This is my entry for the Amphibious Flying Challenge.

ASCT stands for Amphibious Stratosphere Cargo Transporter. This is the 2B-version, which is the second revision of the plane with adjustments to maneuverability in water and has no cargo, it's bare.

The paintjob was done with a dragonfly in mind, as the overall form kind of reminded me of those, especially the wings and the cockpit.

So, how do you fly this thing?

#1) I screwed up by building it the wrong way. Sorry, you have to turn it around on the runway. But this is not a problem, the steering-system allows for very sharp turns on land.

#2) To take off, activate the eight main engines by pressing Act 1 and 2. Put the engines on full power and pull up slightly at ~200 MPH.

#3) Retract the landing gear.

#4) Rise at 20-30° up to around 30000 ft, then go on with 10-20°, adjust pitch-trim as needed. Level out at any altitude you want to.

#5) To descend now, you shouldn't go too much in a dive. Something around 40-50° downwards pitch-angle is ok.

#6) You can land on water now by descending more and lowering your speed slowly, getting below 200 MPH. Land leveled or pitched-up, don't push the nose into the water! You can also look around for an airport nearby and land there. The process is almost identical, but you have to extend the landing gear first. Also the landing gear doesn't really care at which speed or angle you are dropping to the ground. I would recommend deactivating the eight main engines in the landing process.

#7) Use the brakes to decrease your speed to around 30-50 MPH and taxi to parking position. If you landed on the water, you can travel anywhere on it or take off again. Deactivate the main engines with Act 1 and 2, if you haven't already. Don't go too fast, you might flip over or take off (~400 MPH is very critical, but you can only reach that with the main engines active). Turning is only really effective in the water when the main rudder is activated with Act 7 and above 10% thrust is applied.

#8) Use the rudder only on land or water or when you are in a spin! It's too powerful for this plane in flight.

I've also made some short videos during testing which should give you an idea on how to handle the plane and show you it's capabilities. The videos show the ASCT-L, but most of the things still apply. I'll probably also load up some videos of the new version.

1. - (ASCT-L Dragonfly takeoff, gaining altitude and cargo launch)[http://plays.tv/video/56bfd598078b24469b/asct-l-dragonfly-takeoff-gaining-altitude-cargo-launch?from=user]

2. - (ACST-L Dragonfly maneuverability in the air, on land and on the sea + hard landing)[http://plays.tv/video/56bfe5065f03c9ecfb/acst-l-dragonfly-maneuverability-in-air-on-land-on-sea?from=user]

I hope you like it! :-)