Love of the game..? Steam says I've spent 3,671 hours over the course of the last decade. The fact that I'm still learning how to play this game to this day is testament to how massive, open-ended and sometimes frustratingly inscrutable this engineering masterpiece truly is.

How do you get this good??

Thank you so much JoJolion..! Yeah, I remember this craft does feel a bit different in flight due to not having any vertical tail fin or flaps. I'm happy that you had a good time. Welcome to KSP..!

it sorta strafes to the left for me, other than that its an amazing build <3

No mods or cheats are required to use this craft. However, it does require both KSP DLC packs.

what mods are required?

Thank you so much..! Though I'm truly sorry that you are having trouble. I just spent about an hour trying to recreate this issue to no avail... My guess is that you are maybe trying to perform the transformation too low or too high..? The transformation really works best at an altitude between 300-500m. Also, the rotation servos do not lock- the docking ports are what lock the wings in place. If something in the transformation process does not allow a full 90 degree wing pivot, the wings will not lock correctly. I hope this short checklist helps...
This is my typical order of operation to fly this craft:
1. Press (T) To Engage SAS
2. Press (Z) For Full Throttle
3. Press (Space Bar) To Engage Engines & Liftoff
4. Press (G) To Retract Gear At About 200m
5. Press (2) Between 300-500m Transform Ship Into Horizontal Flight Mode
You Should Not Use Any Ship Controls (WASD Q & E) Until After Step 5 Has Completed

This is an incredible build! I am having an issue though. I cant seem to get the rotation servo to lock after transformation, even without touching controls for a while through the entire transformation. As soon as I pitch the wings rotate freely and it falls to the ground... Anything im missing or any tips to get it to lock?