Jump to content

Schwarz

Members
  • Posts

    61
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Schwarz

  1. Niiiiice, now I can do wheelies and stoppies on Kerbin. I used to try building bikes but never got the wheels right.

    One thing though, you mostly steer a motorcycle through pushing on the handlebarsShifting your weight helps, but as the motorcycle gets heavier and goes faster, weight shifting simply does not have much effect.

    To quickly and effectively steer a motorcycle, countersteering is the only way to do so.

    The Physics of Countersteering, uploaded to YouTube by the Cambridge Science Center, is a 3 minute video that explains the physics behind countersteering. I would recommend watching it if you’re interested in the whys.

     

  2. On 1/7/2020 at 9:54 AM, noobsrtoast said:

    how did you get it to balance out without a tail assembly? ive been trying to recreate the raven all day yesterday and today, and i cannot get it to work without a set of tails to stabilise the damn thing, it just drifts off to the right or to the left and completely stalls out

    Well, we will need more info to work out the problem.
    There are, however, some easy fixes that one can apply:
    1.Airflow past the cockpit, top of the engine nacelles, the canted wing tips of both the raw-f and adfx-10, could grant greater yaw stability. One can tweak the designs of those parts to get the plane to stabilize itself. Generally if you have more protruding structures on top of the wing than under,  you can kind of get away with not having vertical stabilizers.

    2.Brake rudders. If your plane suffers from yaw instability, brake rudders on the outer side of the wings can help. The B2 is a good example on using brake rudders to achieve yaw control. This is also the easiest way to combat yaw instability since you need them for yaw control anyway.

    3.Horizontal thrust vectoring. Personally don't recommend doing that but if your problem is extreme and you simply can't figure out how to fix it, this is indeed a workaround, and works regardless of flight state provided you have a high TWR. The Raven's offset design also helps, although if 100% authenticity is what you are aiming for, then this is out of the picture since all members of the ADF family except the Morgan only have pitch vectoring.

    4.Atmosphere Autopilot/Throttle Controlled Avionics
    If you opt for airflow control, AA is a great fly by wire mod to have as it awards good aerodynamic design and control layout. AA however, would require you to get the designs right first. TCA controls the individual thrust of both engines to achieve the same result, which allows poor design but comes at the price of reduced power output(it has to regulate the throttle).

    In my opinion, making flying wings are kind of a hit or miss. Sometimes you nail it, other times you scrap it and start over. If you continue to have problems, you could try taking a break from it, and try making some real world flying wings like the B2, X-47B, RQ-170, etc.. They have much simpler designs and are easier to get results and learn from them.

  3. On 6/22/2019 at 12:49 PM, Colonel Cbplayer said:

    Unfortunely I can not get it to open its mouth and scream while shooting a plasma beam cutter but oh well.

    No one cares. Once you go past a certain level of awesomeness, 100% authenticity can go through the window.
    Great work as always :D

  4. 2 hours ago, Triop said:

    I need more rat rods first, then I'll see which one of them is the fastest.

    If anyone wants to send in there own rod to compete, please do.

    You using any mod wheels on those rods?
    When I was a kid I hated those rods. As I grew older I came to appreciate them more and more.

  5. OOPS

    N1VV8Cw.png
    Big problem.

    dqqD9SM.png
    We still have around a good 40 or 50 kilometers to go, way too far to walk.
    The Nomad comes with a probe core coming off the Kriel assembly line, so we could launch one out of the base, and drive it over to Bob. Bill, however, managed to persuade the KSC board let Hugin deliver the Nomad to Bob for entertainme...experimental purposes.

    ZUf2wAY.png
    The original plan was to wait for Bob to leave South Point base, go to the shoreline, and then Hugin would fly from here to Bob and airlift him across the channel, then continue on to Round Range base. 
    We still have 17000 liters of kerosene left, if we keep our flight profile fast and high we should be able to make it to Round Range with a little fuel left.
    But now the plan is screwed, and we don't have a lot of time before the sun sets, so Hugin would be racing to Area 110011, fetch the new Nomad and fly it to Bob. 
    The new MK XI turboramjets are very powerful even at low speeds and low altitudes, but critics have been sh*tting on it, stating the engine is worthless because the RPM climb is sluggish at the lower range of RPM meter, owning to the MK XI being a very big engine and has large, heavy blades. They say it prevents the pilot or AI from playing with the throttle in a dogfight, making it worthless, and any performance gain in other criteria are not enough to offset that.
    Now this public debut of the Raven, as Bill says, "would silence those people as they saw the speed and height we're able to reach, and in the upcoming Kernborough airshow, they'll witness the Raven's top notch post-stall controllability".

