Subscribe to download
Laythe Spaceplane

Modular Long-Range Spaceplane

Mass: 456.6t
Acceleration (Void): 5.2m/s^2
Acceleration (Air): 11.5m/s^2

Dimensions: 67m x 46.5m x 10m
Gyroscopes: 2/0

Environment: All
Connectors: 1
Cargo: 3 Medium Containers (various locker containers)
Fuel: 24 tanks
Oxygen: 4 tanks, 2 generators
Power: 5 large reactors, 24 batteries (~177.4MW, 24% reserve)
Weapons: 1 Hell-Lance (rotor displacement spring cannon, compact)

Crew: 2 Required, 5 Possible
> 1 Pilot
> 1 Navigator
- 3 Passengers

Standard Inventory: 1.0t Total
- 1000 Uranium Ingots

Maximum Payload To Space: +68.6t

The Laythe was designed as a high-altitude spaceplane; with a highly modular construction, it was able to take on many roles. In general, it was used to ferry cargo quickly through areas with impassable terrain or embroiled in harsh conflict. However, it became well-known as a bomber; it could fly far, far higher than any other contemporary craft and from there, could strike with complete impunity and often without any warning. This earned it the classification of 'phantom'.

A smaller SSGL this time, revolving around two things - actual lift-based flying, and the giant pop-up cannon.

This is based on one of Matt Lowne's KSP Phantom spaceplanes[forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com]. No prizes for guessing which one (though note it uses two chemical engines instead of one).

This is intended as a technology demonstrator for the No-Ammo Rapid-Fire Rotor Gun Script... the problem is that in order to work, this ship does something that the normal script cannot do.
Through black magic, I have condensed the rotor spring to a mere two acceleration rotors - oscillating the spring several times before firing increases power dramatically, and though 80m/s is much less than normal, it is still more than enough to break anything in one shot. The script does not incorporate this function, because each craft requires individual tuning (lest the ship blow up) and there really isn't an easy way to automate it.

It is recommended you use the Atmospheric Drag mod - this craft has a low angle of attack required to maintain altitude, which makes life easier, and the cannon actually doesn't interfere at all when stowed. With that said, it's almost impossible to take off without the VTOL engines (landing is fine), and flying with the cannon deployed in-atmo can and will make your life difficult. If you don't do drag, then the craft will survive just fine without it. It's just going to dent your (survival) flight time by a lot.

More supergridding, naturally, in the form of large gyros and engines. This time, it legitimately cannot fly without them.


Pilot:

[Hotbar 1]
[1] - Camera - View
[2] -
[3] - Throttle Up
[4] - Throttle Down
[5] -
[6] - Landing Gear - Extend/Retract
[7] - Landing Gear - Lock
[8] -
[9] - Hydrogen Thrusters - On/Off

[Hotbar 2]
[1] - Hell-Lance - Deploy/Retract
[2] - Camera - View
[3] - Hell-Lance - Fire Single Shot
[4] - Hell-Lance - Fire Salvo
[5] - Hell-Lance - Share Inertia Tensor (stability, keep this on)
[6] - Hatch - Open/Close
[7] - Hatch - Light On/Off
[8] - Cabin Air Vent - Pressurise/Depressurise

[Hotbar 3]
[1] - Reactors - On/Off
[2] - Batteries - On/Off
[3] - Electrolysers - On/Off
[4] -
[5] - Hell-Lance Bay Camera - View



Delta-V is the speed the ship can accelerate to before running out of fuel. A good measure of a ship's 'range'.
Delta-V values do not account for atmospheric drag or planetary gravity. The only exception is when a ship's dedicated lifting force causes a power overload, as that takes gravity into account.
Everything is calculated for loaded mass under 1G (except for the dry mass).

Based on one of Matt Lowne's KSP Phantom spaceplanes[forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com].

[Mods You Need]
[SEModder4/UncleSte] Armour Ramps
[Ced23Ric] Long Armour Ramps

[Mods You Don't Really Need, But Should Have]
[DraygoKorvan] Atmospheric Physics (drag/lift/reentry heating)
[Midspace] Unlimited Ship Speed
[Dr. Novikov] Space Just Got Real (lighting/skybox)
[LeonserGT] Vanilla Weapon Rebalance
[Stone Cold Jane Austen] Invisible Armour Edges That Don't Break Every Single Update

[Scripts]
[dagriefaa (me!)] No-Ammo Rapid-Fire Rotor Gun Script
[MMaster] Configurable LCDs
[Whiplash141] Artificial Horizon

Supergridding - brought to you by the ART team

And you!

Large grid gyroscopes are roughly 150% more effective than small grid gyros (based on torque/mass).