where will I land?

[omelaw]

I want to land a ship at specific location (KSC or land mineing base), but planet's rotation and aerodynamic drag makes it land nowhere near target. Is there a way for it?(mechjeb did it, so I think there is a method.)

[James Kerman]

You could try the method outlined here.

[Hodari]

There are probably some mods that will help, but it can still be done without them as well.  It's just going to take a LOT of practice.  And it's probably going to be a little different for each different craft you're trying to land.  Obviously, make sure you're orbiting in the correct plane so you fly directly over your target.  Do a quicksave.  Then pick a spot to begin your deorbit burn, burn until your periapsis is at the desired height, and see where you land.  Assuming you miss your target, just reload and adjust your deorbit point accordingly.  And make sure you try to keep the periapsis height and everything else about your re-entry as close to constant as you can.  Once you figure out where the correct spot is, remember that for future missions(but again, you might need to adjust it slightly for a different craft.)

[Matt77]

11 hours ago, Hodari said:

There are probably some mods that will help

This one is exactly what the doctor ordered.

[Jaeleth]

On 31 May 2016 at 5:17 AM, James Kerman said:

You could try the method outlined here.

This method was posted in 2013... I don't think it works today due to different atmosphere / drag model. Plus, nowdays Angle of Attack changes drag coefficient, thus complicating issues even further, particularily when we are talking of space planes.

I think the most practical way to do it is through trial and error to learn the specifics of the craft you're flying and to increase the angle of reentry to that you enter on a steeper trajectory thus reducing the error margin. In case it is a space plane, just make sure you end up at a reasonable height over the runway so that you are able to glide to it.

I would try the mod suggested by Matt77

Edited June 1, 2016 by Jaeleth

[wumpus]

14 hours ago, Jaeleth said:

This method was posted in 2013... I don't think it works today due to different atmosphere / drag model. Plus, nowdays Angle of Attack changes drag coefficient, thus complicating issues even further, particularily when we are talking of space planes.

I think the most practical way to do it is through trial and error to learn the specifics of the craft you're flying and to increase the angle of reentry to that you enter on a steeper trajectory thus reducing the error margin. In case it is a space plane, just make sure you end up at a reasonable height over the runway so that you are able to glide to it.

I would try the mod suggested by Matt77

The 2013 aero model was pretty basic.  I doubt even redoing all the work that was done in the linked thread would give you useful data.  One thing that changed with 1.1 (I don't think it was there in 1.0.5) was that drogue chutes unlock at the same time as side mounted chutes (and they seem to be safer to open at higher speeds), this should allow you to come in at steeper angles than without such devices (you only need to get down to ~700m/s or so).

Note that all of this assumes you are coming down from a fairly high orbit.  I don't think it is really all that possible to come down from a ~70km orbit and hit a specific area without firing plenty of retro rockets to slow yourself down (and carrying plenty of delta-v) or using mechjeb or similar information.