    CO4JYf2.png
    Hugin took off after a self-diagnosis, and is ready to rescue stranded Bob.

    cRqz2YT.png
    In the subsonic region the turboramjets put out around 250~300kN of thrust, making it the most powerful engine ever fitted to a fighter. But at those speeds and altitude is where the engine really kicks in, producing well over 500kN of thrust.

    GmXvku1.png
    We're not even touching the limits yet. The fact that the Raven experiences plasma blackout made one critic faint in his seat.

    ul1Mba9.png
    We"ll cut off the throttle and glide from there to the base.

    zZq1GTv.png
    We can see the pyramid just off the port side wingtip. KerbinSide easter egg I think?

    HwXFZTX.png
    Base is in sight.

    7LSJeAx.png
    We overshot our approach point and will have to turn around.

    EubY1EI.png
    Too high, too fast. But we have a lot of runway, no need to turn around again.

    RyHCQva.png
    The Raven doesn't have flaps, but with a very low stall speed and wide controllable AoA range, 75m/s is way more than we need.
    A new Nomad Mk.I is waiting, after we load it up Hugin would head out to Bob.

    TBC

  6. STARTING FROM THE DESERT SHORELINE
    WzBA6VQ.png
    PBzDeCn.png
    That's a steep hill.

    uVbIi1W.png
    Highest jump so far.

    puCZzhw.png
    The terrain up front looks boring as hell.

    uGZEOaY.png
    Kraken heard me and decided to spice up the trip.

    F9

    DAY 2

    DHSRSss.png
    Marking the start of day 2 with a small flip.

    fXrm3s4.png
    Some interesting mountain climbs coming up.

    ibgmxmq.png
    We'll go through the valley in between.

    JgfY5Na.png
    sDglabR.png
    The valley itself isn't really fun, except for this fun slope...

    ijk6EJO.png
    ...and we're out of the valley.
    Super bored terrain, except for one small flip. We've been lucky enough to land on wheels everytime so far.

    T94Bgg8.png
    Bob discovered we lost the two food cans when he stopped to grab a hot dog, now we'll have to race to the Area 110011 base. Never thought life support would ever be a problem for us in this whole mission.

    1FQ2gmN.png
    We're making good progress, so Bob decided it would be fine to stop and take a wee.

  7. Progress so far:

    oEYCp97.jpg
    Everytime we change into a new Nomad we'll change the color, and later on we'll use straight lines to represent flights done.

    c2qjzpH.png
    Engineers got the Raven's docking port ready in time, and the Raven rolled out, ready to grab a new Nomad to Bob. Mission control found it hard to explain which Raven they want in the air, so they decided to name the airlifting variant Hugin and the factory version Munin.

    Docking in action:
    Qd2fOk9.png
    I29QvM9.png
    Hugin would retract the gears halfway, allow the docking ports to dock then stand back up.
    bqgfuSV.png
    Now the Nomad is docked, the arm would swivel upwards and tuck the vehicle in between the engine nacelles.

    Hugin was about rev its engines when mission control called it off, stating a night time delivery on rough terrain could be dangerous for Bob. Bill disagreed, but the KSC board isn't gonna give journalists any chance to smear the mission.

    69trTgh.png
    Hugin went into hibernation for the night, then reactivated when mission control deemed there's enough light.

    DGZx7dg.png
    The brick runway of Black Krags base is really short, but acting as a pilot training facility of KSC no one saw the need of making it any longer. Luckily, even weighing over 48 and a half tons, Hugin was able to take off without a problem.

    RIOO6gO.png
    Hmmmm, that marker looks weird.

    1KdukB8.png
    Now I'm pretty sure we have a problem.

    9qOoyNq.png
    Now we see what's the problem, the kraken got Bob and dragged him and the Nomad through the ground. 
    There's no way to get Bob back normally, so we'll have to recover him from the tracking station. Let's just say Bob forgot his extra underwear during his short break at Black Krags and went back to fetch it during the night. I guess Hugin would have to make it back to Black Krags to pick up Bob then.

