[FAR mod] Question about control surface settings.

[Kordolius]

Hi there.

I'm actually experimenting with a simple plane, trying to define a procedure for getting a stable subsonic / transsonic / supersonic design.

I bump on some of the settings, and did not find any documentation about their effect. Could someone explain them to me ?

Pic of my plane :

I'm not sure about those parameters :

Authority - I take it as a global "Power setting" for the control. More authority, more efficient ? Whats if I change Ctrl Dlct instead same effect ? differences ?

Mass-Strength ratio - diminishing it reduces part resistance and part mass linearly ?

I dont understand those :

AoA%

BrakeRudder

Help greatly appreciated, this is FAR from simple ^^

Kord

[Alshain]

Mass Strength ratio raises the joint strength at sonic speeds but increases mass of the part. So your wings will be less likely to break off in high speed turns, but your plane is heavier as a result. The other ones have been added since the last time I used FAR. I'd be a bit confused about Authority myself, I thought the individual Pitch/Yaw/Roll defined deflection and therefore control authority (combined with other aspects of plane building of course)

Edited October 20, 2015 by Alshain

[Vanamonde]

Since you are seeking assistance with using a mod, your thread has been moved to the add-ons subforum.

[Van Disaster]

AoA feeds AoA angle into the control surface, nothing complicated there. If you've got 15 degrees AoA and your surface has 15 degrees deflection, 100% +ve AoA will mean it's deflected 15 degrees, simple. Brake rudders are yaw controls that sit horizontally, used for tailless aircraft or for parts of the flight envelope when a tail fin won't work. I'm actually not sure precisely what the Authority slider does, that's pretty new.

I'd probably add a little more wing on that craft unless it's flying around at low level all the time, KSP parts are quite dense.

[Kordolius]

I'd probably add a little more wing on that craft unless it's flying around at low level all the time, KSP parts are quite dense.

Well, I mainly use it as a test platform in order to understand how aerodynamics + FAR mod words, under 6000 m alt, so I've felt no need for more wings at the moment. It's also quite overpowered... but i've found it useful to get back control when things get out of hand. And that happens every flight.

AoA feeds AoA angle into the control surface, nothing complicated there. If you've got 15 degrees AoA and your surface has 15 degrees deflection, 100% +ve AoA will mean it's deflected 15 degrees, simple.

I see. I suppose I will set it by default to a value comparable with the main wing incidence, for roll / pitch / spoilers controls.

Brake rudders are yaw controls that sit horizontally, used for tailless aircraft or for parts of the flight envelope when a tail fin won't work.

I will look further into that. How do you position them onto your craft ?

I'm actually not sure precisely what the Authority slider does, that's pretty new.

Well, I intend to find out, one way or another. Thanks a lot for your input.

[Van Disaster]

I see. I suppose I will set it by default to a value comparable with the main wing incidence, for roll / pitch / spoilers controls.

Unless you're doing radical things like building a craft that can pull 35-40degree AoA, I'd probably leave be unless you notice controls stalling a lot. If you add AoA to surfaces they turn somewhat invisible as far as craft stability balance goes: the static derivative tab will handle that, but dynamic balance ( ie actual manoevering ) gets a bit harder to sort.

I will look further into that. How do you position them onto your craft ?

They're just airbrakes that work on one side at a time:

I tried mixing in roll control but that made for a rather unhappy banking aircraft - but then I didn't really do any analysis, that was just a "can we make tailless forward sweep aircraft" experiment.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Van Disaster

[battle_bubu]

I have had problems with my stability on my plane. which mod is this that allows you to control how much force (pitch/roll/yaw) it each control surface i have had it before but been over a year since i played the game. currently using build 1.0.5

[Drew Kerman]

10 hours ago, battle_bubu said:

I have had problems with my stability on my plane. which mod is this that allows you to control how much force (pitch/roll/yaw) it each control surface i have had it before but been over a year since i played the game. currently using build 1.0.5

I think you may be talking about dynamic deflection: