Atmosphere deployment

[cowboycomando54]

So I have been play for a while now and have recently been experimenting with deploying a rover out the back of a cargo plane. I have run into a hitch though. How do I deploy the rover, then the parachutes, then regain control of the plane. When I set control to the rover, I can do the first two tasks, but then I can't regain control of the plane. Any one have any ideas on how to get past this?

[kerbiloid]

What if set both decoupler and parachute actions to the same action group / staging step, to let the chute pull the rover from the bay?
You anyway don't need to control the rover in mid-air.

Edited April 24, 2017 by kerbiloid

[cowboycomando54]

Oh, ok. I would have thought the the chute deploying within the cargo hold would have caused the chute to be damaged.  

[klesh]

5 hours ago, cowboycomando54 said:

 Any one have any ideas on how to get past this?

 

Yes.    Set the cockpit of the plane as the root part of the vessel in the spaceplane hangar via the re-root tool.   This will keep you controlling the plane even after you decouple.   

Set the parachutes on the rover to deploy at the same stage as you decouple the rover.  This will have them open automagically on their own.

 Lastly, circle the rover as descends on its 'chutes and do not fly more than -some number- (I think its 25km these days, or maybe ~2km when in an atmosphere).   Should you fly the mothership beyond that range, your rover will be removed from the game. Poof!

 

Good luck!

Edited April 24, 2017 by klesh

[Flamingo]

You can also use this mod (i think it still works):

It brings new parts to the game, one of them is a timer. You set the timer to start at the same stage as the decoupler, and then let the timer use an actiongroup to deploy the parachutes after 5 or so seconds.

[Deddly]

Moved to Gameplay Questions for you, @cowboycomando54. Welcome to the KSP Forums!

[Spricigo]

3 hours ago, Flamingo said:

You can also use this mod (i think it still works):

 

I think smart part only work in the current controlled vessel.

If you don’t mind the break in immersion, parking the carrier while controlling the rover maybe a option with this mod:

another option is

But for the specific purpose of this thread I feel activating parachutes with decouplers may be enough.