Tyr Anasazi

Phantom collider force shenanigan or not, I submit this short video (2:32) as my humble entry to this challenge. 100% stock with no cheats or mods used. Touchdown on the Island occurred at 2:17 into the flight.

Excellent! lander leg cannon under construction!

I tried that and found it not reliable

So, to answer a few questions: Is it possible to build a supersonic prop aircraft using BG DLC Parts? YES - but they need tons of electricity Is it possible to stack rotors to get moar power? - YES When stacking rotors, can you overcome the 477 RPM physics limit? NO, you just get more torque and have to deal with Kraken Do stock props still look as ridiculous as they did before? YES.

The RPM meter in rotors is cool however their round form factor had caused me issues with decoupled engines. The reason I like the servos is their square form factor makes"holding" them easy.

I was trying to use the custom groups, as far as I understand now I have to bind them to keys first. I used the forward backward translate instead. Overall I have found the axis group function to be other than intuitive.

So - Breaking Ground is here and I've had a play with rotors and servos. I may be biased but in my opinion reaction wheels are still better performers! One major disadvantage of the rotors is that they create equal torque in both directions - any design using BG rotors must be counter-rotating. One thing is for sure - Servos make the best bearings. Here is Global Dumpling MK3, which uses M-12 Servos as bearings. Motor overspeed and random explosions are now a thing of the past. The engine will now happily spin at maximum RPM indefinitely.

I have wasted several hours trying to make a servo turn using action groups/axis groups. Could someone please explain simply how this is done as I am at my wit's end. Thanks!

In August 2014 I spent $27 on a game that I have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours playing. An expansion of this scale, for $15 is nothing. Anyone who wants to have a whinge about the pricing of this game needs to compare it to the pricing of literally every other game currently out there.

I’ve changed it to 3 tons as I found it impossible in my own effort. If anyone is able to do it under 2t let us know! My Global Dumpling design flies at Mach 0.85 - I think a supersonic plane with one wheel is definitely possible

With Breaking Ground almost upon us, some may believe that stock props are becoming obsolete. It remains to be seen however, if Breaking ground rotors manage to achieve the kind of performance which has been reached by stock props. The Global Dumpling MK1 is a manned, fuel cell-powered, stock prop aircraft (The only required mod is Mechjeb) , which is capable of circumnavigating Kerbin using only one dumpling fuel tank. This makes it the most efficient non-xenon fuelled aircraft in existence. GD MK1 was created as an entry for the Dumpling Range challenge Features: GD MK1 uses only one large reaction wheel to power its engine It is able to reach 17,500m+ altitude, and a cruising speed over 260m/s GD MK1 has a 4 hour & 5 minute engine burn time at max power, giving it global range. The engine is very reliable and operates at rotation speeds close to the maximum allowed by game physics A very low drag design makes GD MK1 an exceptional glider, able to fly unpowered more than 200 km from 12,000m Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Tyr_Anasazi/Global-Dumpling-MK1

Aaaand touchdown! Well, kind of - Due to pilot error, Global Dumpling MK1 glided all the way down to KSC runway then crash landed. Too steep and fast. Doh. I was thinking of going again just to record a perfect landing, but seriously it's a 4 hour flight. I can now declare that GDMK1 successfully circumnavigated Kerbin. Flight album: https://imgur.com/gallery/3NO9kfY Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Tyr_Anasazi/Global-Dumpling-MK1 Some points: When calculating the distance for circumnavigation we must add the average altitude of flight. GD MK1 averaged 12,350m altitude, so (600 +12) * 2 * pi = 3845km The inability to use time warp with stock props makes flight testing of long range craft VERY time consuming! I was afraid that GDMK1 wouldn't make it over the mountains near KSC, but it turned out to be an excellent glider and easily passed far above them. I think that it may have been able to continue all the way to the island runway. GD MK1 reached 17,500m+ during its flight - Therefore I also submit this as an entry for the prop altitude record Trying to carry out this flight without Mechjeb or other autopilot is not feasible in my opinion.

