OHM Skylon Spaceplane

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Author: inzane

A near future concept by Reaction Engines Limited

The Skylon spacesplane is an aircraft whith single stage to orbit capability
It uses a new type of airbreathing engines in the first part of the ascent, then at mach 5.4 it switches to rocketmode for orbit insertion.

Uses Spaceraft3.dll whitch is included.



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Moach

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AWESOME! i've been waiting for one of those! :thumbup:
 

Interceptor

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Axel

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Thank you very mutch! I asked me, when this nice near future SSTO-Flyer gets real on Orbithangar, and you did it!!! Its the best concept for a SSTO and could revolutionize the space travel, when it gets real in reality! Flying models in simulations could help ofcourse, to convince/impress some people in important positions to bring us a step further to this target.

It looks good, maybe it could need a little bit more airbrush at topside hull (because reentry no downside). Nice idea with the windowed passenger module in payload bay! It flyes very well, i reached the orbit at my first try, a 659x114km orbit :lol:, but orbit is orbit. And i started 330° NW (!), impossible for normal rocket flyers. Maybe a feature of airbreathing flyers. The space stage is a little bit overpowered with 40 000m/s exhaust velocity and 2km/s dV. Intresting Solution to write all in spacecraft3, but better would be a real Modul.DLL, for variable payloads and its relation ship of mass to the end velocity of the ship and the possebility to sit inside the ship at launch with working MFDs/VC. But working MFDs are possible in spacecraft3. To edit the Configuration is ofcourse possible for me and the most advanced orbinauts, but not that easy/fast for payload modifikations.
If you cant write DLLs, you could use multistage2 for a real "single stage flyer" :) or payload manager :thumbup:.
 

Joc

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I have Problems with the Skylon! "J" and a ship falls overboard. 2 vessels fall when I press. "J"
This is nonsense!
 

hribek

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This addon is quite nice.

Joc: It probably won't get much better until somebody makes a non-spacecraft3 version. I should get started on it any time now.

The airport would most likely be situated in French Guiana.
 

Izack

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This is nonsense!
This. Is. ORBITER!!!!

You're right, though. Two modules pop out, and then it starts spawning more Skylons. Weird. :blink:

101019160527passengermo.jpg


EDIT: For clarity: In the documentation, it's explained that this is how the staging works. When pressing J, the previous stage goes flying off at an insane speed and focus is switched to the next vessel. I think Multistage2 would have been a better solution, by using invisible stages whose exhaust streams original from the correct parts of the 'payload,' which would be the Skylon in orbital configuration. I think it would be much smoother that way.
 
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hribek

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It's not weird if you read the documentation.

Works on Orbiter 2006 and Orbiter 2010

I made this to simulate the Skylon space vehicle using Sapacraft3.dll. Skylon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon

It is actually 4 identical Skylon meshes placed on top of each other whith a payload mesh in between,
but just one Skylon mesh and one payload mesh is visible at the time (It is possible to have multiple payloads).
 

Inzane

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If you cant write DLLs, you could use multistage2 for a real "single stage flyer" :) or payload manager :thumbup:.[/QUOTE]


I tried to use multistage2.dll but i could only make vertical launches whith it.
And whith payload manager, it become impossible to take off because it shaked like a leaf in the wind when i added cargo to the aircraft. But I can check it out again to see if I missed something...
 

Wishbone

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inzane, never mind the grumbling, - such is the fate of all first movers, and you're the first to do the Skylon in 2010. Itching to try flying your addon myself... :tiphat:
 
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Axel

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@Inzane
You are right, multistage2 simulates no aerodynamics, its only for pure tall rockets, very basicly. I tryed payloadmanager too, its hard to control the "complex", RCS works only at mothership-vessel, unlike the author sayed.

But i have another resolution, i use now a single spacecraft3-vessel with a fixed engine, attached with a 2nd invisible pure engine-vessel. You can decide wich engine should be the 2nd vessel. Steering of the complet system is all time possible from both vessels. I did this method very succesfull to add Hover engines to other ships in the past, like the starclipper. I used attachment-manager from orbithangar, one time attached the both vessels keep together forever, too if you restart the scenario. Now i can add very simple payloads from ground to ISS in the one same vessel and very important, i have sabre engine cross range after reentry, with possibility of landing abort and reapproach, a important main feature of the Skylon system!

