Kerbal Charter Challenge!

[Blasty McBlastblast]

@MunGazer don't give up! maybe try using some aircraft wheels instead of rover wheels, and just let the load roll freely out? 

[MunGazer]

1 hour ago, Blasty McBlastblast said:

@MunGazer don't give up! maybe try using some aircraft wheels instead of rover wheels, and just let the load roll freely out? 

Yeah, I hadn't considered landing gear, maybe they'll interact with the bay floor better.  I'll give that a try.

[MunGazer]

So apparently Unity 5's wheel collider is extremely unstable, which is probably why I'm having so many problems both with rover wheels and landing gear - especially for ultra-high mass cargo.  The more weight you put on wheels, the worse it gets, to the point that my entire craft will suddenly spaz to pieces and send fragments scattering in every direction for several kilometers.  I was looking at a tank tread mod 'Kerbal Foundries', but found that it was outdated, and also found this excerpt from the first page of that mod; I figured it would be relevant knowledge for this challenge:

"There is currently no 1.1.x compatibility. We're working on it, but as Squad found, U5 wheel colliders in KSP are about as stable as a stack of ping-pong balls. It's being working on by some very clever people, so please be patient. In fact, we're working on an entirely new wheel collider (the bit of U5 that's given Squad so many problems). As you may imagine, this is not easy or quick, but progress is being made."

I put a lot of work into that plane and really enjoy it, but unfortunately I may have to wait until the wheel collider is working better.  I'm kinda sad about it, because I didn't realize ksp 1.1.x was so terrible with regard to wheel physics until now.  As for this challenge, I'd have to go back to the drawing board and create an entirely new airframe which will make handling ultra heavy cargo much easier, without having to worry about wheels.  That said, it'll take me a few more days or so, but no worries, I won't give up and I'll make an entry eventually.  So, for anyone starting this challenge, I'd advise you to consider designing your craft inside out, starting with a reliable cargo manipulation system.  Then, slap that onto a suitable air frame afterward.

[Van Disaster]

I use a docking port to attach the cargo to the plane directly, strut the hell out of the payload once it's docked & just tip the thing out of the cargo bay ignoring most of the wheels breaking - I use a second set of shorter gear so the plane will sit tail-low while it's decanting cargo ( although if you use the stock cargo ramp you can just let it sit on the ramp... ). Struts automatically detach when you undock, you can't put a strut across two seperate craft.

Spoiler

 

Edited August 28, 2016 by Van Disaster

[Van Disaster]

Did another passenger run trying to break the 1cr/Pax barrier, still didn't make it but I lowered the FAR pax run score a bit. I just recorded the whole trip instead of screenshotting it this time. The audio isn't broken, the SXT engines only play one channel & I haven't got round to fixing. Probably want to fast forward a lot
Outbound:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Return ( might still be processing )

Spoiler

 

Pax: 640
Fuel: 1080-220 * 0.8 = 688

Score: 688/640 = 1.075
 

Edited August 28, 2016 by Van Disaster
Return video processed, poking it to get it to embed

[zolotiyeruki]

How do  you keep the really long fuselage from flexing?  Whenever I have a long plane with the wings centered (rather than distributed), it flexes really badly.

[Van Disaster]

KJR & the occasional strut - the wings are attached to the top fuselage row & then the back ends of each row are strutted together.

[Koolkei]

okay. i kinda broke the rule, or maybe bend it.... KSP didn't save my screenshots up until i'm really near the polar airport. so please spare me

i could re do the take off and 'augment' the album. it wouldn't really matter much though. and i didn't spend 4 hours just to lie.

 

this submission is for a passenger flights

http://imgur.com/a/IYkpS

as for the score.

fuel used = max fuel load - fuel left -> 13125 - 767 = 12,358

passenger seat count.

it has 16 seats in a single 'cabin unit'

there's 6 cabin unit in a row

i have 3 rows of cabin unit

that's 16*6*3 = 288 kerbals + 4 on the cockpit = 292

so score. (12,358*0.8)/292 = that's 33.85

if this entry is valid. i should be on 5th place

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

and here's the other entry. the Emergency Rescue Mission. officially stops at 31:49. not the fastest, but enough for a rank

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by Koolkei

[Van Disaster]

Finally! sub 1 cost per pax, after a wing redesign. And 250km of gliding each end(!).

Outbound:

Spoiler

 

Return:

Spoiler

 

Pax: 640
Fuel used: 1080 - 290 * 0.8 = 632

Score: 0.9875
 

That's quite enough pax flights & landing on a knife-edge.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Van Disaster

[NightshineRecorralis]

Here's my rescue attempt @ 27min 58sec

http://imgur.com/a/Soteo

Sorry it isn't in order. Here're the important ones.

Takeoff

http://imgur.com/vZtMTfo

Cruise

http://imgur.com/o5ctdC8

http://imgur.com/OAZLRJl

Rescue

http://imgur.com/VnUHeUc

Return

http://imgur.com/Z8y07rN

Landing

http://imgur.com/cjrPtXF

Could've been faster, but I don't have enough time

[max_creative]

I might do the rescue challenge if 

1. I can think of a way to use it in my story. 
2. Imgur start cooperating with me. 
3. I become a better pilot. 
4. I learn how not to crash 3 out of 4 planes I attempt to land. 

Also, two questions: 

1. Are vtols allowed? I like vtols, because I can stall, activate the vtol engines, and smash into a few less pieces than if I horizontally land have a perfect landing. 
2. Are R.A.P.I.E.R. engines allowed in jet mode? If I prove that I have zero oxidizer aboard they're ok, right?

[zolotiyeruki]

1 hour ago, max_creative said:

I might do the rescue challenge if 

1. I can think of a way to use it in my story. 
2. Imgur start cooperating with me. 
3. I become a better pilot. 
4. I learn how not to crash 3 out of 4 planes I attempt to land. 

Also, two questions: 

1. Are vtols allowed? I like vtols, because I can stall, activate the vtol engines, and smash into a few less pieces than if I horizontally land have a perfect landing. 
2. Are R.A.P.I.E.R. engines allowed in jet mode? If I prove that I have zero oxidizer aboard they're ok, right?

I don't know about the first question, but the answer to the second is YES--that's pretty much the only way to get the really fast times on the rescue mission.

[HazelPine]

@max_creative, to answer your first question, it's just fine if you make a VTOL, as long as it follows the engine rules of only jet or props. As for jet mode rapiers, it's just like zolotiyeruki said, so you should be fine. 

 

I'm tight on time this week so I'll only get a chance to update the OP sometime during Saturday, so hold on a bit! 

[Koolkei]

8 hours ago, Van Disaster said:

Finally! sub 1 cost per pax, after a wing redesign. And 250km of gliding each end(!).

Outbound:

  Hide contents

 

Return:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Pax: 640
Fuel used: 1080 - 290 * 0.8 = 632

Score: 0.9875
 

That's quite enough pax flights & landing on a knife-edge.

what mods are you using? because i certainly did it manually and wasted quite a lot of fuel and time in the process.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Koolkei

[Van Disaster]

SXT - there was some discussion a page or two back about their efficiency ( probably ok for static thrust, debatable at high speed ) and the audio stubbornly refuses to work properly.

[Koolkei]

okay i've been out of the KSP world for a while. what's SXT? i've been looking for it but i can't find it....

 

1 last thing. i want to try using a joystick. do i just plug an play with it, or does it need a plugin? because i don't know where i have to search for it

Edited September 2, 2016 by Koolkei

[Van Disaster]

16 minutes ago, Koolkei said:

okay i've been out of the KSP world for a while. what's SXT? i've been looking for it but i can't find it....

 

1 last thing. i want to try using a joystick. do i just plug an play with it, or does it need a plugin? because i don't know where i have to search for it

I think joysticks just work, but there is/was some joystick-related mod, I seem to remember.

