Fastest Kerbin rover delivery method

[Jestersage]

For my career, when doing missions that involve surface scan in some distant corner of Kerbin, my method of delivery is to use the "ICBM" (aka a rocket that goes past an atmosphere, with its payload re-enter in a capsule). In this case, it was the otherside of Kerbin, and use a polar orbit.

However, I am wondering would it be faster to deliver the rover by the way of a Mach3 (or even mach 5) jet, and then drop it off like a bomb?

Edited June 18, 2017 by Jestersage

[Captain_Rex33]

depends on the distance, closer to the KSC ICBM style doesn't accomplish anything, once you get a certain distance away however it will become gradually more efficient

[Wanderfound]

The other point is: if you're using a plane, you don't need the rover. Just land and taxi to where you need to go.

[Jestersage]

1 hour ago, Wanderfound said:

The other point is: if you're using a plane, you don't need the rover. Just land and taxi to where you need to go.

But the problem is, unless you have rover wheels, you don't get the surface maneuverability or small area navigation you need for career surface surveys... And you can't really fly Mach 3 with a rover wheel sticking out.

Trust me, if I can think of how to make a plane that have the function of batwing, I would have done that.

[FancyMouse]

8 minutes ago, Jestersage said:

But the problem is, unless you have rover wheels, you don't get the surface maneuverability or small area navigation you need for career surface surveys... And you can't really fly Mach 3 with a rover wheel sticking out.

Trust me, if I can think of how to make a plane that have the function of batwing, I would have done that.

You probably misunderstood. "Land and taxi" means you land anywhere nearby, and then you stay on ground, "drive" on your landing gears to your destinations. Of course you would need a small amount of jet engine power to keep yourself going forward instead of using electricity for rover wheels. It doesn't require anything special - just a normal plane can do the job.

[Foxster]

1 hour ago, Jestersage said:

And you can't really fly Mach 3 with a rover wheel sticking out.

Trust me, if I can think of how to make a plane that have the function of batwing, I would have done that.

Sounds like a challenge! 

I bet using a cargo bay or some other work-around this is possible <goes away to tinker>...

Umm, initial results are not great with rover wheels. As soon as they clip outside a cargo bay they aren't shielded anymore. I was hoping that might not be the case. Better just to taxi about with a Juno I think. 

Edited June 18, 2017 by Foxster

[bewing]

An ICBM gets you one contract. A jet can get you 4 or 5 or 6 contracts in one flight. It is not a question of how fast you can do just one contract. It's the number of contracts per 10 minutes that matters.

 

[Wanderfound]

1 hour ago, FancyMouse said:

You probably misunderstood. "Land and taxi" means you land anywhere nearby, and then you stay on ground, "drive" on your landing gears to your destinations. Of course you would need a small amount of jet engine power to keep yourself going forward instead of using electricity for rover wheels. It doesn't require anything special - just a normal plane can do the job.

This.

Pottering along at minimum throttle on a grounded jet requires very little fuel. You can do it for miles.

 

Try something like this:

 

Edited June 18, 2017 by Wanderfound

[Jestersage]

Okay, I will bite -- still trying to figure out how to taxi without getting myself airborne, and able to taxi anywhere (on Kerbin), Is some landing wheels better than others?

[bewing]

4 hours ago, Jestersage said:

Okay, I will bite -- still trying to figure out how to taxi without getting myself airborne, and able to taxi anywhere (on Kerbin), Is some landing wheels better than others?

The retractable ones are definitely better than the cessna-style landing gear for landing and taxiing. Just give yourself a little power to get up to maybe 12 m/s, and then cut the engine. Then coast. You need a little thrust to go up hills, and you need a little braking when you are going down hills.