The center of mass can be moved by moving parts to the front or back of the craft. The arrow points in the direction of the lift, so point it the way you want to move. The center of the lift is the last button and will look the same as the thrust indicator except for being light blue and black. The center of thrust is the second button and displays a purple and black small sphere with a purple arrow coming out of it in the direction that the craft is thrusting (so the craft will be propelled in the opposite direction). The center of mass is the first button and will appear as a large yellow and black sphere. They can be displayed by pressing the three circular buttons next to the price of the craft in the lower left. The farther the center of lift is from the center of mass, the more stable the aircraft will be the closer it is to the center of mass, the more maneuverable the aircraft will be. The center of lift should be behind the center of mass (not in it). The center of thrust should have its arrow pointed away from the center of mass in the direction you want to move. They should be positioned roughly as follows: The center of mass will just fall into the center of the craft. They matter because these are the three main things the program uses to calculate the flight model. At the CoT, it’s where the force of all engines averages out and where it will act on the craft. The CoL is where the lift of all parts averages out, and it is the point where the lift force will act on the craft. It matters because if it is misaligned with the CoL by too much, the craft will start to spin in one way or another. It is also the center of gravity if gravity is uniform. CoM is the point on which it will balance, or more technically, “the average position of all parts of the object, weighted according to their masses (Khan Academy)”. The center of mass (CoM), center of thrust (CoT), and center of lift (CoL) are quite important for aircraft building. Center of mass, center of lift, and center of thrust Then I turned it into this guide to make it more accessible. After that, I used the forums and the stock planes to figure out this info. I downloaded BDarmory and wanted to build fighters but I had trouble getting them off the ground and so I tried to find a steam guide but failed. This guide will have the basics of aircraft building. Hopefully, this will help you put aircraft in the air and keep them there with minimal explosions. I made this guide after I couldn’t find one on steam that was specifically about SSTO’s.

Kerbal space program far aircraft