    Rt7p24f.png
    It isn't exactly easy to take off from uneven ground.

    Making the approach:
    5Yi13WA.png
    8R8h4D1.png
    M03CePl.png
    We already expended the parachute when landing near the debris, but as it turned out the landing was fine.

    7VhIdvw.png
    After Bob and his spare underwear are loaded, Hugin is ready to takeoff again, this time going directly to the desert shore.

    oy4PP7c.png
    Liftoff. Hopefully this would be the last time we see Black Krags during this mission.

    TBC

  8. 7 hours ago, Triop said:

    If you guys are interested I can start a new thread in the mission reports section showing my adventures.

    Anybody up for that ?

    I'm doing lot's of different KSP stuff daily and I won't mind reporting on that.

     

     

    Why not, you get more creative seeing other people's work.

    @NBDesignsI do have a heavy expedition vehicle in mind, but I'll launch a small scale one first to test out equipment and driving. It's up in mission report now.

  9. 10EzIEq.png
    Bob pulled up alongside another Nomad waiting for him on the runway. He'll continue driving in the new one while leaving this one here for Bill to repair.

    vSPLE4Q.png
    Bob's ready to drive again.

    1KmKRDe.png
    Time to turn on the lights.

    And we flipped again.
    BWmNABC.png
    Less than ten minutes off the runway of Black Krags Bob trashed another Nomad. Luckily the rollcage again proved its worth, and Bob decided to drive to the shoreline, wait for the Raven to deliver a new buggy, and lift him to the desert side.
    The Raven will pick up the damaged Nomad and bring it back to base, then fly off to South Point and wait for the next airlift schedule.

    TBC

     

  10. zb6uOJw.png
    This slope feels awfully dangerous.....

    tfAcANK.png
    Slight correction and we've thrown ourselves into a slide.

    CLIY8bu.png
    The kraken made another attempt...

    2Ozi805.png
    ...but Bob's anti-kraken drive's still keeping up.

    FIRST FLIP
    RAoujmx.png
    Flipped at >60m/s, but it looks like the rollcage is holding up and doing its job.

    K3yRnZg.png
    We've lost quite some solar panels, but we have enough fuel cells to keep going.

    P1JB7TC.png
    Bob doesn't look too happy after he found out we lost both lights. Now he'll have to reach Black Krags before nightfall.

    X8en2eY.png
    Welp, good news. We aren't that far away as we think, should be a casual drive.

    p6I9UV4.png
    Shoreline looks nice.

    y9eGy6A.png
    Fabulous mountains, we'll climb them in the upcoming expedition.

    y3KSp6Q.png
    Black Krags in sight.

  11. STARTING POINT
    5rYdRiz.png

    Bob says he's ready to go.

    GcikvlG.png
    WEEEEEEEE
    Looks like Bob's got some pilot in him.

    ZORu8r5.png
    And we landed with a slide.
    Good thing we didn't flip, otherwise it would probably mark the quickest disaster in any ground mission.

    OoXBjI7.png
    We might have not flipped, but the kraken won't let us get away so easily.
    F9
    zEvftSC.png
    Following the last drifting session, Bob has been more cautious in jumps.

    1K9ci05.png
    For some reason we went floating for a few seconds, could be the kraken trying to snatch us again...

    Sa53829.png
    And the kraken succeeded...

    F9 INCOMING

    E6QBzz4.png
    Looks like the kraken didn't leave, and is ready to snatch us on the same spot a second time...
    Bob: NOPE
    plmqrUi.png
    Bob's booted his kraken defy drive and continued driving.

  12. The KSC has devoted most of its resources in space exploration, with great minds like Bill and Bob Kerman in charge, along with brave, cunning pilots like Jeb and Val Kerman taking to the skies, there's no doubt that the KSC has amassed a tremendous amount of trophies regarding aeronautics advancement and extraterrestrial research. But with environmental groups mounting more and more campaigns pushing for "know our home better" and "preserve our world", the government has ordered a "thorough circum-expedition of Kerbin before the end of this year", and KSC is in charge.
    As tight as the schedule is, KSC doesn't really have a lot of experience on the ground, nor long range expeditions on planet surfaces. Planetary surface expeditions are usually done one small place of interest at a time, and when great distance needs to be covered, kerbalnauts simply take to the air. So Bill and Bob ordered a demonstration mission, to iron out the kinks before rushing out a whole team on a 30 ton expedition vehicle only to run into 3 million troubles.

