Tidebreaker VTOL Rev. 40

Included is Vizzy GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System), featuring callouts and alarms such as "Pull Up", "Sink Rate", "Gear Up", "Too Low, Gear Down", and a totally unique stall warning program functional on any atmospheric planetary body.

As a mainstay of the interstellar colonization program, the Trans-Atmospheric Colonization Vehicle (TACV), or Tidebreaker, is responsible for bringing base modules down from Interstellar Vehicles (ISVs) and deploying them on the surface of alien worlds.

The vehicle is a Mach 4.5, variable angle wingtip, SSTO VTOL spaceplane. The spaceplane features a spacious cargo bay, translating shock cones, retractable RCS thrusters, folding wingtips, and combined split drag rudder/trim tabs. Included is an auto-hover program.

Performance Specs:

Cruise Ceiling: ~ 20 km @ Mach 2.65
Top Speed (airbreathing): Mach 4.5
Propulsion System:
- 8x afterburning zero-bypass turbojets
- 3x afterburning zero-bypass ramjets
- 2x gas core nuclear thermal rockets, water
- 50 mini gas core nuclear thermal rockets for VTOL, water
Wet Mass: 4890 metric tons
Dry Mass: 2291 metric tons
Payload to LEO: ~3000 metric tons
TWR (Earth, ~ASL, max):
- Airbreathing: 0.47
- Main Rockets: 1.34
- VTOL TWR: 4.80
dV After Attaining LEO: km/s
Crew: 9
Dockable: Yes

Action groups are labeled

Slider 1: variable angle/folding wingtips
(0% = folded in for VTOL, +50% = angled down for ascent, +100% = angled up for reentry)

Slider 2: trim tabs ( +100% = up, -100% = down) and takeoff flaps (+100% = deployed)

Slider 3: cargo bay ramp
(+100% = deployed)

Slider 4: auto-hover control
Autohover
(+/- 10 m/s range, 100% = +10 m/s, 0% = 0 m/s, -100% = -10 m/s)

To take off, set the jets to full throttle, wait until very end of runway, deploy takeoff flaps with slider two, and quickly pull up.

Ramjets advised for speeds only over Mach 1.5.

For VTOL flight, make sure to enable the "Attitude Motors" AG for thrust vectoring attitude control.

To dock, the main thrusters are not recommended. When close to your target, ensure that the AGs "RCS" and "Docking RCS" are both enabled. The thrusters will automatically deploy.