So You Want to Make a VTOL Craft...

so plane, yes. but runway? dumb. I have a solution. In this guide you will learn the basic design and SCIENCE behind VTOL. The tutorial in SP talked about this, but not much. So, if you are still at a loss, then this guide will save you.

First Things First, The Body

Ok so, the body of a VTOL aircraft requires the following: VTOL nozzles, VTOL RCN, Blasto VTOL, intakes, and lots of fuel. (230gal recommended) | Also, I recommend using fueslage blocks because they can help distribute fuel and dead weight to control the CoM. When building your design, I would watch the COM, COL, and COT. Try to keep them together, and make room to the VTOL nozzles and RCNs. We will need all that later.

Second, The CoM, CoL, and CoT.

So if you don't know what CoM, CoL, and CoT stand for, they are Center of Mass (red ball), Center of Lift (blue ball), and Center of Thrust (yellow ball). The important thing of these guys is you need the CoM and CoT as close to each other as possible, and I mean AS CLOSE TOGETHER AS POSSIBLE. The reason why you want these pretty much inside each other is because when you lift off, the plane won't lean back or forward. If you take off, and plane leans back or forward, then you need to move the centers closer together. Now for the CoL, you want that guy about a balls length away from the other centers (sides of centers pretty much barely touching, as seen in the image). Therefore, the plane will barely want to pull up or pull down. It's ok if it wants to pull down or up a small bit, but a big difference can lead to serious difficulty in flying! You will most likely end up having the change the wings, dead weight, fuel, or maybe even the whole body itself! Don't worry though, we always make mistakes!

Third, The Thrust

Every plane needs some sort of propeller or jet for propulsion! You're going to need the following for this part: VTOL RCNs, VTOL nozzles, and the Blasto VTOL. VTOL nozzles are the little jets that you can rotate. Pretty much the main part of VTOL. The VTOL RCNs are the little guys that help you control the aircraft when you are hovering. The Blasto VTOL is the engine that powers the other two. If you cover the fan on the VTOL engine, then you will need to place an intake somewhere on the body (pay attention to the centers still). Place the VTOL nozzles right on the CoM or else there will be consequences! If you need more nozzles, place them in a way that the CoT will cancel out right on the CoM. Lastly, place the VTOL RCNs as far away from the center as possible for a greater effect! place them facing upwards to push down, facing downwards to push up, on the sides to push side to side, and finally on the ends of the wings perhaps to roll. Remeber again to check the centers!

That Should Be It!

Congratulations! you have made your VTOL aircraft! All I have for you now is an example of a VTOL aircraft. Click here[www.simpleplanes.com]for the page of my example. Without further ado, enjoy!

[spacepickle]

to add a gyroscope that only functions when VTOL mode is active, put the FT code "VTOL < 1 ? 1 : 0" in the activation group code. (this is untested but it should work

[Da_MLG_man]

i have an even better solution:
1. Set wind speed to 200mph
2. make an aircraft with a really low take off speed
3. done

[NoxiousLemon]

how do you add a post like this cause im zanbradcr3per aircraft designer from simpleplane.com and i wanna post a thing about hover calculations on how to make it perfectly hover in the air and i know how already i use the calculations all the time but i wanna share them

[Filip]

*assign

[Filip]

not if u put the guroscope on the com, but it does mess things up a little, especially if ur like me and assing the same ag for nozlles, brakes and gyro :P heres a link https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/6j60Lr/Nightmare-Hunter

[An Olympic Walnut]

Filip, adding a gyroscope would take a lot of tweaking and editing, and it would STILL hinder the aircraft’s maneuverability. I would recommend not using a gyroscope.

[Filip]

well, in 1.7 you can just add a gyroscope, just make sure its on only when in vtol mode