Girders as landing gear?

[Rocket In My Pocket]

So I never tried this before 1.1 but perhaps it was always possible?

This takes off and lands with ease. (On the level 1 runway even!) A slight curve upwards in the front seems important to reducing friction and tip overs. 80 m/s crash tolerance is plenty even for bumpy landings.

Anyone else tried this? I realize compared to actual wheels it's not as efficient but it's surprisingly passable. Considering all the bugs and unreliability of the new wheels system atm...it might be a (hilariously) viable alternative?

[EdusacconBR]

i tried it once, but i used the old structural fuselages, they had a 20m/s crash tolerance i think

[Waxing_Kibbous]

I know there is always a push for realism, but at the same time it's stuff like this that makes games fun (goes off to put a command seat into a service bay).

[regex]

7 minutes ago, Waxing_Kibbous said:

I know there is always a push for realism

This is still a realistic, viable option.  Reference the ME-163 just as a "off the top of my head" example.

Edited April 29, 2016 by regex

[Legendary Emu]

It's like a plane with skis as landing gear!

[Rocket In My Pocket]

23 minutes ago, regex said:

This is still a realistic, viable option.  Reference the ME-163 just as a "off the top of my head" example.

The ME-163 "Komet" is exactly where I got the idea in the first place!

[regex]

2 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

The ME-163 "Komet" is exactly where I got the idea in the first place!

Does it take off on a jettisonable carraige?  Because that's also a lot of fun, I've built several craft that do that.

[Rocket In My Pocket]

Just now, regex said:

Does it take off on a jettisonable carraige?  Because that's also a lot of fun, I've built several craft that do that.

Nope it actually takes off on just the ski alone.

I've tried carriage's before but I find that any wheels attached to structural girders tend to wobble out of control very quickly.

Although last time I tried that it was 1.0.5 so maybe it's gotten better since then? I assumed with all the changes to wheel physics it would only get worse lol.

[regex]

Just now, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Nope it actually takes off on just the ski alone.

I've tried carriage's before but I find that any wheels attached to structural girders tend to wobble out of control very quickly.

Although last time I tried that it was 1.0.5 so maybe it's gotten better since then? I assumed with all the changes to wheel physics it would only get worse lol.

Until and if you can tweak suspension it's probably better to take off on the skid, lol.

Edited April 29, 2016 by regex

[Jovus]

Maaaan, you guys are really making me want some KSP plane action right now.

 

But my good computer's on another continent.

[tater]

20 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Nope it actually takes off on just the ski alone.

No, it didn't, it took off on wheels, which were dropped right after takeoff.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by tater

[Rocket In My Pocket]

2 minutes ago, tater said:

No, it didn't, it took off on wheels, which were dropped right after takeoff.

Were talking about the plane pictured in the OP which I built in KSP.

We weren't talking about the real life Me163 "Komet" anymore.

Sorry if that confused you.

 

[tater]

Ah, gotcha.

[swjr-swis]

In 1.0.5, I've used the Linear RCS Ports as very minimalistic but highly impact-resistant (50m/s) landing gear for planes or craft where regular gear was either too big or too unsightly. There is a bit of an issue with ground clearance at landing, but it can be done.

Another alternative I've used a few times is the small hardpoint - only 20m/s tolerance, but due to their aerodynamic form sometimes a pleasingly aesthetic solution, for example rotated vertically at the wing tips and one at the tail. Elevons can be used that way too, allowing surprising take-off/landing speeds, but their tolerance is even lower (15m/s).

[Snikersnee]

Can you use landing legs as landing skids? I tried back in 1.0.4 or so for an X-15 replica, but there was way too much friction on them to take off.

[Rocket In My Pocket]

35 minutes ago, Snikersnee said:

Can you use landing legs as landing skids? I tried back in 1.0.4 or so for an X-15 replica, but there was way too much friction on them to take off.

I haven't tried it yet but the relatively low impact tolerance makes me think they wouldn't be ideal.

It's an interesting idea though!

[Snikersnee]

3 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

...the relatively low impact tolerance makes me think they wouldn't be ideal.

 

So? 

[swjr-swis]

22 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

I haven't tried it yet but the relatively low impact tolerance makes me think they wouldn't be ideal.

'Ideal' would be the actual landing gear. Since we don't currently have that, we'll take whatever explodes less...

[katateochi]

A few versions ago I used this technique for early career "aircraft"

Even set like that (which doesn't look that stable) it worked pretty well, actually had a fair bit of flex as it was two girders attached end on end.  That was a v early career non-jet aircraft.  

[Servo]

Girders and other parts have worked well for me in the past, ad early tech level solutions. Takeoff is kinda shaky, so I preferred to launch vertically when possible.

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

I've seen guys do that for low-mass challenges

(feels like cheating the physics engine to me)

[Rocket In My Pocket]

52 minutes ago, Servo said:

Girders and other parts have worked well for me in the past, ad early tech level solutions. Takeoff is kinda shaky, so I preferred to launch vertically when possible.

Yeah my first designs were very shaky, jittering and skipping about.

The craft pictured deploys it's canards to lift the nose slightly for take off, coupled with the gentle curve of the "ski" it's a very smooth ride, it feel's rather like taking off on a patch of ice.

The only issue I'd say it has is the tendency to bounce a bit on landing, which if not careful can result in a lost wing tip.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Rocket In My Pocket

[Rocket In My Pocket]

55 minutes ago, Brainlord Mesomorph said:

I've seen guys do that for low-mass challenges

(feels like cheating the physics engine to me)

I agree in principle. It especially shouldn't work on pavement. Lol.

But at the same time I can't see any reason a real plane couldn't take off on a skid or ski, provided they used a grassy or sandy runway. It would just be terribly inefficient!

As @Waxing_Kibbous said above though, realistic or not it's things like this that make KSP fun.

[Skorpychan]

2 hours ago, katateochi said:

A few versions ago I used this technique for early career "aircraft"

Even set like that (which doesn't look that stable) it worked pretty well, actually had a fair bit of flex as it was two girders attached end on end.  That was a v early career non-jet aircraft.  

I did the same, but with only one girder length. Still worked fine for takeoffs.

Landing was a nonissue; I added parachutes to avoid the problem entirely.

[Fallarnon]

Didn't the wright flyers land on skids?

I did this way back when career was brand new, then I unlocked landing gear so naturally the first thing I did was to not build an aircraft with them