eempc

I played the first 200 of my 1000 clocked hours without MJ, so I can pretty much pilot everything manually should I ever lose MJ. Some things I do better than MJ (e.g. spaceplane ascent and docking with more leftover fuel) and some things MJ does better than me (e.g. pinpoint landing with 5 metres of a target). But I use MJ simply because I'd prefer to watch TV or grab a snack while my 10 minute burn completes. Of course I can hold my course manually for that 10 minute burn but having done that a million times already, it's no longer my idea of fun. I hate to bring RL concepts into a video game forum but autopilots that are much more advanced than MJ exist. For example, the ESA's ATV "... use GPS and a star tracker to automatically rendezvous with the [international] Space Station. At a distance of 249 m, the ATV computers use videometer and telegoniometer data for final approach and docking manoeuvres. The actual docking to Zvezda is fully automatic." Would anyone consider the ESA to be a bunch of cheating noobs? /s

Iolite Mk1 forward-swept versatility spaceplane. The Mk2 and Mk3 versions sacrifice performance to gain STOL and VTOL capability. Maximum turbojet speed: 2,260 m/s Mass (take-off): 46 tonnes Dry mass: 22 tonnes Parts: 165 (39 struts) Atmospheric powerplant: 4* turbojets Vacuum powerplant: 2* LV-N Size: medium, no idea dimensions Armament: none Payload is variable and you can put whatever you want in the cargo bay. This is long-range passenger ferry configuration with an extra fuel tank and 6 economy class seats in the cargo bay. It possesses 4 first class seats in the cabin and is operated by 2 crew members. Take off at >115 m/s at ~ 10 degree pitch Keep an eye out on the intake air and throttle down to ensure the ratio does not exceed 1:10. Orbital insertion complete. Not my best piloting this time. Looks like I forgot to ditch the TAC-LS stuff since it isn't on for this sandbox savegame, and I have way too much oxidiser for Laythe. Not relevant but here is its future destination: Craft file: https://www./?59p219kjhkle5nl MechJeb, Spaceplane Plus, Rastar Prop, Infernal Robotics are needed for this file, although the last 2 are only used for IVA.

https://www./?c1gpkozlma4mnko You will need SP+, RPM, IR and MJ for this plane. The VTOL mode can be a bit shaky, you may need to tweak the maximum throttle of the front engine depending on where your centre of mass has shifted to. Just review the action groups before you launch. Press 5 after take off to switch off the front engine. After that, try to beat my (orbital) speed of 1,900 m/s using just the air breathing engines before switching to rocket mode. You might also need to adjust the rear stabilisers and landing gear to allow take off.

Cool stuff, now it's time to populate the base with ships, kerbals, more vehicles and sundries. What does your crane look like?

With Tweakscale, large structures take no time at all, this one was made in like 2 hours. Its shoddy design is pretty apparent. Bob trips up on the seam between these 2 I-Beams, and the control tower doesn't even see the landing pad, lol.

Just drop from a higher altitude, maybe 200 metres and hold down W or S or whatever to orientate. Just make sure you don't run out of battery.

close enough.

worst landing ever, but at least I got onto the skytower.

It was a hyperedit job, I just like building sets these days without the hassle of transporting and connecting bases. I used to launch them, in this picture you can see the hangar and the rocket to the left, it did look very odd, like a pencil with a hat.

Ceiling Klaw laughs in the face of the rotatron's counter-torque! Possibly because the structure weighs 3200 tonnes. Picking up cargo shouldn't be this much fun. All this effort just to pile up a mess in the corner.

Cool, I'll check out Karbonite, haven't used Kethane since 0.24 was released anyhow. I attach the pistons with the little stubby green connection point sticking out (and the rest of the sheathed body inside the structure), but if that isn't working for you, maybe ask in the IR thread.

Just downloaded the latest version of MKS so I can start adding more useful modules to the base like resource collection. A roof Klaw is a good idea considering the mobile crane jumps around so much when rotating. The next base will definitely have this, just have to find a nice flat piece of land on Duna or another planet to start base construction. Time to activate the VTOL engines and say goodbye to the Minmus spaceport hangar base (for now)!

Resources would be useful but the base just took delivery of a critical component and 4 kerbals rushed down to see it. It's a carousel merry-go-round! It rotates clockwise, but it looks like the kerbals are rotating the opposite way because it spins so fast!

It's always cool to see a nice ship modelled solely by using stock parts. I see the little wing shuttles too.

TweakScale has finally allowed me and my poor laptop to build larger structures without FPS dropping to a standstill. So I built a large hangar on Minmus. It has a few sleeping quarters located on the upper platform and 2 funicular lifts for kerbals to get up and down. As part of the base, there is an ion flyer for 2 kerbals, a science mobile, a fuel scavenging tanker, a mobile crane and a flatbed lorry. There is a spare fuel tank on the right, which is basically an abandoned rocket. Could do with some hand rails. This ion flyer on the roof is a replacement for wheeled rovers since it is much easier to get around Minmus on a flying craft rather than rovers. Cargo is being lifted out of the spaceplane by Cambus Kerman using the mobile crane. Meanwhile Thomthon Kerman is supervising.