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The Elcano Challenge : Ground-based circumnavigation

Fengist
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Slam_Jones

Slam_Jones

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As I attempt to minimize airtime, yes. :)

On a side note:

There was this one canyon in an old Nassault video that I want to find and jump so bad... :D

In my circumnavigation, I too found myself in the air a lot of the time. I figured it was okay, as long as less than 10% (or something similar) of distance traveled was in the air. You % may vary.

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Starwhip

Starwhip

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You have your answer.

After all, this is about your own reward, correct? I feel like it's a ground vehicle namely because bouncing around at the speed I'm at sure doesn't feel like "flying." :P

Every time it hits the surface it pulls over 10 g's, even though I barely tap at around 5 m/s vertical.

Every time a hill comes, it also spikes the g-meter.

Not to mention what happens if you let it hit with a bit of roll... let's just say that I've yet to save anything but the capsule.

All in all, not the slightest bit of the slow serenity of powered flight.

And all the better for it! :D

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Xannari Ferrows

Xannari Ferrows

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Hey, Fengist. Would it be alright to let Mariyate have a turn at the wheel? I have some work I need to do, but I also want to keep this going. I'll still be taking snaps.

[i'm at Moho, is case you missed the memo]

Edited by Xannari Ferrows
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Fengist

Fengist

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Hey, Fengist. Would it be alright to let Mariyate have a turn at the wheel? I have some work I need to do, but I also want to keep this going. I'll still be taking snaps.

[i'm at Moho, is case you missed the memo]

Well, I'm not sure who that is but I won't know who's behind the screen.

- - - Updated - - -

Start your mission report thread and gimme the link

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Xannari Ferrows

Xannari Ferrows

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Well, I'm not sure who that is but I won't know who's behind the screen.

No one will be behind the screen. I'm letting her develop her subroutines on gaming. If necessary, I can just put it on hold for part of tomorrow, but it would be time on the line here.

(Hi! I'm not allowed to make my own account here, but Xany wanted me to say hi anyway, so here I am! I wouldn't mind taking it for a spin, but if you say so, I wont)

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turkwinif

turkwinif

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I think you may have missed my submission, Fengist, just a few pages back. I'm circumnavigating Moho in a rover that is self-refueling and able to return to orbit when the time comes. I specifically chose Moho for the challenge of getting there and to show it a little love (EDIT: I forgot to mention, I'm specifically looking out for Moho fairies as well, those pesky lights that few past explorers have seen. Link to a past reddit thread that contains the "fairies" is in my mission report). Dres/Tylo may be next if and when I finish Moho :) Heck, maybe even Laythe, that sounds like a great challenge with how much ocean there is. One celestial body at a time, though. Here's the mission report from a few pages back, I plan to update it within the next couple days: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/121398-Circumnavigating-Moho-Elcano-Challenge

Edited by turkwinif
"FAIRIES!" - That crazy guy from Fairly Oddparents, you know the one.
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Fengist

Fengist

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I think you may have missed my submission, Fengist, just a few pages back. I'm circumnavigating Moho in a rover that is self-refueling and able to return to orbit when the time comes. I specifically chose Moho for the challenge of getting there and to show it a little love (EDIT: I forgot to mention, I'm specifically looking out for Moho fairies as well, those pesky lights that few past explorers have seen. Link to a past reddit thread that contains the "fairies" is in my mission report). Dres/Tylo may be next if and when I finish Moho :) Heck, maybe even Laythe, that sounds like a great challenge with how much ocean there is. One celestial body at a time, though. Here's the mission report from a few pages back, I plan to update it within the next couple days: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/121398-Circumnavigating-Moho-Elcano-Challenge

Ya know Turk, I remember looking at your entry. I recall it because being a product of the 60's... I had a big wheel. Several. I think... your first image gave me flashbacks and the thought of even putting your entry in the list got somehow lost while I was trying to remember where the seat back disappeared to. I do seem to recall pedaling that thing so much that I had holes in the front tire... but, I digress again. Your entry is listed ;)

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turkwinif

turkwinif

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Ya know Turk, I remember looking at your entry. I recall it because being a product of the 60's... I had a big wheel. Several. I think... your first image gave me flashbacks and the thought of even putting your entry in the list got somehow lost while I was trying to remember where the seat back disappeared to. I do seem to recall pedaling that thing so much that I had holes in the front tire... but, I digress again. Your entry is listed ;)

Really, a product of the 60s? I kinda feel bad now for not actually building a big wheel lookalike, I'll attempt to in the future, once Moho is finished. Thank you for adding my submission!

