Do you use maneuver nodes?

[Oafman]

When I started playing KSP, I plotted nodes for everything, and I executed all of them. Nowadays I probably plot more nodes than I did back then, but execute far fewer, as I often use them to see what things will cost when I'm making plans.

I never use nodes for RVs anymore, as I've gradually learned to eyeball those. But I do plan things in advance much more than when I started, including multiple burns, and you can't really do that with any degree of accuracy without plotting nodes.

One thing that definitely reduces the need for nodes is having a mod which displays your orbital characteristics. If I want to make a plane change I just point north or south at the AN or DN and burn until the MJ readout shows I have the inclination I want.

[Andrewx21]

Only when going to other planets or moons besides, mun, and ike.

[ArmchairGravy]

I currently use stock nodes, but have recently increased my conics draw by 2 as I'm messing with gravity assists. Multiple nodes are very useful for planning them. I also use multiple nodes for interplanetary intersects as I adjust inclination at AN/DN. Even if the first burn is a bit off I can tweak the second by a couple m/s. I've tried Precise Node, but have yet to make it a fundamental mod like KER and KAC. As I keep honing those gravity assists it will probably be added to the mix.

Edited May 19, 2015 by ArmchairGravy

[yorshee]

I use them for interplanetary transfers and rendezvousing but that's it.

[gom jabbarwocky]

Man, I feel like a weenie, but I use nodes pretty much constantly if I'm in space. Circularizing to orbit? Maneuver node. Going to the Mun? Maneuver node. Orbital rendezvous? Maneuver node. I'm totally lost without them. In early career mode I grind away to upgrade mission control and the tracking station as soon as possible.

I suppose if I really tried, I'd do okay without them, but I like my magic feather just fine, thanks.

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Man, I feel like a weenie, but I use nodes pretty much constantly if I'm in space. Circularizing to orbit? Maneuver node. Going to the Mun? Maneuver node. Orbital rendezvous? Maneuver node.

I'm the same way. Not out of necessity, but because I like the ability to plan ahead and because I'm not the accurate when I try to eyeball things.

[NovaSilisko]

No, I use a ouija board.

P...R...O...G...R...A...D...E...6...4...5...M.../...S

[Superfluous J]

I use them for pretty much everything. I don't always follow them (or even intend to when setting them up) but it's always nice to at least know where to point and about how long (and how much dV) a burn should take.

I also stack nodes when planning, though you can't do more than 3 without causing too much wonkiness. The subsequent nodes are more just to make sure I've got the juice to get the job done. Usually, it' something like an ejection burn, mid-course correction, and an injection burn.

Edited May 19, 2015 by 5thHorseman

[panzer1b]

I use them alot, even end up preplanning long trips by setting up node chains of 4 or even more nodes, but im starting to get to the point where i can do many basic things 100% manually. Even rendezvous (provided the orbits arent massively misalligned) i can do on manual just watching map view and seeing where the craft goes. Things like mun encounters (unless im really short of dV and cant afford to be wasteful) ive also started doing manual. I like both ways, manual gives you that not advanced feel and some things are actually easier to do manually such as circularizing a orbit, but theres plenty of stuff like interplanetary travel that i dont even try to do without a maneuver node or multiple for that matter setup.

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

I voted "I use maneuver nodes often, multiple nodes at once" mainly because a big charm of the nodes, to me, is to be used for future planning. I never go past 2, thou. Than being said, I use them a lot, only times when I don't is to circularize or do small corrections to an orbit in any of it's directions (except for normal/anti-normal because I usually can't remember which symbol is which) . If it's more complicated than that, I at least create a node to see how the maneuver will pan out, but more often than not I also follow said node.

I also play with MechJeb so sometimes if my max time warp is limited by my altitude, I create the node and let MJ perform it while I go do something else.

[Volix]

I used to use them for everything, but as I play more I use them less an less. At this point I generally only use them for interplanetary to get my Kerbin ejection angle right, and even then I just do a rough estimate and often delete it partway through the burn. With practice it's not too hard to arrange a specific periapsis and inclination on the target planet shortly after leaving Kerbin SOI (I wasted lots of fuel on that practice though ). I'll use a "0.0 m/s" node for kerbal alarm clock as often as a real node anymore.

[merendel]

I use them for geting/planing intercepts or if I need to hit a particularly precice orbital path. Multinode planings are fairly rare outside of obnoxious interercepts where I know I'll need a midcorse corection (moho you fast little devil you) even then the second node is only a rough guide and will always need tweeking after the first burn. For simpler orbital manuvers such as meeting up with another ship I mostly just eyeball them.

