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[1.10.x] Mark IV Spaceplane System (August 3)


Nertea

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It would indeed be nice to have the Yellowjacket VTOL engines in two modes - Jet type and Rocket Type. In fact - if I may make a suggestion? Why not add a third option and make a RAPIER variant that can switch to either mode on the fly?

There's two basic reasons why I think that third option would be a good idea:

1) For the obvious use of being able to VTOL in both Jet-mode in air-breathing mode to save fuel and yet not need an extra part to do the same on a vacuum world like the Mun.

2) to be able to switch to closed cycle rocket mode for quick bursts of power when making final landing approaches even in an air-breathing environment. Rockets always provide better, faster response times for VTOL in situations like that.

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It would indeed be nice to have the Yellowjacket VTOL engines in two modes - Jet type and Rocket Type. In fact - if I may make a suggestion? Why not add a third option and make a RAPIER variant that can switch to either mode on the fly?

There's two basic reasons why I think that third option would be a good idea:

1) For the obvious use of being able to VTOL in both Jet-mode in air-breathing mode to save fuel and yet not need an extra part to do the same on a vacuum world like the Mun.

2) to be able to switch to closed cycle rocket mode for quick bursts of power when making final landing approaches even in an air-breathing environment. Rockets always provide better, faster response times for VTOL in situations like that.

I like the idea of them only being switchable in the VAB. I think that'd be a fun limitation. Not sure how that'd be doable though. IS Mesh Switch?

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I like the idea of them only being switchable in the VAB. I think that'd be a fun limitation.

Then make it switchable on the fly and you can roleplay, and that way no needless restrictions on anybody letting everybody can play how they like :).

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I would vote for A & B as well.

Also, is it possible to add other fuels to the fuel tanks? I am specifically looking to add liquid hydrogen so I can use some of those engines.

Again, great work - looking forward to the next update!

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Heh, no you can't vote for both :P. I will do each pathway, its just a question of which one to focus on for 2.1. Seems like the consensus is the cargo parts, so I will probably have a look at those this weekend.

I'll have the multimode VTOLs toggle in flight. Canonically, TB2 could VTOL on Mars as well, so its justified.

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just as a question: for those of you who build exacting TB2 replicas like me, do you find 4 yellow jackets to be enough to VTOL? I've been having trouble even with hardly any fuel and no payload.

Back when these parts were smaller, it probably was. Nert has a larger VTOL engine on the to-do list which will probably be necessary for proper TB2 replicas.

Heh, no you can't vote for both :P. I will do each pathway, its just a question of which one to focus on for 2.1. Seems like the consensus is the cargo parts, so I will probably have a look at those this weekend.

I'll have the multimode VTOLs toggle in flight. Canonically, TB2 could VTOL on Mars as well, so its justified.

Is a wholly fictional aircraft something that's a solid basis for a somewhat realistically balanced pack? :P (I kid I kid, thunderbird replicas are stupid fun)

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Heh, no you can't vote for both :P. I will do each pathway, its just a question of which one to focus on for 2.1. Seems like the consensus is the cargo parts, so I will probably have a look at those this weekend.

I'll have the multimode VTOLs toggle in flight. Canonically, TB2 could VTOL on Mars as well, so its justified.

Nertea, what was the scaling factor of mass that you used for these parts from the MkIV v1.0? and were the yellow jackets' thrust scaled appropriately?

Edited by gkorgood
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BTW - got a full album up of my iteration of TB2. You might want to check it out to see how I used IR Robotics to recreate one of the original TB2's best gimmicks.

(And yeah, Nert, that's a hint as to what I think is possible for an optional part. :P:D )

http://imgur.com/a/DhYqX

Nice.

Though if you look back three pages to Nertea's plan for the 2.1 update ...

B) Advanced Cargo: More fuselage and cargo-oriented parts, including the following highlights:

Mk4 inline cockpit

Mk4 cargo elevator for attaching to ventral cargo bays

Nose cargo bay (C-5 style)

Few more adapters

Your TB2 elevator bay is coming. ;)

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Nice.