Itsy bitsy problem, though; I lost that KSP save in a system restore (yes, it had to be that drastic. Every other option either froze or just wasn't possible with what little I've done to back things up for recovery) I had to do yesterday. My computer has been acting up recently (curse you Windows 8 and Automatic Updates!), and I should of backed up my KSP save on Dropbox or something since I knew of the problems its been having, but, alas, I did not. So, all of my progress has been erased. Heh. I'm pretty sure that using Hyperedit to place my rover relatively close to where I landed on Moho is justified, right? I'll definitely back up my save every time I exist KSP now.

EDIT: Heck, screw Hyperediting that hunk to Moho, I'm gonna design an actual big wheel look-a-like! This system restore gives me a chance at redemption and making an actual big wheel. Why not? I'll be continuing this thing in the same mission report, explaining what happened to the first "big wheel" while transporting and landing Big Wheel 2.0 on Moho.

Edited by turkwinif
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Fengist

Fengist

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Really, a product of the 60s? I kinda feel bad now for not actually building a big wheel lookalike, I'll attempt to in the future, once Moho is finished. Thank you for adding my submission!

Itsy bitsy problem, though; I lost that KSP save in a system restore (yes, it had to be that drastic. Every other option either froze or just wasn't possible with what little I've done to back things up for recovery) I had to do yesterday. My computer has been acting up recently (curse you Windows 8 and Automatic Updates!), and I should of backed up my KSP save on Dropbox or something since I knew of the problems its been having, but, alas, I did not. So, all of my progress has been erased. Heh. I'm pretty sure that using Hyperedit to place my rover relatively close to where I landed on Moho is justified, right? I'll definitely back up my save every time I exist KSP now.

EDIT: Heck, screw Hyperediting that hunk to Moho, I'm gonna design an actual big wheel look-a-like! This system restore gives me a chance at redemption and making an actual big wheel. Why not? I'll be continuing this thing in the same mission report, explaining what happened to the first "big wheel" while transporting and landing Big Wheel 2.0 on Moho.

If this tells you anything... I remember watching Uncle Walter commentating on Apollo 11 on a black and white TV. Barely. But I do remember it.

As for replacement vehicles. It's in the rules. I wasn't happy about it, but I did it.

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Geschosskopf

Geschosskopf

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Howdy all-

I'm seriously considering giving this one a go. My plan is to circumnavigate Kerbin by boat, except for the minimum land crossing required due to the big continent that goes pole-to-pole. I've developed a vehicle that appears to have a reasonable chance of success with this in a reasonable amount of time. However, because boating avoids most of the problems associated with rovering, I'm afraid it might "break the spirit of the rules" so I'd like approval before I get underway.

Here is my creation, the Electro-Boat Mk 2.

17955292992_24761e0829_z.jpg

It's mostly Firespitter parts: pontoons, electric props, cockpit, and crew cabin. The curved solar cells are from Near Future. I used TweakScale to shrink a Mk 1 fuselage to 0.625m for the engine nacelle, and it's got Surface Lights for the required navigation lights.

The Firespitter pontoons not only float it, but have retractable rover wheels making the Electro-Boat quite amphibious, with a top speed of 29m/s on level ground using the wheels (90m/s using the props). The electric props consume lots of power, hence lots of solar cells. The Near Future curved panels are intended to wrap around 2.5m tanks and seem to work quite well--no battery draining at full power, at least at the equator.

17335823904_6170369afe_z.jpg

With both props running, top water speed is 50m/s. The pontoons have built-in rudders and the whole thing is rock-solid on course at 4x physical warp. This is where I'm thinking this might be considered a bit lame for this challenge. Oceans are perfectly flat so I can just point the thing in the desired direction, crank it up to 4x warp, and go do something else while it crosses an ocean. Because it's using actual engines instead of rover wheels, I don't even need to hold a key down for this, just set it on full throttle. And being electric, there's no need to refuel. Is this OK or not?

Anyway, the Electro-Boat has a crew of 2:

17772149299_ab158d9a32_z.jpg

The plan is to cruise during the day and park on the beach at night (so I can save the game and plant flags). The rear cabin is the sleeping compartment.

This is my proposed route:

17958388475_6c5776d0ef_z.jpg

I haven't yet decided on whether to go east because we launch facing that way, or west for longer daylight runs.

The main challenge I foresee is of course the land crossing, when all the problems with rovers will be in play. However, not only is the chosen crossing spot reasonably flat, but it's got a chain of big lakes across it. Assuming they're not bounded by cliffs, I can minimize the amount of time spent on dangerous dry ground at low speed. However, this crossing point is at 47^N, which might adversely affect the power. I might have to go on just 1 engine up there. Should this be a problem, I can try crossing further south.

