Cockpit.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.4.3.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 93
• Mods: 12

Mods

• Airplane Plus
• AviationCockpits
• B9 Procedural Wings Modified
• BDArmory
• BDArmoryContinued
• Ferram Aerospace Research
• KWS : Kerbal Weapons System
• Kerbal Foundries2
• Mk2 Stockalike Expansion
• QuantumStrutsContinued
• Squad (stock)
• TweakScale - Rescale Everything!

This craft | Real F-104G
13,148kg max weight | 13,166
7,452kg empty | 6,350
Mach 2.23 max speed | Mach 2
14.5m length | 16.66
7.1m wingspan | 6.5
17 m² wing area | 18.22
720rds 20mm | 725