The Kerbal Player's Guide

Chapter 4. Planes in Space

Rockets aren’t the only way to get to space. In addition to the traditional “giant tube of explosions that flings things up high” approach, Kerbal Space Program includes a very useful piece of equipment that became quite popular in the 20th century: wings.

In this chapter, you’ll learn about the Space Plane Hangar, a building that forms part of the Kerbal Space Center complex. You’ll start by learning how to fly the built-in planes that come with the game, including taking off and safely landing. Next, you’ll learn about the principles of designing a plane, and then use them to build a plane that can not only fly, but also fly to orbit.

Heading Out for a Joyride

The best way to learn about aerodynamic flight in Kerbal Space Program is to jump into a premade airplane. Let’s get started by jumping into the Aeris-3A (see Figure 4-1), a simple little jet that’s perfect for learning to fly.

First, go to the Space Plane Hangar (SPH). The SPH is the building next to the runway. Next, load the Aeris-3A by clicking on the Load button at the top right of the screen and selecting from the list that appears. Now, launch the plane by clicking the Launch button.

You’ll now be looking at your plane on the runway. Just as in real life, to get into the air, you’ll need to fire up the engines and pull up.

There are a couple of preflight things to do before you turn on the engine. First, increase the throttle to maximum by pressing Z. Next, turn on the SAS module by pressing ...