How are people fitting multiple engines under a fuel tank?

[jpinard]

Is that what engine plates are for?  At any rate I can't seem to make this work.  I also don't have a clue what you'd use an engine plate for if their purpose is not adding multiple engines easily.

Thanks for anyone who explains!

[Geonovast]

This is exactly what engine plates are for.

You need to set the number of nodes using the PAW (window that pops up when you right-click on a part).

[Foxster]

12 minutes ago, jpinard said:

Is that what engine plates are for?  At any rate I can't seem to make this work.  I also don't have a clue what you'd use an engine plate for if their purpose is not adding multiple engines easily.

Thanks for anyone who explains!

You can certainly use them for that. They have an adjustable number of attachment nodes

Kinda depends on the craft though as they can be draggy. For optimal streamlining I taper the back end of a craft and surface attach conical bits and then attach the engines to the bottom of those. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Foxster

[Aegolius13]

You can also use the cubic octagonal strut, or any similar part that's surface-attachable but comes with a node.  Then stick the engine onto the end of the strut, and if desired, clip the strut into one of the parts so it looks normal.  This is not great for drag, however.

Some engines, like the Vector and (IIRC) all of the Making History engines [EDIT - but not the Wolfhound apparently] are surface-attachable themselves. 

Engine plates are good for this, especially if you want an interstage, but oddly they don't seem to shield the parts inside from drag.  

Your other option are the structural parts - bicouplers and the like.  Though the options here are limited and they're a bit on the heavy side, they might have better drag characteristics.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Aegolius13

[Superfluous J]

Sadly I have too many mods to know if this is a mod or stock, but many engines just attach radially so you can add them to tanks without the plates.

I did this with 4 Mainsails just yesterday.

[Geschosskopf]

On 7/17/2019 at 4:29 PM, jpinard said:

Is that what engine plates are for?  At any rate I can't seem to make this work.  I also don't have a clue what you'd use an engine plate for if their purpose is not adding multiple engines easily.

Thanks for anyone who explains!

Engine plates set up differently from most parts in the game.  They work like this:

1.  Attach engine plate to bottom of fuel tank

2.  Right-click on the engine plate and set the number of attach nodes you want to use.

3.  Attach those engines.  If you like the result....

4.  Right-click on the engine plate again and adjust the shroud length so an attachment node appears just below the bells of the attached engines.

5.  Attach the next tank to the node you just placed.  A shroud will appear between it and the tank above, covering the engines.

6.  The engine plate has a built-in decoupler.  Even though the engine plate is mounted above the engines, it decouples at the node below the bells.  So in the staging menu, make sure the engine plate's decouple is on or below the stage with the engines, not above

[jpinard]

On 7/19/2019 at 6:08 PM, Geschosskopf said:

Engine plates set up differently from most parts in the game.  They work like this:

1.  Attach engine plate to bottom of fuel tank

2.  Right-click on the engine plate and set the number of attach nodes you want to use.

3.  Attach those engines.  If you like the result....

4.  Right-click on the engine plate again and adjust the shroud length so an attachment node appears just below the bells of the attached engines.

5.  Attach the next tank to the node you just placed.  A shroud will appear between it and the tank above, covering the engines.

6.  The engine plate has a built-in decoupler.  Even though the engine plate is mounted above the engines, it decouples at the node below the bells.  So in the staging menu, make sure the engine plate's decouple is on or below the stage with the engines, not above

Whoa that is an awesome explanation of which I would have never figured out myself.  Thank you!  Going in my long list of critical game notes.

[Geschosskopf]

33 minutes ago, jpinard said:

Whoa that is an awesome explanation of which I would have never figured out myself.  Thank you!  Going in my long list of critical game notes.

Somebody had to explain it to me, I'm just repeating that info