There are only 2 small problems:
1. The sabre engine air shutter keeps open or close forever, in the case of what mesh you choosed. Solution=write a anim for the open/close air shutter operation
2. Orbiter "forgets" the masses of attached spacecraft3 doughter vessels, after leaving a scenario. When you restart the scenario, theres only the mass of the mother-vessel, you can see it wonderfull with "BurnTime-MFD" or "Object-info" from orbiter ingame-menu. When you try to use the 2nd engine, the ship would accelerate with 40-50 G like Enterprise!!!
Solution=clear all time the tank of the attached doughter engine vessel, before you leave a scenario. Save the fill level in your brain and add the fuel mass after reloading of the scenario manuel to the tank, then orbiter adds the correct mass to the main vessel too.

Ok a right DLL would be the best way, but my solution i find mutch better than your multistaged-Syklon-mesh-thrower :lol:.
 

Wishbone

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"My Skylon is bigger than yours". very funny... my humor detectors went off-scale.
 

Inzane

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@Axel
Thanks for the tip:thumbup:
One of the reasons that I published this strange addon was to get tips on how to improve it.

Anyway I tried it out, but I couldn't get the parent ship to care about the child ship's mass or acceleration or anything else. Has this something to do whith the fact that im trying to use a spacecraft3 craft for both stages?
 

Axel

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@Inzane
Hm my english is not 100%. But i try to answer you. Both ships can be in spacecraft3. Ok the starclipper is a DLL, but why the trick should not work with Skylon too? There are some other nice addons, where many spacecraft3-stages are conected. I prefer to use the Sabre-Skylon as the parent vessel, with complet aerodynamics and Sabre-engine, because we use it at Start and Landing, need to increase/decrease the engine smoothly. The attached child vessel use as pure engine vessel, without aerodynamics ect, to prevent a "Aeodynamic-Increase-Effect", when 2 Skylon-Bodys are working. But maybe im wrong about it. But all RCS actions and thrusts from main engine take effect to both ships. And the rocket-engine-child-vessel need only a RCS, because we use it only in space or very high altitudes, where air is very thin. Its althouh possible to activate the engine-vessel, then go back for steering in the parent vessel. The engine burns and accelerates both vessels, but you will not hear the engine sound then from child, when you sit in parent.
You configure it so, that the exhaust from child goes exactly through the nozzles from the parent mesh, like the sabre engine before. As mesh for the child vessel use a invisible mesh or a very small mesh, which we can hide in the big Skylon at every place.

@Wizbone
I dont know which Skylon is "the biggest", but my is very big and strong. You go home with your small and short Skylon, yours needs large ammounts of fuel and reaches no deepness in space :lol::lol::lol:
We have the task to "Skylonize the LEO" to be in heaven and before we have to penetrating the atmosphere with it, yu know?
 
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Moach

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hey, Inzane - i was thinking, this is a very nice, realistic addon - it would be tremendous if this was driven by a custom DLL....

and i reckon a lot of the code i developed for the G42 Starliner would fit the Skylon quite well (the Skylon is actually a little simpler, really)


and i would find it quite a hoot to have this:
new-configs_l.jpg


for a 3D cockpit....
or, in the case of a cargo-only version, the 3D cockpit could even be replaced by a similarly laid out "remote control station"


so yep! i'm volunteering to help out with that :salute: - i'm finally getting good at that whole C++ thing :hmm: - plus, i can model that interior too! :thumbup:

cheers! :cheers:
 

Axel

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@Moach
I would love you Moach!!! Please do that job, i was dreaming about it yesterday too, to have this nice real planed passenger cabin in the addon, with working MFDs and the many windows topside and top left/right. I think the 4-passenger cabin would be better situated for us orbinauts, it has more space, more payload and more scientific devices, its for exploration and longer flights. The 16-passenger cabin is for short pure passenger transfers.
It would be nice for using Camera-MFD and Firstperson-Addon, maybe a little bit strange way to steering this ship comparing to other ships, but a great feeling and simulation how it would be to fly a Skylon!!! :thumbup:

But plz don't insert front windows and take the aerodynamic from Inzanes Skylon for maximum realism.
 
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hribek

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Hey Moach, I'm already in the process of creating a standalone vessel module for Skylon and the Fluyt stage (I received Urwumpe's Skylon code). I'll send you a PM with details.

I don't have any mesh for Fluyt yet, and I'm probably going to make some quick one but if there's some mesh-expert with free time on his hands, let me know.

Fluyt will have to be assembled on-orbit from two separate parts, delivered by Skylon. http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/fluyt.html
 
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