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[forsaken1111]

I just started a new game with the KAS 0.90 thingie yesterday, is it safe to use this new version?

Yes, but a lot of parts are depreciated. If you didn't use any of the KAS parts yet you're fine. If you did, you will need to download the old parts so your vessels can still load, then go strip those parts off and discard them.

[miauw62]

I didnt use any of the new parts.
So I deleted the old KAS folder and put in the new one, but now literally all of my parts are gone.
What the fuck?

[forsaken1111]

I didnt use any of the new parts.
So I deleted the old KAS folder and put in the new one, but now literally all of my parts are gone.
What the fuck?

O.o

Uh... I don't know? Nothing you do to the KAS folder should mess up the other parts...

[miauw62]

Oooh, my version of KIS was too old.
He could've mentioned having to update it on the OP...

E:
God damnit, but now I've accepted a contract taht requires me to perform visual surveys higher than my current plane can go >.>
any advice to make it capable of going higher? (currently it seems to stall at about 12000 m)

[nogoodnames]

More wings, more thrust, more intakes.

[Graknorke]

Very wide wings are the defining feature of high altitude planes, for me. You want wingspans so huge that they are outright impractical to take off or land.

[puke]

I'm liking the new aerodynamics.  Granted, I never played any of the big aero mods, but compared to old-stock the new stuff is pretty great.

I was having a hard time putting together a good heavy lift vehicle with stock parts, but then I started really working on the airflow and everything came together.

I used the angled tail sections to mount boosters flush against the center of a stage, and got rid of all of my conical nosecones so that air would not be directed back against the hull.  Made my payload at the top taller instead of wider, and now I can really cut through the dense lower atmosphere and put heavier payloads in orbit.

Great stuff.

[LoSboccacc]

More wings, more thrust, more intakes.

also basic jet runs out of oomp at 13000mt, but you should be able to get near the survey zone at 1000mt, climb vertical, wait till speed start dropping and ENGAGE BOOSTERS

[forsaken1111]

Yeah I don't know how useful my advice will be but my spaceplane uses discarded rocket-assist boosters to reach altitude. These boosters drop off once expended and are recovered (stage recovery mod) and once I land the plane I reattach the boosters (kerbal construction time) so it really only costs the fuel unless one of the boosters is broken on recovery (30% chance or so iirc)

[Shadowlord]

It's also possible to make a plane that can reach high altitudes (even in 1.0.2) by minimizing drag, by just removing most of the drag-inducing parts.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

On a test flight, it punched through the atmosphere and made it up to 75km, and then when it came back down, I landed it vertically not far from KSC, using the airbrakes to slow its descent (I was more confident of being able to do that than of being able to actually land on the runway, since I have never succeeded in a runway landing in KSP).

On the other hand, flying horizontally from the runway at full thrust, it catches fire and then things start exploding while KSC is still visible.

The problem is, most of the parts in it are all fairly high tech, and on top of that, it can't make orbit, so it's really only good for joyrides and possibly atmo missions that you don't actually care about by the time you can make it. (I haven't succeeded in making a real SSTO yet, either)

[LoSboccacc]

I think the problem was low tech level, not actual design

[puke]

Runway landings are MUCH more possible now.  I can reliably do it even with the low tech fixed wheels (their impact tolerance isnt so great compared to the real landing gear).

I only break off like.. half a wing, on average.  Often I get down totally clean!

[forsaken1111]

Runway landings are MUCH more possible now.  I can reliably do it even with the low tech fixed wheels (their impact tolerance isnt so great compared to the real landing gear).

I only break off like.. half a wing, on average.  Often I get down totally clean!

For low tech landings you can also use the girder segments as sleds. They hold up surprisingly well. Of course you don't get brakes then.

[miauw62]

Man, I got up to 16500 with SRBs :x
I did forget to remove the oxidizer from my tanks though, so maybe... I'll also slightly limit the thrust on these SRBs, so I can tilt my plane harder and go vertical before they are half empty.


Also, I seem to be able to pull of half-decent landings on Kerbin's Grasslands while only breaking off a tail connector or so.
Seems much less hazardous than the runway, since the grasslands usually dont have a small but lethal drop to either side.

E:
Got up to literally 17450 m
FML

E2:
Limited the thrust on my SRBs some more, and i fucking did it. That took way too much effort.

For the rest of the mission, does anybody know if I can give my crew EVA parachutes without having to make them go on EVA? It's not really convenient

E3:
BTW, the bigass uncontrollable fall is pretty terrifying. I was pretty happy when my jet engines came back online and let me regain control.

[Akura]

Runway landings are MUCH more possible now.  I can reliably do it even with the low tech fixed wheels (their impact tolerance isnt so great compared to the real landing gear).

I only break off like.. half a wing, on average.  Often I get down totally clean!

For low tech landings you can also use the girder segments as sleds. They hold up surprisingly well. Of course you don't get brakes then.

Unless it's an airbrake. Or rockets pointed the wrong way. Or parachutes.


I found it works to attach LFO rockets as well as an air-breather. If you don't have the SPH upgraded to use custom action groups, but can use basic ones(or even if you do), you can set the rockets to toggle with the RCS. That won't work if you actually have RCS thrusters attached as well.

Spoiler: Here's a SSTO for you. (click to show/hide)

Note, only SSTO if you don't try to manuever in the atmosphere. Flies pretty well in space. Flies like a brick with Tourette's Syndrome in the atmosphere.

My only attempt at landing ended up making it a vertical drop(had no parachutes), but it only snapped off one of the tail wings. Somehow. I've since updated the design with a docking port and some RCS jets(as there was a big tank of Monopropellant not being put to use). Had to change the control group setup above so that the rockets are toggled with the lights. I also fixed that front landing gear, it was off to the side, sending the plane to the hard left on take-off(now it's harder to fly somehow).

Those are Rockomax Poodle engines on the rear there. I find that in space, those are one of the better engines. Not so much in the atmosphere. Ideally, the nuclear engines would be best on a spaceplane, since those use LF only, like the airbreathers... but I don't have those yet.