"The Squid"

Air Launch Orbital Shuttle Mk2

The twin booms can be contracted and the wings can be rotated upward changing the aerodynamic characteristics.

ACTIVATION GROUPS

Sub Groups
AG 8 to 10 are sub groups and only respond if either Hydraulics or Cargo Bay are active.

MS.Gear/Lnd Lights
Mothership landing gear and all landing lights.

Landing Gear
Shuttle landing gear and mothership parachutes (deploy on landing).

Hydraulics
Activate forward wing pitch trim (slider 1), aft inboard wing pitch control (pitch), arm sub groups.

Sub Groups
Inboard
Slider 2 folds up inboard wings.
Booms
Slider 2 contracts booms.
Wings
Slider 2 folds wings.

Cargo Bay
Open cargo bay doors, switch on lights, arm sub groups.

Sub Groups
Fwd Dock
Rotate and elevate forward docking port.
Booms
Sliders 1 and 2 control the crane’s telescopic booms.
Deck Ctrl
Activate control to the crane deck.
*Brake retracts deck
*Slider 1 pivots deck
*Slider 2 rotates docking port

Mage
Activate main engines (must be toggled on then off after stage 2 to deactivate).

RCS
RCS nozzles.

FLIGHT NOTES:

Stage - Guideline Targets
1. 500M/S 15000M
2. 1100M/S 25000M
3. 2000M/S 60000M
4. N/A

Keep the ascent to a fairly shallow climb.
Separation (stage 3) is easier with booms spread and aft wings down. Watch angular velocity and contract booms/aft wings then turn off hydraulics once trajectory has stabilised.

Reentry
Spread booms/aft wings down, rotate wings upward. Lose velocity at a high an altitude as possible.

The Cargo Bay
The payload is docked to both ports. Release one end before lifting the other. Remember to first retract the crane deck. This is the maximum payload size and it’s a tight fit. To lift the payload out with the crane operate the lower booms group (slider 1) first. Once the front of the payload is clear both boom groups can be used.

Auto pilot doesn’t work with this craft so fly manually. The mothership on its own does better with auto pilot. All parts fully indexed.

AG 7 is reserved for Vizzy.