With far aerodynamics, is it possible to make a realistic dynamically stable aircraft? That works?

[paul23]

Well I'm really wondering: I can't seem to get a realistic aircraft at all.

 

When we look at real aircraft there are a few things to not:

 

TWR: 0.2-0.25

L/D: 15-20

steering forces minor compared to main lifting surface

aircraft statically and dynamically stable, or almost stable. ("hands free", given not too far from symmetric, stable flight should let the aircraft go into a stable symmetric flight, some are very slightly unstable into a dead spiral, like cessna citation but then you're talking about serveral minutes).

 

I can't seem to get anything like this. First of all I have a lot of trouble creating the correct dynamic stability. I often end up into an unstable phugoid. Worse: lifting of a statically stable craft seems impossible, it's like I"m glued to the ground. (And with twr of lower than 0.5 I am even reaching maximum speed at the runway).

 

What am I missing, does anyone have an example craft that shows "it is possible"?

[Zeiss Ikon]

I wonder if something hasn't changed in FAR.

I've got a 1.3.1 RSS/RO (FAR is part of RO) save in which I've made several airplanes that, while not long-term hands-off stable, could be flown for long periods using only the trim controls (if I could ever get them off the terribly bumpy RSS runway).

Now, in a new 1.6.1 RSS/RO game (with a much smoother runway, thanks to a mod I either didn't know about or didn't exist when I set up my 1.3.1 RSS/RO install), I haven't been able to build anything that would rotate for liftoff at a reasonable speed.  For instance, I've got a replica of a Beechcraft Bonanza -- Bonanza cabin, IO-550 engine, correct-looking wing, tricycle retracts, absolute minimum stability margin -- even the V tail (made with all-moving surfaces, not those wimpy little fin-and-surface things the real Bonanza used) -- and while the RL Bonanza can rotate and lift off at under 40 m/s at maximum gross, mine, even with only a single pilot and half fuel, won't even rotate at 60 m/s.

Now, I've heard Nathan Kell, on video, say that RP-1 is more about rockets than airplanes, but still, there are all those X-plane contracts, and a plane I can land and park, and refuel and relaunch without having to build it again, would let me grind a bunch of those while waiting for the new, slower rocket build times to complete (and the Bonanza, at least, took a LOT less time to build than even a fairly simple rocket).

So, something seems to have changed in FAR between, roughly, eighteen months ago when i installed RSS/RO the first time on 1.3.1, and 3-4 weeks ago when I installed 1.6.1 RSS/RO.  Either that, or I completely forgot how airplanes work in the year I was away from the game (unlikely, since I built then and build now on the assumption that if it looks like a real airplane, it ought to fly more or less like one -- and it worked then).

 

[Snark]

Moving to Add-on Discussions.