Anyway, that's my plan. I intend to do this in my ongoing main game save because I've for 46 days to wait there before I can launch my Jool flotilla, and this will help pass some of the time constructively without wasting it with warping.

What say you? Go or no-go?

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Fengist

Fengist

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And being electric, there's no need to refuel. Is this OK or not?

What say you? Go or no-go?

Looks good to me. As a matter of fact, I was just looking into ground effect as a method. Seems you're close to that.

And as for no fuel and having it drive itself: For my own circumnavigation, I set my own rules of no 'infinite' power. I used solar and Karbonite with a generator to create electricity to run the rover. And looking at the prospect of holding down the W key for hours on end, I used AutoHotKey and a small script to do that for me. It's all in my circumnavigation post which you can find in the OP. While this let me get up to go get coffee on occasion, I was pretty much behind the controls all the time.

You'll have to determine what you consider 'fair' because if you don't tell me, I won't know. If you go to bed and leave it running, does that feel like an accomplishment to you?

If I could ever get this thing above 17 m/s, I was hoping to sail around Kerbin...

sailing1.jpg

Edited by Fengist
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Geschosskopf

Geschosskopf

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Looks good to me. As a matter of fact, I was just looking into ground effect as a method. Seems you're close to that.

I haven't tried to make an ekranoplan in a long time, although such was the main inspiration of my design. My previous attempts at that were failures, mostly because the thing would either fly like a plane or not get off the water at all. The actual ground effect seemed to be lacking. I might try it again someday, though.

In any case, this thing is a boat, never leaving the water except to drive up on the shore. In fact, it drives very slightly nose-low despite the CoM being rather far aft specifically to try to keep it more level. The leverage of the high-mounted engines, however, still forces the nose down a bit.

And as for no fuel and having it drive itself: For my own circumnavigation, I set my own rules of no 'infinite' power. I used solar and Karbonite with a generator to create electricity to run the rover. And looking at the prospect of holding down the W key for hours on end, I used AutoHotKey and a small script to do that for me. It's all in my circumnavigation post which you can find in the OP. While this let me get up to go get coffee on occasion, I was pretty much behind the controls all the time.

You'll have to determine what you consider 'fair' because if you don't tell me, I won't know. If you go to bed and leave it running, does that feel like an accomplishment to you?

Well, I do plan on being behind the controls all the time except for debeer/rebeer runs :). All navigation is purely dead reckoning off the navball and in tests across the ocean east of KSC, I've noticed the boat will drift slightly off course over time, requiring a correction every few minutes. MJ's rover autopilot doesn't work without wheels to steer with and I don't even have a waypoint creator to give me a target icon on the navball. Thus, on ocean crossings, I have to guesstimate my heading from the map, let it run a ways keeping it pointed that direction, check the map, adjust, etc., as the thing is out of sight of land most of the time. And on legs when I'll be following the coastline, I'll have to make sure I don't run aground as new headlands come up over the horizon.

So yes, it does require continuous monitoring and periodic input from the player. It's just not the constant struggle with alertness required when driving over land. No finding practicable ways up steep hills or safe ways down them, no worries about hitting a bump and flipping out, etc. So I can feel safe leaving it going full blast while I get refreshments or even check my email in another window, and the worst that will happen is I go slightly off course. In this way, boating is rather easier to do than roving, although it's rather more boring because of the lack of scenery. It's this lack of the constant fear of disaster lurking over every hill that made me ask whether this was legal or not.

If I could ever get this thing above 17 m/s, I was hoping to sail around Kerbin...

17m/s = 33 knots. That's a world record for a square-rigged ship. Not bad at all :).

I once had dreams of "rowing" a boat all around Kerbin. I made a boat powered by the ladder glitch that would do 28m/s. However, the ladder glitch doesn't work very well with physical warp---power decreases by the warp factor, and with the loss of power comes loss of speed. It thus took less realtime to go a given distance in 1x time than it did to warp at any level. BOOOORRRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!! So I ended up just settling for making it to Airbase Island :).

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Geschosskopf

Geschosskopf

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I started my attempt on Kerbin by boat.. This stage began with dire portents and ended on a cliff-hanger, but all turned out well in the end.

I decided the name Electro-Boat" was rather lame so, in keeping with my usual naming conventions, I decidded to call it the ECK-1 VACUOUS (Elcano Challenge, Kerbin #1 -- Very Ambitious Circumnavigator Upon Oceans and Up Shores). No disrespect to the challenge by that name. I name all my stuff disparagingly like that. Other ship names I've used (and will probably use again) included LOSER, JERK, FOOL, VAPID, etc. It's a strange result of translating Old Kerbish into English :)

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