[Koolkei]

tried it. nope, i need a plugin

 

[Alymon]

Out of curiosity... why 672 Kerbals? 

[Van Disaster]

13 hours ago, Alymon said:

Out of curiosity... why 672 Kerbals? 

Why not 672 Kerbals? ( divide it by 16 ).

Pine, I've been testing landing on random terrain & the gear isn't as fragile as I thought it would be ( although I might have patched it at some point ) so providing there's some vaguely smooth land you should be ok for random airport stops. If you give me some coords when you're happy I'll concoct some sort of Navutils settings.

[Koolkei]

okay i retried the passenger flight. keep on consuming too much fuel, or not having enough power with less engines.

so i said. fudge it. i'm doing another kerbal rescue mission. with a plane for 288+4 kerbals crew. below 40mins

warning. plenty of pictures.
 

Spoiler

 

 

taking off

climbing.

the climb was slow, but the average cruise speed is only slightly below my first rescue mission

on approach

landed and parked perfectly

taking off on the way home

home is in sight again

except i waaaay overshot it.

turning around. and taking the wrong approach

yup, i hopped and skipped on the runway and overshot it..... again

 

delivering the patient as close as possible

we're here

even after overshooting the polar base, and then overshooting the KSC twice. still below 40 mins

 

hurrah

 

 

[HazelPine]

Ok, I just finished updating the OP! Lots of new designs are starting to show, not to mention I'm learning more and more about how to make efficient planes in KSP!

 

So, @Koolkei, You made it to 5th and 6th place in the passenger and rescue missions! Not bad for a starting contender! I hope you're enjoying the challenge! BUT, your updated entry has a little problem right now, which is that you didn't mention how much fuel it spent, so I can't really calculate a score for you. That being said, I'll add the entry in the leaderboards as soon as we can figure out a score for you, so if you could find out how much fuel the plane had before it took off, I'd appreciate it! (After all, from the looks of it, it might be a pretty good entry for the Passenger category!)

 

Anything else? Ah yes.

 

@Van Disaster. You are amazing! I mean, holy ****! You made it to under 1 Fund per passenger! Not to mention, you're 1st in 4 leaderboards! Like really, give this guy a round of applause! You deserve it!

 

As for the short multi-airport thing, I'll look around for some more areas. I already know one I'll use so far, which I already used before:

Spoiler

This is what it looks like in terms of flatness. Don^t mind the plane, it's the only shot of the area I have right now.

 

 

My thinking is that having a small but active route (lots of landings) will balance out the drawn out long range passive flight to the poles, and so it will be open to a more varied selection of aircraft, like little bush planes!  After all, having an immense amount of passengers isn't the only possible way to a great score, especially with short routes (50-100km total is what I'm thinking).

 

I plan to have a rescue version for it as well, with more than one rescuee.

[Van Disaster]

Well, nobody else has done a FAR rescue attempt, so that doesn't really count

Edit: how could I forget Blasty - tbh I think he wins by default unless someone airlifts a hospital to the airport...

For the commuter thing, 100-200km might be a sensible leg - 50km is half the visible distance ( and the island airport is 30km from KSC, that hardly takes any time ). You can land all over the place, not that I'd advise doing *this* in particular

Spoiler

This is always a fun spot ( there's a Kerbinside airport here if you have it installed - Edit: now I reinstalled it there isn't one here anymore ). Range & reciprocal from KSC in the navutilities window.

Spoiler

 

Edited September 4, 2016 by Van Disaster

[HazelPine]

Hey everyone! Just a quick but important announcement about the challenge. @Baybrawler has been helping me out with making badges for the challenge! He's made them so that they fit the size of the average badge on the forums, so if you have completed the challenge, feel free to display it proudly on your sig! Give the guy a like!

 

So, here's the badge!

 

 

Here's the sig sized version for you to use:

Spoiler

 

[HazelPine]

Been searching for some bush airport locations, and I believe I have them:

 

 

Each and every one of them was landed upon, and now I have to figure out some route and place 5 airports in each spot.