F-104 Starfighter v2.0 pre-release

[Guest]

Update - I think it might be ready to release.

I ended up re-working the empennage a lot after deciding to abandon the moving stabilizer concept. The only part unchanged is that wing part with the circle texture. I reshaped the vertical stabilizer and enlarged it since it wasn't that accurate. I would have made the entire vertical stab one piece and pWing, except this would have made placing textures on it impossible as they distort and also mirror on one side of the pWing. Instead of 2 or 4 or whatever symmetric elevators, there is a single embedded one in the center, with modified lift. That way I have outsmarted the KSP logic that sends roll commands to the elevators! This effect was seriously destabilizing the aircraft in rolls due to the fact that they were so far from the axis of rotation.

I defueled the fuselage tank by half by making a copy of the B9 tank and editing the CFG. I changed the spoolup and spool down time of the engine to "really quick" lol. There's a lot of flight experiences here: http://www.916-starfighter.de/tallyho.htm and one of the pilots mentioned that quality of the engine. I downloaded the F-104D manual from scrib.com http://www.scribd.com/doc/45790948/1960-T-O-1F-104D-1-Flight-Manual-F-104D-USAF-Series-Aircraft just to try to pick up a few hints. I am not going for 100% by any means but I didn't want to overlook major things and I wanted to implement what was possible. Blah blah blah.

I finetuned the longitidunal balance to the point it will fly itself off the runway without adverse flight charictaristics. The little cheater wing I mentioned earlier was the key, and setting it's angle of incidence was the final step..

I flew the plane for quite awhile on my laptop and with keyboard, never once stalling the wing, and for the most part, making it do what I wanted. I got two landings out of it. I will flight test tomorrow on my dual core desktop which has a good video card, and possibly post it to spaceport.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Guest

[Guest]

I can say that with a little practice you can fly from the cockpit and aim visually with these unguided missles. You do have to get close to your target but in my way of thinking, it makes for better gaming. I don't thing the fire and forget guided thing would look that cool. That's just my opinion.

Tomorrow I hope to make a video and possibly edited, which is a first for me. Incredble camera addon came out http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/12329-0-19-Multiversal-Mechatronics-Fixed-Camera-1-3

[Fox62]

Cool. I think that once this gets released I'm taking it for a spin. Hopefully it won't need FAR to fly.

[Guest]

If it does that will be a surprise because I haven't installed it. I have no idea why but some of my CFG parts do have FAR language in them. I think it's just because they wanted to make them FAR compatibile.

[Guest]

Tailfin M cannot be re-skinned. Thing is wearing me down.

[BostLabs]

This is some awesome work! Very impressive!

[Guest]

Thanks for the encouragement. The Zipper is still kicking my butt. I landed it twice and had absolutely stable flights on my crappy laptop, but on the high-speed system with a good graphics card and joystick, she's real jittery. I am really starting to suspect my joystick is junk. It's not new., Wingman Attack 2. I did verify an install from a clean KSP installation to all mods loaded, found a couple things I had overlooked. But it's a 100% verified bulletproof install process now. I just need to get rid of the jittery control.

[Guest]

Nerves are fried. Uncontrollable. I was all set to release this tonight 3 days late, and not only can I not release it, I can't even make a video that is slightly above total crap. Flew fine on the laptop.

[Guest]

Confirmed joystick issue. Pitch axis is jumpy as heck and sometimes you call for pitch up and it sends nothing or even down! I saw it on the pitch indicator on Kerbal. Video is shown for what it's worth which may be nothing at all. I plan to get a joystick tomorrow.

http://youtu.be/ejfCXcqJ9B8

[Guest]

I need to make the smoke black how do I do that?

[Fox62]

I need to make the smoke black how do I do that?

I think you would just take a copy of the smoke effects and just recolor them, then make a copy of your engine and have it use the new FX file instead of it's old one.

[Guest]

no idea where to find it

At the end fo the video the wing scrapes the runway and some really dark smoke comes out. That would be perfect.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Guest

[CheesySquid279]

I am soooo glad you are making (some) progress. My Blinder won't flipping fly!

[Guest]

Blinder now that's a wild machine

[CheesySquid279]

Dude, you have NO idea.

[Guest]

LOL. If you're frazzled at the moment, send me a craft and mod list. I may not have time to try it but I never can tell. Best By id down to selling ONE model of PC joystick I found out today, and they were out of stock. Sign of the times for PC flyers, but not me. I have another USB joystick in thsi house somewhere, but it's mocking me, I can't find it. I will probably order one tomorrow if I can't find it.

[TimeOlord]

Wow, That Looks Awesome!

[Guest]

Thanks - if it weren't for the MODs in use, this would be a no-go. Procedural Wing especially. There are 6 on here: horizontal stabilizer, rear portion of the vertical stabilizer, base of the vertical stabilizer, wing, flap, and ventral strake. The nosecone from the defunct SU fighter mod I think was the next one, and of course B9. Damned Robotics powers the flaps, and then the Sparrow Missles. They're all esential. I really need to get into modding myself.

Edited August 7, 2013 by Guest

[Guest]

Micro update - I may be visiting a friend with an 8 core computer and joystick this week, if that happens, and the plane handles reasonably well, I will be releasng it. I do plan to revise the vertical stabilizer yet again. I think this is the third revision. It will be 100% one piece pWing. I can't texture the big part I left there (so no reason to keep), and althought the pWing (not being square) will distort any graphics, I might be able to minimize that by pre-distorting the image before using as the texture, as I have done already to the one with the Moebus graphic under the wing. Also as can be seen stripes do not get distorted.

[CheesySquid279]

Thanks for the offer, but I think i figured out the problem. Too much weight, not enough thrust/ lift. Working on fixing it. So far, no luck. Its hard to keep it looking like the real thing while making it still able to fly *reasonably* well.

[Fox62]

Could it be possible for us to see the current graphics image? Because I want to see this.

[Guest]

I have three joysticks coming from eBay. I seriosly hope one of them works so I can finish this project. I actually want to move back toe the B9 B-58 and re-texture and re-power that, and release a final of that too. Just so you know, these images don't have the new and likely final vertical stabilizer, which will have graphics / emblem capability. When I release this, I will actually include several versions (loadouts, and graphics), and instructions on how to make /apply your own graphics. You will note how mirroring, or I should say symmetry, applied to the pWing, can cause a backwards effect. When I get tail graphics working, there will be no symmetry, there is a discrete image for both sides of the pWing or any object, and in the same way as I have the emblem on the bottom of the pWing, and the stripes on top --> there will be a different graphic or I should say ..discrete graphic, for each side of the vertical stabilizer.

[Guest]

http://youtu.be/8xK9EwWr690

[Fox62]

Good god that looks amazing! Can't wait. And that B-58 Hustler will make a good bomber, no doubt with the attention to detail and flight characteristics you've put into this already!

[Guest]

Thanks, I really wanted to see how far I could go, without making my own parts. But after the B-58, I am shutting down the crafts I think to learn Unity.