    The goals of this demonstration mission are:
    1. Determine the problems of long distance driving
    Definitely NOT problems like how much food and water, keeping kerbals comfortable, etc, etc. KSC has tons of experience on that, but rather, the problems lay within the vehicle itself. How do you haul all that weight reliably and safely over possibly ten thousand kilometers? And given the tight schedule, how to do it FAST. For this criteria, Bob will be driving a one man electric off-roader, identifying possible problems in control and safety, with Bill back home working on improving the vehicle, and delivering new models with upgrades and fixes Bob requested to him as soon as he can swap vehicles.
    2.Airlift vehicles, takeoff/landing without paved runways, and aerial UAV launches
    As the expedition would require crews to venture into no-mans lands in a miniature base, the ability to quickly deliver small ground rescue vehicles cannot be more important. At some point the mission could also require planes flying in to land on makeshift runways. And the expedition is expected to need lots of aerial surveillance and deliveries done. Ideally KSC wants all of those to be fulfilled by a single platform, and during this mission they'll be working on just that.
    3.Testing out support drones.
    The expedition is expected to take a great deal of time, cover long distances and go to weird places. Sending out kerbal pilots on refueling and restocking flights means they aren't spending precious time crashing planes and doing barrel rolls. KSC has reached out to the air force for support in this criteria.

    Right, with details of the mission taken care of, we'll take a look at the two main vehicles KSC will be operating for this short mission, the Kriel Nomad and Kründer Industries ADF-11F Raven-B:

    Kreil Nomad:
    S6eIFSu.png
    Bill(over the radio): Bob, I want you to ram the car full speed into a wall and see if the rollcage protects you.
    Bob: Wut?
    BIll: Wot?


    The Kriel Nomad is an all-wheel drive electric off-road vehicle specifically designed for this mission. With powerful motors, four-wheel steering, independent suspension, and full body rollcage, auto manufacturer Kriel states that it is currently the best off road vehicle money can buy. Apart from the fuel cells running the motor, the Nomad is also fitted with solar panels to extend the range, along with a docking port jr. for airlifting. It has also been fitted with a probe core, capable of limited autonomous operation.
    Although this is a testbed for tech that would later be incorporated into the expedition vehicle, the Nomad is expected to be retrofitted into an airlift rescue vehicle for the expedition itself.
    Bill personally chose Kriel for this development partnership because of their experience in making niche vehicles, stating their work to be "unique and rugged". 

    w11QUvE.png
    The Nomad is pretty stuffed with mechanical parts, but still has enough space for food and drinking water for 40 days, plus a waste container and some extra water for personal hygiene.

    Kründer Industries ADF-11F Raven-B:
    MZYKwsa.png
    fYlRZyJ.png35
    Jeb: What am I here for?
    Bill: The Mk XI turboramjet. We fitted B-3 with those new engines, and I want you to go up there to test the top speed and service ceiling.
    Jeb: but B-3 is the unmanned one.
    Bill: Wot?
    Jeb: Whot?


    The Kründer Industries ADF-11F Raven-B is an unmanned air superiority fighter of Kerbalia Air Defense Force currently in development. KSC contacted the air force for leasing two planes, and they agreed right away. For the air force, they are interested in conceptual high altitude aerial launched hypersonic cruise missiles and ramjet UCAVs, which somewhat overlaps with KSC's goal of airlift/air launch. For KSC, the Raven was developed using their wind tunnels and supercomputers, and Jeb even piloted the manned testbeds, so they already knew the plane like the back of their hands. What's even better is that the air force already has a set of control software in IOC state, it would save KSC programmers a lot of work for now.
    The B model features reduced drag, extended range with less weight, and better yaw stability over the original Raven prototype.
    Of the two borrowed planes, one is untouched and will be used for delivering equipment and stock, while the other has been modified with a grappling mechanism, and will serve as the airlift platform.

