[STOCK] Saturn V Replica

[Majorjim!]

2 hours ago, Bubbadevlin said:

I made everything as accurate as possible, so the entire thing is 110m tall

 

The flight issues make sense now! Man that's nearly twice the height of mine..

[Interplanetary Engineer]

That is a serious case of awesomeness. You made the best replica of all time and space there. Have a well-earned replike while I'm busy being stunned!

[Majorjim!]

Can we finally see the release of the payload fairing?

Also, has anyone actually flown this yet? I am VERY interested to know if @sal_vager tested this before he stickied it.  I will give it a go tonight and report back.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Majorjim

[Bubbadevlin]

23 minutes ago, Interplanetary Engineer said:

That is a serious case of awesomeness. You made the best replica of all time and space there. Have a well-earned replike while I'm busy being stunned!

Wow.. Thank  I will actually be improving the lander (adding a buggy) and depending on if I can find a low enough part count solution to the inter stage fairings, i will be redoing those

17 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

Can we finally see the release of the payload fairing?

Also, has anyone actually flown this yet? I am VERY interested to know if @sal_vager tested this before he stickied it.  I will give it a go tonight and report back.

Well if your test flying it, you should be able to see the release yourself!!

[Dafni]

I'm curious how it goes for you, Majorjim.

It is a great replica, very well made, but it would definitely be too much for my system (or rather for the game itself it seems). Low FPS drive me mad, low part craft for me all day long.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Dafni

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Bubbadevlin said:

 

Well if your test flying it, you should be able to see the release yourself!!

Indeed! I am glad to hear you will add a rover. I have one in mine and my entire lander would fit in your descent stage!

 So @sal_vager have ye tested it?

Edited February 3, 2016 by Majorjim

[sal_vager]

Of course, it ran on my machine at 1 frame per 3 seconds

But it's unfair of me to always show craft I can run on my PC, that's another reason why there's also the tiny craft challenge this TOTM, so people like me aren't left out.

[Majorjim!]

Ok I am on a free return trajectory to Mun. Man that launch was very testing indeed. If I had not managed it first time I would not have tried a second time! Around 30mins to orbit. I seem to have too much oxidizer on board. 2000 units extra.

 I am about to open the payload and dock with the lander.

[Bubbadevlin]

Nice! and yea, that is what makes that thing SO hard to test, the huge times with the launches :/ 

Idk whats up with that extra oxidizer, but you should still have PLENTY left over, The 3rd stage is the most overbuilt part of the craft. 

TBH, I have never actually tested re docking when the lander has come up from the moon, only due to the fact that I kinda suck at docking, and kept crashing, and by those points I was very frustrated. I can guarantee that the upper stage of the lander has plenty of DeltaV, due to the fact that you can just burn back and reenter kerbin's aero without docking

[Majorjim!]

OK, I have run out of time for KSP today. I will test the landing and return another day. Here is what I found so far.

The scale is really nice. the part count is way too high for the level of detail though. I know this is due to the sheer size of the rocket but given the level of detail the part count is too high.

 Every single one of the stage events is unrealistic. There are no inter-stages and the retros and ullage motors are either missing or in the wrong place. There are some odd parts in there that do not look good and I think this is due to the fact you have not used the no offset limit mod. Dude, you could save a lot of parts if you used this mod.

 I am not a fan of the heat-shields used as the black bands, they are too bulbous and ruin the overall shape a bit. They are also not flush with the rocket body in a few places and are not even placed correctly for a Saturn V rocket.

It was a major chore to get into orbit, took about 45mins to get it on a transfer to Mun. and I will only ever fly it once due to this. I noticed the escape tower separated in the wrong stage too. As far as I am aware the tower is jettisoned between the second and third stage, not at the same time as the third stage separation.

The payload faring release was not good in terms of accuracy and visual flair. I know you used the horrible stock fairings but there are better ways to use them for this part. Also you added retro rockets to the third stage for the payload separation that does not exist and ruins the effect of that part of the mission, it was very inelegant. The lander should be attached to the third stage when the CSM docks to it, these are very important details for an Apollo replica, they must be done well!

the things I found impressive were the scale and the fact it did not explode on the pad! Also It must have been a nightmare to test so kudos in that regard. Also the lander does look great but only the ascent module. The descent stage needs major work and really should include a rover given the size of the lander.

 I will report back on the landing and return another day. I hope you didn't think I was too harsh, I think the points I made a very important given you said it was a replica made as realistically as possible. MJ

 

Edited February 3, 2016 by Majorjim

[Bubbadevlin]

Thanks for the info! Yea, ik, I need to redo the retros and ullage motors (didnt do enough research).

I did actually use the infinite offset mod, and yea, the heat shields look very ugly, but they are the only way to get good stock coloring. I will soon be rebuilding the fairings and things, as well, which eliminates the need for such unelegant retros. (as part of it was to heat up the fairings, and explode them, so that the next stage engines could fire)

I am also very aware of the ugliness of the lower stage on the lander, however you try to get an orange lander!

I also know that the part count is just rediculous for the detail level,  however again, its mainly the size of the rocket that caused such high part count.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Bubbadevlin

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Bubbadevlin said:

Thanks for the info! Yea, ik, I need to redo the retros and ullage motors (didnt do enough research).

I did actually use the infinite offset mod, and yea, the heat shields look very ugly, but they are the only way to get good stock coloring. I will soon be rebuilding the fairings and things, as well, which eliminates the need for such unelegant retros. (as part of it was to heat up the fairings, and explode them, so that the next stage engines could fire)

I am also very aware of the ugliness of the lower stage on the lander, however you try to get an orange lander!