Though if you look back three pages to Nertea's plan for the 2.1 update ...

Your TB2 elevator bay is coming. ;)

HA! Nice! I missed that!

I learned a few things doing my "kitbash" solution - primarily that it's possible to stack one IR piston on top of another and use the new "offset" tool to fine tune the overall height of the pistons so that they "telescope" smoothly in tandem to both produce a high enough clearance for something like the above (that's not 4 pistons above - it's 8!) and at the same time collapse neatly into the vertical space allowed so that they don't stick out. Just the knowledge that that's even possible is something that may come in handy in the future. So even if Nertea comes up with a native part for the Mk IV that (with less part count!) does the job better, I'm still glad I did my version above. Useful knowledge to have for other potential projects!

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maybe a cargo section that does not open up at all that's just a fuselage. we can use to mount oh ... i dont know... Wings to? Or maybe a wing adapter or somthing

This was discussed in Nertea's WIP thread when this was in development. I do not remember what the actual consensus was on it. I personally feel it could be useful, particularly with the addition of a C-5 style cockpit.

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Heck, any sort of bay-mounted docking port would be cool.

Or, a science lab version of the crew module. Perfect for use on planets and moons.

I've found a trick using the EVAC-U-8 airlock piece from the space station pack. I'll post some pics of those up tomorrow to hopefully inspire some people.

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While I was initially hesitant to use it because of the prerequisite plugins, I feel this mod is worth that annoyance. I look forwards to finding out how big a spaceplane I need to bring an entire MKS ecosystem into orbit.

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While I was initially hesitant to use it because of the prerequisite plugins, I feel this mod is worth that annoyance. I look forwards to finding out how big a spaceplane I need to bring an entire MKS ecosystem into orbit.

It might be possible to stack them next to each other in the bay (it is measurably wider than it is tall). You can save a lot of space length-wise like that. Alternatively (I dont use MKS anymore so I dunno) it may be possible to place them vertically and you could even go so far as to VTOL drop them onto the target planet (thank you drop bays).

Post pics. I look forward to seeing how you pack them in there.

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Nice work Nertea, I was searching for a TB2 style craft just this week and it's amazing how the MK4 system turned out. These parts deserve to be stock. :)

I was also toying with an "MK3 widebody" similar to your parts set as a modeling excercise, but I may change that into a compatible parts set that is able to handle oversized payloads.

The biggest challenge I see with these parts is the sheer size. If you have an MK4 cockpit, which is almost 6m wide, there is a lot of empty and unused space. You would be able to fit a dozen Kerbals in there comfortably and allow them to sleep, eat and do science, and still have room to spare.

An idea here would be to have the cockpit occupy the top section of the module, and have a service section or cargo bay underneath. You could even think of "drive-through" roll-on, roll off cargo bay designs through that. Alternatively, a smaller bridge or cockpit module that can snap into a slot in the top section of the fuselage may be an option.

OTOH, with the enormous size, it's now legit to have nuke engines, refineries and fusion reactors that would fit inside the fuselage, for nice-looking interplanetary craft.

Edited by Stoney3K
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So we have all this space below the crew cabins thats great for medium-ish rovers, lots of KIS containers, smaller cargo, etc. I find the cargo tail ramp to be overkill for unloading this and would rather make use of the space for something else (like fuel). Since I imagine the THunderhawk cockpit space is the same profile as the crew cabin, what about something like below?

Everything below the cockpit section splits and hinges open laterally (alternate version perhaps since this means no 1.25m attach node on the front) like a clamshell, and a ramp lowers to unload.

Thunderhawk_rear.png

This area would need to get hollowed out.

Thunderhawk_top.png

From above, this is where the splits would be.

Thunderhawk_side.png

THe doors would have to go around the blister nodes. The green line is the hypothetical ramp.

Just a $0.02 Nert.

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