A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S
From Kerbal Space Program Wiki
| A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S | ||
 | ||
| Control surface by C7 Aerospace Division | ||
| Radial size | Radial mounted | |
| Cost | (total) | 1 000.00 
|
| Mass | (total) | 0.050 t |
| Drag | 0.02 | |
| Max. Temp. | 2400 K | |
| Impact Tolerance | 8 m/s | |
| Research |  Advanced Aerodynamics
| |
| Unlock cost | 20 000
| |
| Since version | 1.0 | |
| Part configuration | Airbrake.cfg | |
| Lift generated | 0.38 | |
| Cont. surf. portion | 100% | |
| Deflection range | 70° | |
| Actuator Speed | 20°/s | |
| Packed volume | 750 l | |
The A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S are the first, and so far only, stock speed brakes, introduced in version 1.0.
They fulfill two main functions:
- When activating braking (default key: B) they deploy to deliberately increase air drag which reduces airspeed when flying through an atmosphere. This is especially useful for planes during landing, or spacecraft which are aerobraking, and want to decelerate faster.
- Airbrakes also act similar to control surfaces on the pitch and yaw axes and will steer a vehicle while flying through the atmosphere by selective deploying and undeploying. This makes them an alternative to winglets for stabilizing rockets during ascent. They have the advantages of creating far less drag while they are not used but far more drag when they are deployed, making them the most effective control surfaces in the game. Unfortunately the large amounts of drag generated to turn a craft quickly also has the effect of decelerating it quickly, thus diminishing their usefulness for rotational control on planes which greatly depend on speed to remain airborne. They also adjust slowly compared to other control surfaces, which can make them difficult to steer with. Their use as control surfaces can be toggled independently for pitch and yaw by right-clicking them in the SPH or VAB, or in flight.
They also work as a aero surface, with a lift rating of .38.
By default they are bound to the brakes action group, and any attempts to remove them from this action group will be reverted if the craft is launched or saved and loaded.
Product description
| “ | Research into feasible ways to slow down a plane in mid-air showed that loose hull panels are pretty great as drag-inducing deceleration devices. The discovery led to the invention of the Aerodynamically Integrated Retrograde Braking Robustly Armed Kinetic Extending System (A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S.), which is now popular mostly as a cheap alternative to longer runways. C7 Engineers are still trying to come up with a shorter name for such a long acronym. | ” |
Trivia
Real-world comparison
The A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S appear to be inspired by the airbrakes on the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft. It shares a similar shape, operation, and function with its real life counterpart.
Changes
- Initial release
