gc1ceo

I'm not finding any included RTGs in BD either in the stable or dev files or am I overlooking something?

What do people use for RTGs for the few historical builds from Bluedog that utilize a RTG? For example, the Nimbus 3.

I started out playing with the rapiers which can do everything in the world (and more) but then I read your guide about using nervas and panthers and been building some space planes based on your excellent guide. It only got me more interested in what you can do with engines that aren't frequently utilized for space planes. I've read a few posts where people reportedly have made space planes work with other engines like the reliants but there never seems to be enough information on how they did it. Your use of the Wheesleys with SSTOs sounds really interesting -- do you use the fanned out series of wings approach to make it work or something else?

I've been spending the last month or so learning how to build airplanes and finally space planes and information from AeroGav (and others) has been invaluable to working with the rapier, whiplash, nerva, panther and aerospike engines. I'm looking to expand my design possibilities and try and incorporate other rocket engines such as the LV-T30/T45 so are there any good guidelines and suggestions (aside from don't do it) to using these on a space plane? I should clarify this means a single stage space plane which takes off from a runway with additional atmospheric engines and not something launched vertically from a separate rocket.

Variant craft linked to the original craft would be great -- although at what point would it cease being a variant and be an entirely new craft. Of course that distinction might be something that is simply decided by the builder and isn't hard-coded as a limitation.

So apparently my biggest problem was setting MechJeb to hybridcontroller and it fixed the vast majority of my instability -- the rest I think I can fix with a bit of throttle adjustment so it was a MechJeb problem and not actually a problem with my craft so that's a load off my mind.

Not yet, I've used my own settings for a while now that usually work fine but I'll give your video a watch to see if I missed anything. Edit: I noticed that you use 2.5x RSS and FAR so your setup is going to be quite a bit different from me, you also mention you use your own craft that you entirely built on your own so that may result in a different experience as well. However I did notice some things with MechJeb you have done differently so I might give that a excrements and see if it's more of a problem with MechJeb as opposed to my craft. My older conversation with Pak, drdaestro, and a few others about MechJeb settings was a couple of versions ago and didn't incorporate FAR so I definitely appreciate that somebody stepped up and made a tutorial for an extremely smooth FAR-compatible craft with a well-made tutorial video.

I have had KSP for 5 1/2 years and been using CA for at least a year and a half -- don't recall if anybody remembers me from about a year ago discussing Mechjeb settings and such. I've updated the CA builds I've had off and on as new KSP patches come out and they were fine enough until the most recent update of CA and now I'm encountering a problem with an intense movement to yaw right (its usually right) that starts anywhere from the moment I launch or after I make my initial roll. Mechjeb can sometimes fight it by pulling constantly in the opposite direction (usually left) which doesn't let up until I'm in the upper atmosphere long after I've decoupled my spent boosters. Sometimes it seems to ease off after that point and sometimes it sends me into a bit of a spiral. Once I hit the edge of space it's no longer a factor and everything continues normally -- clearly its something that only occurs in the atmosphere -- but I'd like to really lock the issue down for a much smoother ascent. I have already locked down all the control surfaces as is done on all of the CA shuttle builds during ascent/in space. I already have adjusted gimbals and further adjustments don't seem to have much effect on coming up with a solution. I've done combinations of locking down both SRBs and SSMEs, switching them at the gravity turn, etc with no real improvement. I haven't found any weight distribution issues -- everything seems perfectly balanced. If you want to take look at the craft itself: https://kerbalx.com/gc1ceo/CA-Mk3-Shuttle-STS-1XX

I decided to add some more fuel giving me 2395 dV while staying near to my desired dimensions and have successfully made some flybys using a mixture of launch windows and small correction burns along with returns to Kerbin. I'm still experimenting but I found myself making very small correction burns around the time I left the Kerbin SOL to be the most helpful and I got myself to within a hair of Duna's atmosphere so I think I'm on the right track.

Ok I'll play around with it, I'm familar with the AN/DN guideline for changing planes and that you make a bigger effect with other changes the earlier you do them in the trip but my experience is largely just Kerbin/Mun/Minmus.

Oh I definitely agree I need to do some correction burns, the real question is where there's the best place to do that in my orbit of Kerbol (The Sun).

Possibly, although I have to get alot closer to Duna to do an aerocapture which is the first part of my problem.

My builds are essentially based on the proposed Apollo flyby vehicle which was essentially the S-IV with a habitat module and some other modifications, one of them uses BDB while others are just using stock parts. This restricts the size and mass of the overall vehicle so I need to work within certain dimensions. I know from playing around with the plots that at least 1000 dV was reasonable to make the flight to Duna although it restricted me to certain launch windows which was ok. I was regularly able to make an intercept with Duna for about 1030-50 dV but decided I needed dV to make the return so was able to get my available dV up to about 1800 while keeping my builds' basic dimensions. I've been trying to fine tune with additional nodes but it only helps so much and I'm really unsure where I should put these fine tune nodes, from what I've read I've seen people mention 2-3 different nodes to really fine tune the intercept but the details on when to make them seem sparse. The larger problem is that doesn't seem like any of the tutorials are based around manned flybys and the ones that mentioned manned flybys don't seem to give enough information.

Hello, I've played KSP for many years but for the most part have been confined to Kerbin, Mun, and Minmus so I don't have a lot of experience with interplanetary transfers but I'm trying to break through that and having some difficulties. I do use a number of add-ons such as MechJeb and the addon version of alex's interplanetary transfer calculator. I want to start with manned flybys in the same vein as the proposed Apollo flybys and I've built my current vessel to give me about 1800 dV and about 200-300 kN of thrust (I've played around with a couple of different engines). I've watched a number of videos and read some tutorials on interplanetary transfers but they're either not very helpful or I've obviously missed something. My closest success so far has been a flyby of about 11-20 million km from Duna using about 900-1200 dV however I feel completely clueless on how to get back to Kerbin from a flyby or how to get in for a closer flyby. My mission goal with the current vessel is for a Duna flyby of under a million km and then return in a reasonable time back to Kerbin although I want to do it without having to double my current craft. Suggestions, pointers, etc would be helpful and as I said before I have read and watched a couple of tutorials to get the basics of interplanetary transfers and I've handled hops back and forth between Kerbal, Mun, and Minmus pretty successful for many years now.

My builds on KerbalX include Mechjeb instructions actually.