I also frequently drop nodes as a simple timer. for example if I know I want to do a prograde burn at some location in my orbit. I'll drop a node at that point and give it a bit of prograde so I know what direction to align my ship to now and have a convenient warpto point. In that case its more of a waypoint marker than anything else, just giveing me a time and direction to burn instead of a fully planed node.

[magnemoe]

I use them for everything except adjustment burns with rcs, don't always follow them blindly however.

[federicoaa]

Mostly for transfers and rendezvous (just to get minimum approach), then everything else is eyeballed.

[Varsi]

Usually just for SOI changes to see where I need to start accelerating. Everything else seems less trouble to just do without.

[samstarman5]

They are pretty much all the calculations made by the mission crew and astronauts illustrated on a 3D map, so I have zero problems using them. But it is nice having experience flying before they were implemented when starting a new career. I have even gone without now and then just to see if I can and still remember how to make on-the-fly manual transfers.

[LostOblivion]

It's annoying how the whole vector cross changes orientation when doing normal/radial when it in fact doesn't really change the direction of further added translation in any direction. Example: if you travel along a 0° inclination orbit and setup a maneuver node to burn normal so you get, say, 10° inclination on the would-be orbit and cross, any added, say, prograde translation will still be added to the original 0° inclination (i.e., straight ahead) and not the now 10° inclination as the cross' orientation would suggest. Perhaps there is a good reason for this.

[eddiew]

Only thing I do without a node is deorbit for landing

Anything else I'll set up the whole chain from exiting LKO to closing orbit at the destination up front, so's I know exactly (roughly) what it's going to cost me in fuel.

[wilt57]

I voted use them a lot, but only one at a time. Except going to Minmus, I put out a second one at the AN/DN to see if my original node was placed correctly. I'm not to the point of IP travel in my career yet, but I imagine using a second one to deal with inclination to make sure my first one has been placed right too. I don't set up a series of them to plan out my Dv, I use a Dv chart to do that.

However, I don't use them ALL the time. I'll eyeball my maneuver to place my PE right where I want it after a SoI change. I eyeball many inclination changes too, but I like to put a node down if I'm going to use any radial burns for corrections. I also put a node down for circularization burns because I don't fly with a standard ship. My acceleration values vary enough where I like to put a node down mainly for getting the correct burn times.

I've been trying to learn to use them better for timing landing burns. Haven't nailed it perfectly yet, but they definitely help getting much closer.

I think they are a very important part of the game. I can appreciate those who do not need them, but I pretty much do need them and I think it can reduce small amount of Dv usage vs. not using them.

[Commander Jebidiah]

I only use them for burns to minmus and use them to get the right bearing for an inclination change.

I dont go interplanetary.

[JAD_Interplanetary]

I use them for pretty much everything. I don't always follow them (or even intend to when setting them up) but it's always nice to at least know where to point and about how long (and how much dV) a burn should take.

That's mostly my system. Plan out a flight path with a bunch of nodes, check the dV, then tear them all down after the first burn and rebuild them (because minor inaccuracies during that first burn throw all the subsequent ones off.)

[Sky_walker]

I use them very, very often. But needed be I can fly without nodes too - eg. in my current career playthrough I rescued Kerbals, made a Mun landing and Mun satellite without maneuver nodes.

But nodes give you precision that you wouldn't have otherwise, so... there's no reason not to use them

[TheMoonRover]

I use manoeuvre nodes all the time.

> Rendezvous, until the closest apporoach is under 10km.

> Anything involving an SOI change, to get the best possible encounter/escape.

> Any other manoeuvres where precision is required.

I don't use manoeuvre nodes for raising/lowering Pe/Ap or inclination changes if precision is not that important.

I only use multiple manoeuvre nodes when using fly-bys of the Mun, Ike, Laythe, Vall or Tylo to affect my orbit, and I'm fine-tuning the result.

I almost managed to get a free Minmus encounter from a Mun fly-by in my 1.0 career, and that the first time I had visited either in that career. The correction burn was just 25 m/s.

[nadreck]

I don't need to use them for some stuff but I do anyway. I would note however that when I start a new career I usually have done my first rescue missions before I have upgraded the tracking centre, and in 1.0 had Jeb on a fly by course of the Mün with minimal fuel left counting on upgrading before he got there so that he could do a burn to get back. With plenty of fuel I could have done it without the maneuvering nodes but with just under 7 units left . . .

Note I had a bottle of this for my first 3 hour session with KSP 1.0 where I started my current career - it got me through to Jeb's return from the Münar flyby: https://bigrockbeer.com/beer/dead-reckoning

[sj176]

I use maneuver nodes often, but usually they are inaccurate after the burn is completed and require correction. I only use them one at a time to allow for corrections.