Project XR3 Phoenix (WIP)

[worir1]

Rthy thank you. i never thought of it that way. I have thecargo platform but find it difficult to use.

 

[Loru]

Work slowly progresses on front gear.

 

[Keatah]

I love them innertube muffintyres. Can't wait to take this laddybuck for a spin'round the block!

 

[Loru]

and narrow angle shot with part of family:

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and scaling for front gear:

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And next to the shuttle to compare sizes:

 

[Recon]

An amazing addition to the Altea Aerospace XR fleet! :thumbup:

 

[Cras]

Those stabilizers look awfully small.
And the window awfully large.

And the wings seem flat and rather plain.

 

[Hlynkacg]

I think the wings look fine, and "plainness" can be adressd with textures, that said the total area of the 2 vertical stabs should add up to be at least equal to the shuttle's stab.

I'd also reccomend adding a bit more arch or depth to the fuselage because it looks a little flat right now.

 

[Cras]

I don't think textures will change the fact that the wings look like flat boards of foam.

 

[RisingFury]

Those stabilizers look awfully small.
And the window awfully large.

And the wings seem flat and rather plain.

I imagine this is just a preliminary mesh and detail hasn't been added.

 

[Loru]

I imagine this is just a preliminary mesh and detail hasn't been added.

Indeed. This is "outline" low res mesh that I'm using for placing & determining size of all systems (engines, landing gear, payload bay etc.)

AS I'll have 11 days off during christmas/new year the work will progress faster.

Those stabilizers look awfully small.
And the window awfully large.

And the wings seem flat and rather plain.

Show us your work

 

[SpaceShuttleFan]

Oooh, awesome! Good luck with development!

EDIT: I saw this thread and thought "Wow, how could some dev use the XR series? I doubt it's a real XR. I click, and... :jawdrops:

 

[Ripley]

@ SpaceShuttleFan
there's also an XR4 in the works:

http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=28148

 

[Loru]

Since XR has to operate in various atmospheres I've decided to make hover engines with aerospike nozzles.:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Ooooh! Shiny!

 

[Loru]

However at start aerospike hover engine was tempting it turned out it requires lots of vertical space rendering it plain ugly. Current design incorporates classic nozzles (total 8 of them).

 

[Urwumpe]

However at start aerospike hover engine was tempting it turned out it requires lots of vertical space rendering it plain ugly. Current design incorporates classic nozzles (total 8 of them).

You can cut the end of the aerospike away, makes it more effective as side-effect, if you use base-bleed.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/design/aerospike/shapes.shtml

Much better in terms of height would be a radial nozzle... but also much wider.

 

[Keatah]

I like the yellow color. Nice.

Could the aerospikes have been made retractable or somewhat positionable? But, hey, the conventional nozzles look balanced. What about making these conventional nozzles a little bit variable geometry?

 

[NOMAD]

4 rocket engines: 2 main engines, 2 retro engines. NO hover engine ?

 

[Loru]

4 rocket engines: 2 main engines, 2 retro engines. NO hover engine ?

You can clearly see 8 hover nozzles in last picture. BTW it's 2 main (double chambered), 2 retro (single chambered), 2 scram engines and 8 hover engines (in 4 banks)

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To clarify:

 

[Hlynkacg]

I know I suggested it earlier, but if you deepen the fuselage profile a bit you'll have more vertical space to accomidate both the payload and the hover engines/theoretical propellant tanks.