    Now, mission planning......
    We'll be playing with TAC life support and KerbinSide-Skyways. SInce a single kerbal doesn't really consume a lot of food, it'll just add a little bit of weight to our Nomad. If we need to be airlifted or swap vehicles, we'll fly the airlift Raven from the KerbinSide bases. The Ravens will start out of Black Krags airbase, other than that, we'll have to fly them to the next base. However Bob will drive to nearby bases for repairs or refuels instead of calling in an airlift if possible.
    We'll steal the KerbinSide base map for explaining our route:
    KWLAAl0.jpg
    We haven't really decided on a route, but we're pretty sure about which bases we'll be operating out of. Starting out of KSC, Bob will make the first stop at Black Krags, drive to the shore, and a Raven will fly out of Black Krags and carry Bob to the desert shoreline. Bob will then continue on to Green Coast, possibly make a stop at KKVLA en route, and drive to south point. We're not sure about the terrain there, so Bob will drive to the shoreline first, see if it's flat enough for a landing. If not, Bob will go back to South Point for the airlift. The rest would be Round Range, Green peaks, Kerbin's Heart, then to the peninsula northwest of Sandy Island. A Raven from Lushlands(maybe) will pick Bob up and fly him directly to Sanctuary Mouth, performing the longest airlift in this mission. From there it would be straight back to KSC.

    Right, I'll go grab lunch and when I'm back, Bob should embark on his long drive.

  13. 15 minutes ago, Colonel Cbplayer said:

    Haha thats bloody awesome mate!
    Here have it fly next to my absolute joke of a full size arsenal bird


    Maybe this way we can get belka to stop trying to cause the robot apocalypse 

    I mean,
    WOW

    Arsenal Bird Awesome Bird.
    I suppose I need Ubio wielding for this to work, no?
    I'm running KSP 1.5, would be a shame if I can't get 517 tons of awesomeness to work.
    (Though I think ubio wielding works just fine in 1.5)

  14. I've been tackling this plane for sometime, although it has proved itself to be troublesome, and the project took way longer than expected(still haven't really finished by this point).
    Anyway, presenting the ADF-11F Raven:
    xgHt5Tx.png

    k95WmqL.png

    The ADF-11F Raven is an advanced unmanned air superiority fighter boasting phenomenal maneuverability, laser weaponry, and ridiculous loitering time. Designed with "ultimate survivability" in mind, the Raven is actually an ADF-11 drone nose unit with a RAW-F air supremacy wing unit attached, together forming the ADF-11F. The combined Raven would always attempt to take damage with the RAW-F wing unit, and when being damaged beyond combat capable, the nose unit would detach and retreat, bring back crucial combat data for further tactical advancements. 


    Front and rear:
    9eNe0zd.png

    tJefaxw.png

     

    Missile bay and laser weapon:
    QOS4yEJ.png

    eyb5ecz.png

     

    ADF-11 nose unit detaching:
    LlgFtpk.png

    9C6wRcE.png

    ObTnnCJ.png

    gnCy2eL.png

     

    Detaching in progress:
    https://i.imgur.com/2tqDFa9.gifv
     

    The Raven is unmistakably MASSIVE, even surpassing the Tupolev Tu-28 in maximum takeoff weight. Detaching the ADF-11 from the Raven is like ejecting a Dassault Rafale on top of an F-22. 
    For a size comparison, we've asked Jeb to roll the Aeris 3A in front of the SPH for a photo shoot:
    eKgwK1V.png

    Jeb even agreed to pose for a photo:
    B1yLIHc.png


    And don't trust the blue ball, it can and will deceive you...
    lYu1YwX.png
    The delta platform is rather stable even without vertical tails. Bit of a surprise for me there.

  15. I build a plane with large canards, and decided to also use them as airbrakes.
    I set them to 85 degrees pointing downwards, then took the plane out for a spin.
    During landing I touched down, activated brakes and the canards went into action, pushing the nose so hard into the ground the nose wheel suspension traveled all the way, then bounced up violently and crashed the right wing into the ground.:confused:

  16. Holiday's almost over here, so I took out my new plane for endurance tests.
    First up is full afterburner dash, M2.1~2.2@17000m:
    aZAcpnz.png

    Then I went for max dry power, M1.5~M1.54@13050m:
    WmVD41b.png

    Both runs we left around 600 units of kerosene in the tanks for throttle control during landing.
    A bit amused we only got around 300km more range not utilizing afterburner, albeit we were flying a lot slower and lower.
    Next up we'll be trying subsonic ferrying and see if we will be able to achieve circumnavigation relying solely on internal fuel.

×
×
  • Create New...