Control Surfaces Work in Vacuums?

[GreeningGalaxy]

Hey guys-

I was just flying an SSTO to Eve today, and was noticing that my projected orbital trajectory constantly jumps all over the place whenever I have ASAS on. I mean, sure, that happens sometimes with big ships with RCS, but this was a lot more jumping than usual, to the extent that it sometimes won't let me time warp with ASAS turned on, apparently counting me as "under acceleration". The plane does have RCS, but I hardly ever turn it on, so I'm thinking the only culprit could be all those big control surfaces I put all over the rear end of the plane, which aren't supposed to work in vacuums but apparently are to a lesser degree in my game.

Anyone else have this too?

Sure wish there were a way to lock and unlock control surfaces with action groups...

Edited July 12, 2013 by GreeningGalaxy

[lucidLemon]

Control fins have do absolutely nothing without an atmosphere.

It sounds like you just have long noodley plane. Could you give screenshots?

[stupid_chris]

Vibrations are of the projectedorbit are totally normal. The more you shake, the worst it gets, so ASAS makes it worse.

[Xiphos]

If you have a ton of them, it's still mass shifting back and fourth. Newtons second law. Maybe try minimizing the control surfaces or using the small ones. OR - Would use of a small probe body separated from the space plane with a decoupler not utilize the control surfaces?

Sure wish there were a way to lock and unlock control surfaces with action groups...

This! yes! Also control of the angle of deflection would be a plus as well! Not only unlock and lock, but lock in any direction we want. We could have flaps, spoilers, air brakes....*sigh*

P.S. - This would go for the canards as well. I have a few planes I wish I could lock it in certain situations.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Xiphos

[SRV Ron]

In a vacuum, control surfaces do nothing. However, the ASAS will turn your ship depending on the mass of the rocket it has to react against. So will most engines while powered up even on low thrust.

[Colonel_Panic]

What xiphos said. Control surfaces have mass, so having SAS on, which causes control surface thrashing, will rapidly shift around the mass of your ship, resulting in unintended alteration of your orbital projection. Disable SAS and release the controls to steady it.

[GreeningGalaxy]

Alright that makes sense, I guess I just assumed that the game didnt account for control surface mass shifting for some reason. /selfbonk.

lucidLemon, I'll post pics later tonight. I also posted it to the SSTO showcase thread over on the Spacecraft Exchange, if you feel like hunting for it. The pic there isn't great since it's a tail view, but I think I've got some better ones somewhere.

Meantime, I'll go hunt for a control-surface-lock mod.

[John FX]

Alright that makes sense, I guess I just assumed that the game didnt account for control surface mass shifting for some reason. /selfbonk.

lucidLemon, I'll post pics later tonight. I also posted it to the SSTO showcase thread over on the Spacecraft Exchange, if you feel like hunting for it. The pic there isn't great since it's a tail view, but I think I've got some better ones somewhere.

Meantime, I'll go hunt for a control-surface-lock mod.

I just assumed they built balanced control surfaces...

I remember seeing a mod/plugin that stopped the control surfaces moving in vacuum. I`ll see if I can find it. I also dislike the `shaky trajectory` thing.

[Darren9]

FireSpitter has a module to lock control surfaces and also adjust their range, I have fitted it to the stock ones in the past (.cfg edit), I'm guessing it's still possible in the latest version.

[SRV Ron]

I just assumed they built balanced control surfaces...

I remember seeing a mod/plugin that stopped the control surfaces moving in vacuum. I`ll see if I can find it. I also dislike the `shaky trajectory` thing.

Seems like that should be possible with an action group command where you can manually disable control surfaces just like you can lock or free gimbals.

[fran13kie]

This! yes! Also control of the angle of deflection would be a plus as well! Not only unlock and lock, but lock in any direction we want. We could have flaps, spoilers, air brakes....*sigh*

The Ferram aerospace research (FAR) Mod gives you the possibility to do all those things except for locking controls I think... You can also select which motion the control surface affects (pitch, yaw and roll)