Greetings fellow dumpling experts Firstly I want to apologise for failing to update with photos of Valentina's triumphant Dumpling circumnavigation. The truth is that I spoke too soon and so I am eating humble pie - GD MK1 is until now the NQGD (Not Quite Global Dumpling), due to engine failures that have occurred very late in multiple flights. As the dumpling gets lighter, the plane rises to higher altitudes and accelerates, resulting in engine overspeed. The last failure occurred when GDMK1 was flying at longitude -134, having flown just over 300 degrees around Kerbin. The level of frustration has been high! The bearing has been tweaked, resulting in a more failure-resistant engine and slightly faster plane which cruises between 255 and 260m/s. Valentina is staunchly confident that GD MK1 will work as advertised. GD MK1 is cruising on its fifth attempt as I write this. Rest assured, Val will not rest until she completes her historic flight! Now to answer questions above by @zolotiyeruki: The fairing is closed on the nosecone so is an inline fairing (when doing this, "close fairing" appears in blue instead of green) When this is done, the nosecone is offset backwards into the fairing. This eliminates the drag of the nosecone. I tested many parts for the tail including (I think) the shock intake and the least drag was achieved using the 1.5 short nosecone. The biggest reaction wheel is the most efficient in terms of electricity/torque. All other torque parts in the game are less efficient by a big margin as @vyznev explained. The key efficiency factor for this application is how much electricity is consumed per unit of torque. The advanced reaction wheel module large uses 0.020 units of electricity/kNm. the next most efficient part is the Advanced inline stabiliser, which uses 0.030 units electricity s/kNm - 50% more!

With Breaking Ground about to arrive, some Kerbals are saying that stock props in their current form are dead. Not so! - say traditionalists who have invested many hours in developing and testing high performance propeller craft. In the name of science, Werner Von Kerman has released a tender for a lightweight, supersonic propeller plane. Such a plane could have numerous applications on Kerbin as well as other planets. The challenge: Build a super-fast electric propeller plane using only one torque producing part! Rules: Entries will be ranked according to maximum sustained speed in level flight It must be an aeroplane carrying at least one kerbal. Your plane must weigh less than 3 tons in the hangar. Only 1 torque-producing part is allowed. A single reaction wheel or other module to spin your motor, and no contra-rotating or twin engines. No torque-making parts are allowed for control - you must use control surfaces! It must use an electric motor (no jet or rocket turbines) No part or physics mods - autopilot control mods such as Mech Jeb are allowed To make electricity you may use fuel cells, batteries, RTG, or solar - no jets or rockets. The electric prop must be the only source of thrust. Breaking ground is allowed (when it is released) - let's see how powerful its rotors are! It must be able to take off and land undamaged from/to a runway or flat land. No parachutes allowed Stock Aerodynamics- no modifications or cheats before or during the flight No other cheats such as infinite electricity or fuel No modified parts or cfg files Any additional torque producing parts (such as probe cores used as bearings) must have their RW switched off at all times. Provide a link to your craft file if possible Hints: To reach the highest speed with limited power you will need the lowest drag airframe possible Look up ways to increase power output of reaction wheels such as the 3-axis trick demonstrated by @EvermoreAlpaca With only one prop you will need to balance your plane so it doesn't spin out of control Leaderboard:

No more entries on this thread? Global Dumpling MK1, which was built for the dumpling range challenge, also happens to be capable of very high altitude level flight. Here is GD MK1 at the start of its dumpling-fuelled circumnavigation flight of Kerbin, reaching 17,542m altitude (and still climbing) before zooming down to its most efficient cruising altitude just above 12,000m. I will post an update with more screenshots once Valentina touches GD MK1 back down on KSC runway. It will take a while.

Your simple question requires a rather long answer! Fortunately I have time, because GD MK1's flight is now unpaused and still has a long cruise ahead. When Valentina has safely landed back at KSC I will provide a report with photos, but for now here are the technical details. GD MK1 was a complete rebuild from scratch rather than modification of the LEP design. The key performance goal was speed. To make a Global Dumpling based on the LEP engine, I needed a plane which could average above 250m/s for more than 4 hours, without increasing power draw. Looking at LEP, I knew I had to: Eliminate any parasitic electricity draws Reduce drag and improve the lift/drag ratio Increase propeller thrust and power, at all speeds Electricity parasites were the Stayputnik and OKTO probe cores in the engine. Once the engine is started, they can be hibernated, reducing power draw by nearly 8%, giving an additional 15 minutes of burn time. That may sound small, however 15 minutes at 254m/s equals 228km, just over 21 degrees longitude. To reduce drag, the pilot was placed into an inline service bay rather than exposed to the airstream. At 150 m/s, a kerbal produces about 1.5 kN of drag - about 1/3 of the total aircraft drag. The fairing is configured as an inline fairing and so produces nearly zero drag despite its appearance. The little nose cone on which it closes is offset inside the fairing for zero drag. To close off the tail I tested many items and concluded that the Aerodynamic nose cone produces less drag than anything else. LEP had elevons on each wingtip. I eliminated them by replacing a wing connector and elevon with an advanced canard, giving similar lift with less drag. The canard provides both lift and control. Control surfaces (and a pilot) are necessary because the airframe has no power for reaction wheels. The wing position, pitch, and span were all tweaked to improve the lift/drag ratio. Total airframe drag at cruise altitude and speed is approximately 3.8 kN. Finally, the position, angle and pitch of the prop blades was optimised. The way the blades are angled results in more net force pushing forward as opposed to an off angle. This can be seen in the aerodynamic overlay, especially in early stages of the flight. The prop operates at very high revs (up to 1750 deg/sec). Failure to monitor and control RPM results in engine failure (many of which occurred). The prop can feather its blades, resulting in nearly zero prop drag during the final glide phase. Prop pitch is modulated manually using the elevon authority limiter. +90 degrees for takeoff, +150 for initial climb, reducing as airspeed and altitude increase, -20 for maximum altitude (17,500m+) -8 for cruise altitude and speed (12,350m at 254m/s), and -150 to feather. GD MK1 can glide more than 180km, from 12km cruising altitude. GD MK1 aerodynamic optimisations:

Ladies & gentlemen, you may have heard of the Global Hawk. Today I present to you Global Dumpling MK1. As its name suggests, this aircraft is capable of circumnavigating Kerbin, using the contents of a single dumpling fuel tank as its only source of energy. The circumference of Kerbin is 3,769.9 km. GD MK1 is the end result of the Light & Efficient Plane (LEP) program, which was undertaken in order to compete in the prestigious "Dumpling Range Challenge". It combines the raw efficiency of fuel cells, a lightweight yet powerful motor, and a low-drag, high altitude airframe design. GD MK1 has a burn time of 4 hours and 4 minutes. the first 10 minutes are spent gaining speed and height. At 12,350m altitude, GD MK1 cruises from 250 to 254m/s. By the time fuel is expended, GD MK1 travels just under 3600km. From there, it easily glides the remaining distance to touch down at KSC. GD MK1 is currently cruising on its proof-of-concept circumnavigation flight, with Valentina (who else) in the cockpit. GD MK1 flight stats (as of writing): Altitude: 12,387m Airspeed: 254.5 m/s Flight time: 1 hour, 34 mins Distance travelled: 1354km Distance remaining to KSC: 2415km Liquid fuel remaining: 5.95/9.9 Estimated remaining burn time: 2 hours, 30 mins Pilot status:

An update from the Dumpling testing grounds After Valentina's close brush with death in LEP MK4, Val went back to the drawing board, determined to return to the skies in a vastly improved Light & Efficient Plane. Her goal - that LEP MK5 must be able to circumnavigate Kerbin on a single dumpling tank! When Val's colleagues Jeb, Bill & Bob arrived in a rescue hovercraft to pull her from from the ocean, she warmed her hands on the mug of hot chocolate they gave her, and told them her plan. After a moment of stunned silence, they broke into wild laughter. "Impossible!" said Bob. Their scorn only hardened Val's resolve. Back at KSC, she knocked on Dr Wernher Von Kerman's office to show him the equations she had scrawled on the back of a kerbonaut ration wrapper during her unsuccessful flight. Some of the equations were smudged as the wrapper was still dripping wet from Val's unplanned swim in the ocean. His brow furrowed in concentration, Dr Von Kerman examined the equations, took a few notes of his own, murmured gently, finally nodding and looking up. "Valentina, I think you may be on to something. If successful, it will be a Kerbin first for sure. Project approved!" Not wanting to waste any time, Val put got her development team straight to work. All data collected from the flights of LEP MK1, 2, 3 and 4 was collected and analysed, and brainstorming sessions were held where all ideas could be put forward on how to make LEP MK5 the most efficient and long range plane that ever flew. "Also" quipped Val - "it would be nice if it's a bit more reliable than the previous models. I'm not a particularly good swimmer." In order for the single reaction wheel powerplant to carry LEP MK5 all the way around Kerbin, the plane would have to reach an average speed of 246 m/s. This proved an elusive goal, because reaching this speed required drastic reduction in drag, and more power to somehow be squeezed out of the engine, without sacrificing efficiency. The program took longer than usual, and at several points Val almost gave up. The target speed seemed just impossible to reach! Then, on what was perhaps the hundredth test flight, Val flew the LEP MK5 prototype at just over 246 m/s, in level flight! Val had to do a double-take as she looked down at her airspeed indicator. "This plane's nickname shall be the Global Dumpling" she thought with a smile, as she turned the plane back to land at KSC. LEP MK5 was nearly ready for its record flight... (to be continued)

Disaster strikes! Just as LEP MK4 reaches the open ocean and is on its last leg to beat all records, it suffers a catastrophic engine failure. Val fails to notice that as the dumpling tank weight decreases, LEP slowly inches its way to higher altitude, resulting in the engine spinning faster as air resistance decreases. Vibration suddenly increases and the experimental powerplant rips itself right off its bearings. Val, thrown violently from her seat, begins freefalling to Kerbin. Val's view of of LEP MK4's spinning, twisted wreckage fades to black as she loses consciousness... Fortunately, Val regains consciousness at 1500m altitude, just in time to deploy her parachute. As she glides gently down to the Ocean surface, she activates her emergency beacon. As she descends towards the waves, Val reflects on how fortunate it is that her spacesuit is positively buoyant, and that she packed some emergency rations in a side pocket. It might be a while before rescue teams arrive. One thing was certain, thought Val. It would not be long before she was back in the air for the next attempt! Next time, she would be sure to keep a closer watch on engine RPM...

