Plane

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A Ravenspear Mk1 starting from the runway.

A plane is a craft which starts horizontally and utilises the lift generated from wings or winglets. Because planes usually use jet engines they are more efficient than rockets but normally don't leave the atmosphere. Therefore, long distances can easily be covered in-atmosphere, but on the other hand the atmosphere induces drag at all times, preventing a stable orbit.

Planes are build in the Space Plane Hangar and start from the runway. It is possible to build planes in the Vehicle Assembly Building but from there planes would start on the launch pad, whose small size makes a horizontal takeoff difficult. There are various stock planes available in the Space Plane Hangar.

The fastest known plane moved at about 2340 m/s relative to the ground a bit short of Mach 7.[1] At this speed it is possible to circumnavigate Kerbin in about 29 minutes at an altitude of 40 km. For comparison the speed required to orbit Kerbin at 70 km (outside the atmosphere) is only 2296 m/s.

Another hazard to planes are flameouts, which occur when not enough intake air is available, especially when there are engines generating thrust off the center of mass. This could lead to an unstable flight, when only engines on one side fail and engines on the other side continue to generate thrust applying torque.

Variants

It is possible to build planes which can leave the atmosphere and achieve orbit. Those planes are called spaceplanes and require a rocket engine to finish the orbit.

Another form of planes are gliders. Those don't use any fuel to propel them and simply exchange height with velocity. As there is no weather, no updrafts exist, so gliders can't ascend without losing speed. Launching gliders can also be problematic. However, the aerodynamics system can also be exploited to produce infinite gliders, which accelerate without the use of engines.

Notes

  1. The MachingBird Challenge!” in the forums.