KerbalX

Description

Based upon it’s SSTO variant, the Hibaru VTOL transport is a 100-ton class tandem-wing VTOL transport airplane designed to transport 10 Kerbals and small payloads of up to 5-tons anywhere on Kerbin. If you can somehow get it to Laythe, it should work there as well (untested, will void warranty!).

After (again) butchering the slim lines of the original design, 10 Panther engines were tucked away (more accurately, crammed in) inside Mk.2 cargo bays located under the main fuselage. The overall angles and positions of the wings are actually closer to the Hibaru SSTO prototype, which was plagued by stability problems on re-entry until it’s redesign. These issues turned out not to affect the VTOL variant in normal atmospheric flight, and thus was left as is. The payload bay up top is located as close as possible to the CoM. Due to controllability issues at first, plenty of reaction wheels were added, some of which aren’t even located in the manual. Vernor thrusters are included for those impatient Kerbonauts who somehow pitch their aircraft too hard.

Do note that the lower forward MK2 adapters have some oxidizer left in primarily for trimming purposes. The side mounted FLT tanks will take care of the RCS needs.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.4.3.

Takeoffs

Remember to open the cargo bays bays if you plan on using spacebar to turn on the Panthers.

• Vertical:
  Press 4 to open the cargo bays and unlock the Panther gimbals, then 2 to activate the Panthers and 3 to toggle the afterburners. You’ll need them to takeoff with full fuel, add full throttle and the craft should lift up. Use the controls to compensate any pitching motion. With payload in the cargo bay, you’ll NEED to compensate a little. If you find yourself pitching too steeply, use RCS to bring yourself back. Press 1 to activate the ramjets, retract the gear and accelerate away. Press 3, 2 and 4 in sequence to shut off the VTOL engines and close the bays as your speed increases.

• Horizontal:
  Like a normal airplane, press 1 to activate the Ramjets and hold the nose up. The aircraft will lift off around 115 m/s, and you don’t need to worry about scraping the tail. You might notice some wobbling from side to side if/when you add directional control above 60m/s; the manufacturer insists that this is not a flaw stemming from mounting the landing gear on pylons. Instead, this is branded as a feature, since Kerbals found normal takeoffs too safe. The ramjets really only induce Whiplash (Hah!) above 450m/s, and the craft has just enough oomph to get past that speed. At higher weights, try and keep the climb rate low to accelerate past that threshhold, though this will be easier to do at lower fuel weights. Once you reach 500m/s or more, you can gain speed and altitude. For cruising, try to maintain between 15-20km and speed above 1000m/s. A bit of rollercoaster flight may be necessary.

Landings

• Vertical:
  Vertical landings can require a bit of practice to get right, and precision controls should be turned off. First thing is to slow down, set the throttle to zero, press 1 to shut down the ramjets and 7 to toggle the fin-brakes. Below 120m/s press 4, 2 and 3 in sequence to ready the Panthers, keep pitching up as high as you can without gaining too much altitude and start increasing throttle as you slow down. There is a tendency to nose down rapidly if you reduce the throttle too quickly while descending in VTOL mode, if this happens, use RCS bursts to level yourself. Above 90 tons, you’ll probably need more than half-throttle to descend gradually.

• Horizontal:
  Apply brakes before landing. Target speed varies depending on weight, but at 100tons is 115-125m/s, and 70-80m/s at 75-tons (about half fuel with no payload). After touchdown hold the nose up as long as possible to slow down quicker. Even after the nose touches down, it’s best to keep holding full elevator up to help with directional control. This should also dampen out the aforementioned wobble (feature!) somewhat. Landing itself is easy due to the wide landing gear and good clearance for the tail.