The vast panorama of space fades as the first light on Kerbin's horizon becomes visible. Val squints into the new day, anticipating what she will achieve on this flight. Even though she knew before takeoff that this flight would far surpass the record she set in LEP MK3, Val feels a rush of excitement as she flies past her previous landing point at 69.57 longitude. LEP MK4 is cruising high and fast.More than 1500km distance has been flown, and more than a third of the fuel remains. "Let's make it count" thinks Val... (to be continued)

@mystifeid I think I will take a cue from your storytelling style ...As night falls, Val checks her instruments and settles in for a long night cruise. Her space suit protects her from the thin, minus 55 deg.C air. Without her helmet, she would instantly suffocate and freeze. She feels a hint of nostalgia for earlier flights where she could fly with her hair in the slipstream. Val cannot resist turning her gaze upwards, towards the milky way which fills the dark sky. Glancing back down to her instruments, she notices that the aircraft is cruising comfortably at 174 m/s, completely level at 13.1km altitude. For a moment she wonders if LEP might be a contender for the propeller powered altitude record as well. What else was this craft capable of? Her engineer's brain inevitably turns to calculations. Circumnavigation of Kerbin? Addition of ion thrusters for a hyper-efficient SSTO? atmospheric flight on other planets? Mentally visualising complex equations, She keeps her active mind occupied through the long night... (to be continued)

@mystifeid what you achieved with that little rover is very impressive - and proves that fuel cells are the way to go when it comes to efficiency. 2128km in a rover is further than any of us have managed in an aircraft. Having said that... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Here is Val at the controls of LEP MK4. She has to wear her helmet because this prototype cruises at more than 13000m, averaging 172m/s. Endurance is unchanged so assuming an uneventful flight, Val will travel at least 2500km, about 2/3 the distance around the planet. At this point I am trying to find ways to make LEP reach higher speeds. Endurance is fixed at approximately 4.25 hours, so every additional m/s adds about 15.3km to max range. If I can reach 246 m/s, then LEP will circumnavigate Kerbin on a single Dumpling

The Light & Efficient Plane (LEP) MK3 is a fuel cell-powered stock prop plane, fuelled by a single dumpling tank. LEP MK3 was custom built for the Dumpling range challenge. Distance achieved (manned) was 1514 km, measured using longitude travelled. To fly, hit AG1 to start fuel cell, AG2 to decouple engine, switch to engine and hold Alt-E to start prop. The craft file is 100% stock KSP 1.7 however Mechjeb is useful for those really long flights. Some quick details about the craft: 1.7 tons 53 parts 110m/s max cruising speed at 7000m 4+ hours endurance at max cruising speed All power storage 100% drained before flight Fuel cell powered propeller plane, using 1 dumpling tank for fuel Driven by a single large reaction wheel Gallery of images from LEP's record challenge flight: https://imgur.com/gallery/eNd41A9 Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Tyr_Anasazi/Light--Efficient-Plane-LEP-MK3

Fourth time's a charm! The Light & Efficient Plane (LEP) MK3 worked well and was brought down to a soft landing in Valentina's skilled hands. Some quick details about the craft: 1.7 tons 53 parts 110m/s max cruising speed at 7000m 4+ hours endurance at max cruising speed All power storage 100% drained before flight Fuel cell powered propeller plane, using 1 dumpling tank for fuel Driven by a single large reaction wheel Hitting F3 gives 2,515 km ground distance travelled however the actual distance is less as has been stated above. Start longitude: -75 degrees (KSC runway) End longitude: +69.57 degrees Total longitude travelled = 144.57 degrees (144.57/360) * (2 * pi * 600) = 1513.9 km Gallery of images from this flight: https://imgur.com/gallery/eNd41A9 Craft file: https://kerbalx.com/Tyr_Anasazi/Light--Efficient-Plane-LEP-MK3

This picture makes me angry. After flying for nearly 4 hours I went to get some dinner and when I returned to my computer Val had crashed again. Fortunately she survived. I am disappointed because I planned a controlled glide & landing of this craft. FInal landing point was just under +56 degrees longitude, which means 131 degrees longitude travelled, (131/360) * (2 * pi * 600) = 1371 km. A new record! HOWEVER: Seeing as I didn't land properly, there is only one thing to do and that is Attempt #4! This time I am trying a higher altitude, currently cruising at 6.3 km altitude, at 105 m/s. Val was enthusiastic at takeoff: