Cupcake's Dropship Dealership...

[ScriptKitt3h]

Hey cupcake, I got inspired for building dropships a bit again after looking through here yesterday...

The VTOL is provided by twin Panthers, and dual Junos allow it to get a kick in the pants for forward-flight. The Panther's afterburner mode also comes in handy for fast landings.

[Dafni]

2 hours ago, Cupcake... said:

Heh folks,

               Thought I'd give you a little tease of an uncoming micro lander I'm working on. Powered by a single Ion engine this little 2t ship puts out around 7k of Delta V and is comprised of only 26 parts!

Unlike the Moth this new lander is Munar/Ike capable with more then enough grunt for landing and getting back to orbit.

It's also my first dropship compact enough to fit into a MK2 cargo bay!

The Ion engine also comes with a cargo port for easy refueling or extra Xenon drop tanks for long range missions.

Coming soon!

 

Cupcake...

Quoted the whole post to bring it to the top of the page

Nice little Xe lander there, Sir. Thanks for sharing

But first Gigantors and now RTGs as landing skids...?    Just kidding, nice idea and very nicely executed too!

[Skylar']

so original ships, so creative videos ! just can't to not watch  

[Cupcake...]

11 hours ago, ScriptKitt3h said:

Hey cupcake, I got inspired for building dropships a bit again after looking through here yesterday...

 

 

The VTOL is provided by twin Panthers, and dual Junos allow it to get a kick in the pants for forward-flight. The Panther's afterburner mode also comes in handy for fast landings.

Nice man! Hope you've got a lot of reaction wheels in there, the 1.05 aero isn't very forgiving for long dropship designs any more! I should mention your main front and rear tanks have different balance points despite holding the same fuel amounts.

10 hours ago, Dafni said:

Quoted the whole post to bring it to the top of the page

Nice little Xe lander there, Sir. Thanks for sharing

But first Gigantors and now RTGs as landing skids...?    Just kidding, nice idea and very nicely executed too!

Thanks man! I'll try and have test version up later today.

21 minutes ago, Skylar' said:

so original ships, so creative videos ! just can't to not watch  

Cheers! Oh and it's nice to see more (I'm assuming here...) girls on the forum.

 

Cupcake...

Edited February 13, 2016 by Cupcake...

[ScriptKitt3h]

21 minutes ago, Cupcake... said:

Nice man! Hope you've got a lot of reaction wheels in there, the 1.05 aero isn't very forgiving for long dropship designs any more! I should mention your main front and rear tanks have different balance points despite holding the same fuel amounts.

Thanks man! I'll try and have test version up later today.

Cheers! Oh and it's nice to see more (I'm assuming here...) girls on the forum.

 

Cupcake...

Yeah, there's plenty of SAS control in the dropship, and I offset the VTOL panthers enough to compensate for the mass distribution.

[ProtoJeb21]

I've been experimenting with unmanned (unkerballed?) dropships in my SCIENCE mode save. The first was a hitchiker to my probe Lowell, which I sent to orbit Duna. The Lowell Dropship was deployed at the top of Duna's atmosphere, did a retrograde burn, and was supposed to flip over after the reentry effects. However, the probe core had a bug in it and made it impossible to turn. The ship crashed just as I transmitted the final piece of data. I would not recommend the Lowell Dropship to anyone unless the probe core bug can be resolved.

The next dropship is Aphrodite 1, my first Eve probe and the first in the Aphrodite series. It is still being developed, but I will post some screenshots and opinions of it later! 

[Heckspress]

Are you going to make any super-heavy lifting utility dropships? I'd love something that could sort stuff out on Kerbin or Tylo (If I ever get the gumption to go there)

[Matuchkin]

On 12/02/2016 at 7:34 AM, ScriptKitt3h said:

Hey cupcake, I got inspired for building dropships a bit again after looking through here yesterday...

The VTOL is provided by twin Panthers, and dual Junos allow it to get a kick in the pants for forward-flight. The Panther's afterburner mode also comes in handy for fast landings.

Very cool! @Cupcake... should make a sleeker version of this for you. 

Edited February 18, 2016 by Matuchkin

[Dobelong]

The second one weighs less than a ton.

 

How did I do?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Edited February 17, 2016 by Dobelong

[Cupcake...]

On 14/02/2016 at 11:15 AM, Heckspress said:

Are you going to make any super-heavy lifting utility dropships? I'd love something that could sort stuff out on Kerbin or Tylo (If I ever get the gumption to go there)

Making a super heavy Tylo lander is great and all, the trouble is getting it there in the first place!  With the small ISRU I don't think you really need large utility dropships for Tylo anymore.

6 hours ago, Dobelong said:

The second one weighs less than a ton.

 

 

 

How did I do?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

You've done very well indeed! The top design reminds me of some very, very, very old crafts of mine! They also came with ejector seats! (nice touch BTW)

 

 

You're on the right track, but I reckon both designs could do with a wee bit of a part pruning, keep up the great work though! 

 

Cupcake...

Edited February 17, 2016 by Cupcake...

[ScriptKitt3h]

Super-heavy landers/dropships you say?

Still need to work out several kinks and make sure there's a way to get it up there legit, but I've no doubt it's capable of some heavy lifting on it own. (It just flies like brick on Kerbin/Laythe due to its aerodynamics :P).

[Dobelong]

8 hours ago, Cupcake... said:

Making a super heavy Tylo lander is great and all, the trouble is getting it there in the first place!  With the small ISRU I don't think you really need large utility dropships for Tylo anymore.

You've done very well indeed! The top design reminds me of some very, very, very old crafts of mine! They also came with ejector seats! (nice touch BTW)

 

 

You're on the right track, but I reckon both designs could do with a wee bit of a part pruning, keep up the great work though! 

 

Cupcake...

Well, it reminds you of the Herbie because I thought it needed a revival. (It basically IS the Herbie.)

I also made some other things.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Dobelong

[Dafni]

Super heavy dropship you say?

I have a lot of fun with this type of chassis design lately. Fully fueled its 100tons, has a Mk3 cargo bay, and with two Vectors it puts out a TWR of 2 on Kerbin, and MJ says 2km/s aero dV, more if you add more tanks obviously. It can haul some serious weight around on the planets and moons. Getting 100tons of unwieldy dropship into LKO is another story though.

[Cupcake...]

14 hours ago, ScriptKitt3h said:

Super-heavy landers/dropships you say?

Still need to work out several kinks and make sure there's a way to get it up there legit, but I've no doubt it's capable of some heavy lifting on it own. (It just flies like brick on Kerbin/Laythe due to its aerodynamics :P).

 

6 hours ago, Dafni said:

Super heavy dropship you say?

I have a lot of fun with this type of chassis design lately. Fully fueled its 100tons, has a Mk3 cargo bay, and with two Vectors it puts out a TWR of 2 on Kerbin, and MJ says 2km/s aero dV, more if you add more tanks obviously. It can haul some serious weight around on the planets and moons. Getting 100tons of unwieldy dropship into LKO is another story though.

Looking great guys! Please feel to provide DL links. I hope these fit the bill for you Heckspress.

13 hours ago, Dobelong said:

Well, it reminds you of the Herbie because I thought it needed a revival. (It basically IS the Herbie.)

I also made some other things.

Nice mate! Keep sharing those designs!

 

Cupcake...

[Dobelong]

49 minutes ago, Cupcake... said:

 

Looking great guys! Please feel to provide DL links. I hope these fit the bill for you Heckspress.

Nice mate! Keep sharing those designs!

 

Cupcake...

Well, although I have no download account, I do have epic screenshots...

Thanks to the descent parachute, I can do this:

[M.Wolfy]

2 years and your still making dropships cupcake...

At least there is still a familiar sight after my absence.

[ProtoJeb21]

Dropship Update: Aphrodite 1 has arrived at Eve, but I don't think it should be called a drop ship. More of a drop pod, it is.

The other day, I tried to make a replica of the Droid Drop Ship from Revenge of the Sith, but instead blew up the runway.

I recently tried to make a dropship similar to the Bulldog, but instead made something BIGGER. I'm going to edit it so much it may be called a starship!

[Heckspress]

On 2/18/2016 at 6:40 PM, ProtoJeb21 said:

Dropship Update: Aphrodite 1 has arrived at Eve, but I don't think it should be called a drop ship. More of a drop pod, it is.

The other day, I tried to make a replica of the Droid Drop Ship from Revenge of the Sith, but instead blew up the runway.

I recently tried to make a dropship similar to the Bulldog, but instead made something BIGGER. I'm going to edit it so much it may be called a starship!

Could you perhaps post pics?

 

[Cupcake...]

On 18/02/2016 at 11:45 PM, M.Wolfy said:

2 years and your still making dropships cupcake...

At least there is still a familiar sight after my absence.

Welcome back again! Man, has it really been 2 years?

On 18/02/2016 at 0:40 PM, ProtoJeb21 said:

Dropship Update: Aphrodite 1 has arrived at Eve, but I don't think it should be called a drop ship. More of a drop pod, it is.

The other day, I tried to make a replica of the Droid Drop Ship from Revenge of the Sith, but instead blew up the runway.

I recently tried to make a dropship similar to the Bulldog, but instead made something BIGGER. I'm going to edit it so much it may be called a starship!

17 hours ago, Heckspress said:

Could you perhaps post pics?

 

Ditto.

 

Cupcake...

[Calcius]

You seem to be able to squeeze out a lot of delta V from your crafts. Perhaps I may be building inefficiently, but it really seems like you're doing something different. Do you work hard to keep your delta V up to par? Also, is it worth it to slap some more efficient engines on a dropship that uses heavier engines just so that it can travel more efficiently in space? Considering putting an LV terrier or two onto a craft I've made that currently manages to get into kerbin orbit  using 4 skippers, all of the fuel on the base craft, and 2 docked fuel tanks each comprised of an eighth of one of the red tanks in terms of fuel. Getting into orbit costs almost all of the fuel.. 

I hope to be able to efficiently build crafts on a scale such as yours at some point.

[M.Wolfy]

18 hours ago, Cupcake... said:

Welcome back again! Man, has it really been 2 years?

Ehhh....

My last post here (on a thread that wasn't a game) was 3rd march 2014...

On 03/03/2014 at 8:28 PM, M.Wolfy said:

too long ago, i think it was like last October, oh, and i still have your quote in my signature XD

So, no not quite.

But I'll probably keep a low profile for a while until i get some crafts worth posting.

Edited February 21, 2016 by M.Wolfy

[Cupcake...]

On 21/02/2016 at 5:04 PM, Calcius said:

On 21/02/2016 at 5:04 PM, Calcius said:

You seem to be able to squeeze out a lot of delta V from your crafts. Perhaps I may be building inefficiently, but it really seems like you're doing something different. Do you work hard to keep your delta V up to par? Also, is it worth it to slap some more efficient engines on a dropship that uses heavier engines just so that it can travel more efficiently in space? Considering putting an LV terrier or two onto a craft I've made that currently manages to get into kerbin orbit  using 4 skippers, all of the fuel on the base craft, and 2 docked fuel tanks each comprised of an eighth of one of the red tanks in terms of fuel. Getting into orbit costs almost all of the fuel.. 

I hope to be able to efficiently build crafts on a scale such as yours at some point.

You seem to be able to squeeze out a lot of delta V from your crafts. Perhaps I may be building inefficiently, but it really seems like you're doing something different. Do you work hard to keep your delta V up to par? Also, is it worth it to slap some more efficient engines on a dropship that uses heavier engines just so that it can travel more efficiently in space? Considering putting an LV terrier or two onto a craft I've made that currently manages to get into kerbin orbit  using 4 skippers, all of the fuel on the base craft, and 2 docked fuel tanks each comprised of an eighth of one of the red tanks in terms of fuel. Getting into orbit costs almost all of the fuel.. 

I hope to be able to efficiently build crafts on a scale such as yours at some point.

I try and build as sparse as I can and generally try to only include parts that are absolutely essential with a small concession to aesthetics providing the mass isn't too high!

 

The Delta V thing can be a bit deceptive, you can easily build an ion lander with a huge amount of DV but chances are it'll be useless everywhere except Gilly.

 

Delta V is important but so is T/W and finding a balance between the two depends on what you want your craft to do/where it'll operate. Sometimes it's worth sacrificing DV for more T/W or vice verce. An example I can give you is this design here:

It originally just had the one engine and put out 3.6k of Delta V which was pretty good, however...

...I ended up going with a twin engine layout as the T/W was much better meaning less gravity losses and the ability to operate on Tylo! The twin engine layout also allowed for a cargo port making the vessal much more versitile. Without the single engine sticking out it's easier to right the ship if it overturns on landing. All these benefits came at a cost of 300m/s of Delta V but in my mind that's a price worth paying.

 

Anyway, sorry to ramble on I hope this helped!  

On 21/02/2016 at 8:51 PM, M.Wolfy said:

Ehhh....

My last post here (on a thread that wasn't a game) was 3rd march 2014...

So, no not quite.

But I'll probably keep a low profile for a while until i get some crafts worth posting.

I await with baited breath.

 

Cupcake...

Edited February 23, 2016 by Cupcake...

[KerbonautInTraining]

I don't know where else to ask this, I've tried the AFBW thread and gotten no response...

What do you use as the interface between your joystick and KSP? I'm trying to use AFBW but it's extremely difficult to control anything due to the joystick inputs clashing with SAS. Do you just use the stock KSP joystick config menu?

Edit: It might have been my previous joystick or my brief period of experimentation, but I have it working relatively well now.

Edited February 26, 2016 by KerbonautInTraining

[Elway358]

@Cupcake... I looove the little shrimp and I'm gonna park one at my Mun and Minmus bases for putting around but I had a question. I'm trying to mock up a little refueling point for the bases (basically just a long piece like an I-beam coming out of the top with a docking port on it) to just drop down on and refuel from. Obviously I can't truly test it on Kerbin but when I mess with it inside the building facilities, it looks like the fins on the RTGs will keep me from just coming straight down onto the docking port?

Any issues you've had with this? Thanks a ton!  

[Dafni]

@Elway358, I use this little fuel dump, very similar to what can be seen in one of Cupcakes pictures. Takes a bit of vtol skill to land on it, but works very nicely.