For the descent stage, yup the tanks or heatshields are the only way to get the gold mylar effect. I absolutely love the ascent stage on the lander dude. I cannot wait to land that bad-boy!

How are the dv margins for the lander? Also is there an abundance of dv in the first and second stages? I think my ascent was less than perfect but it made it fine into orbit. 

 The other issues all stem form the scale of it I think. Why are there ibeams around the base of the third stage engine?

 

Edited February 3, 2016 by Majorjim

[Bubbadevlin]

1 hour ago, Majorjim said:

For the descent stage, yup the tanks or heatshields are the only way to get the gold mylar effect. I absolutely love the ascent stage on the lander dude. I cannot wait to land that bad-boy!

How are the dv margins for the lander? Also is there an abundance of dv in the first and second stages? I think my ascent was less than perfect but it made it fine into orbit. 

 The other issues all stem form the scale of it I think. Why are there ibeams around the base of the third stage engine?

 

There is plenty of dv in the lander, and those Ibeams are actually so that the retro rockets dont fire the decoupler backwards, and take out the engine (yes ik)

 

[Majorjim!]

4 hours ago, Bubbadevlin said:

There is plenty of dv in the lander, and those Ibeams are actually so that the retro rockets dont fire the decoupler backwards, and take out the engine (yes ik)

 

Right ok, man you did some wrangling to get her to function! I can imagine how tricky that must have been.

I should have added, it really is an epic build. The fact that it felt smaller during the flight is testament to your good work. A very well deserved sticky!

Edited February 4, 2016 by Majorjim

[Majorjim!]

I am in orbit around Mun and I encountered a dangerous issue. When I had finished the Mun insertion burn the CSM and LEM started wobbling back and forward with an increasing frequency. I had to deactivate SAS to stop them breaking apart. Def look into that as it could damage the spacecraft.

OK, I think it was due to using follow node SAS setting. Might want to post a warning not to use that.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Majorjim

[Bubbadevlin]

Yea, that is mainly just due to large mass of both the crafts, and ksp's bad docking system. I can't really fix the problem or else i make it REALLY ugly. My suggestion is just to take that burn easy, as part of the problem is that the CSM has a hugely overpowered engine for the fuel load. (because it was the only engine with a big enough bell size)

[Majorjim!]

30 minutes ago, Bubbadevlin said:

Yea, that is mainly just due to large mass of both the crafts, and ksp's bad docking system. I can't really fix the problem or else i make it REALLY ugly. My suggestion is just to take that burn easy, as part of the problem is that the CSM has a hugely overpowered engine for the fuel load. (because it was the only engine with a big enough bell size)

Agreed, hence the strike through.

 Ok my brave Kerbals are safely back on solid ground. The landing, ascent and return went without a hitch. You balanced the two stages of the lander very well dude, they where a joy to fly.

 The abundance of fuel was a nice and relaxing departure from the tight margin sweat landings! Great job man. Here are a few pics.

 

 

 

[Bubbadevlin]

27 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

Agreed, hence the strike through.

 Ok my brave Kerbals are safely back on solid ground. The landing, ascent and return went without a hitch. You balanced the two stages of the lander very well dude, they where a joy to fly.

 The abundance of fuel was a nice and relaxing departure from the tight margin sweat landings! Great job man. Here are a few pics.

 

 

 

Nice glory shots there!

[Yukon0009]

Hey for the black coloring why not use empty ore tanks? Would it be too heavy? Or did I miss something?

[Bubbadevlin]

4 minutes ago, Yukon0009 said:

Hey for the black coloring why not use empty ore tanks? Would it be too heavy? Or did I miss something?

Well i think i may use ore tanks on the new version, the problem is is that they are just as circular as heatsheilds, and they are not quite black, but dark grey :/

 

[Pds314]

*takes off glasses*

*takes off other glasses*

Whoa.

[Wragie]

Does anyone know if this is dependent on any mods etc? I downloaded and copied to the vab but when I select it to try it just sits there with the busy loading icon. Or does this take a loooong time to load too  ? lol

Even if I can't get it to work my thanks to the builder! Love the chance to "try"to fly the actual missions.

Dave

[Majorjim!]

5 hours ago, Wragie said:

Does anyone know if this is dependent on any mods etc? I downloaded and copied to the vab but when I select it to try it just sits there with the busy loading icon. Or does this take a loooong time to load too  ? lol

Even if I can't get it to work my thanks to the builder! Love the chance to "try"to fly the actual missions.

Dave

It works fine man. It's over 1000 parts so will take a while to load in the VAB.

[Bubbadevlin]

16 hours ago, Wragie said:

Does anyone know if this is dependent on any mods etc? I downloaded and copied to the vab but when I select it to try it just sits there with the busy loading icon. Or does this take a loooong time to load too  ? lol

Even if I can't get it to work my thanks to the builder! Love the chance to "try"to fly the actual missions.

Dave

Yea, its EXTREMELY high part count. With my old computer I had to wait probably close to two minutes for it to load up  It is fully stock, that should't be the problem 

[Wragie]

I did try it again after posting the question and did get distracted by something (bright shiny objects, string etc) and it did load. So that was nice to see. It definitely slows down the frame rate lol. I was down to 12.5fps at one point just after liftoff.  What was funny was each time just before meco on each stage I was sitting looking at the empty fuel bars wondering where it was coming from lol.I did manage to get it into a pretty good orbit with enough fuel for either minmus or the mun left in S3. Now to see how the various leftover bit works lol.

 

Thanks again.