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FlyingPete

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  1. FlyingPete
    You need a fairly shallow re entry profile. The idea is to burn off excess speed in the upper atmosphere- sounding rocket trajectories (to nip out of the atmosphere for early science) are difficult to bring back in one piece. You can't get away with deploying the parachute and letting them open whenever they want with the new aero. For larger craft, try using drogue chutes before deploying the main chutes. These can be deployed at higher speed/altitude, and help to stabilize the craft as well as scrub off more airspeed.
  2. FlyingPete
    The best I've had so far is during a landing on the Mun with two tourists in tow. Jeb got out to grab a surface sample, fell off the ladder, and as he hit the surface the universe disappeared. After a reload, landed in roughly the same location and the whole ship was in shadow except at a few camera angles.
  3. FlyingPete
    Love it. The brave trio on Eve are supposed to be supplying guidance calcs to the only ship that can rescue them... and they're all hopelessly drunk
  4. FlyingPete
    If you right click on a parachute, you will get an indicator that will read either 'unsafe' 'risky' (not sure whether this actually means anything significant) or 'safe'. Usually best to wait until it's safe to open the parachutes
  5. FlyingPete
    If you don't rescue him, at least rename the capsule 'Mun Colony One' or something equally grand. Then send him base upgrades, a rover and other toys
  6. FlyingPete
    I've never used docking mode as I don't see the point of it. All that's needed is to map translation controls to a different set of keys. I use the numpad for translation and WASD for rotation. Unless I'm using a PS3-type gamepad anyway
  7. FlyingPete
    "Captain Kuzzter is climbing a mountain, why is he climbing a mountain?'
  8. FlyingPete
    Attempting to glide a TSTO spaceplane back to KSC. Pulled up a bit too sharply and had rapid unplanned disassembly at the cargo bay. I was left with a Mk3 cockpit, small fuel tank (empty) and a pair of canards. Managed to regain control and point the remaining ship 'tail' first for a lithobraking landing. The tank exploded on hitting the ground, and the cockpit bounced a couple of times before coming to a stop on its side. With a little electrical power left, it was rolled upright using the reaction wheels,and all 4 Kerbs survived to fly another day
  9. FlyingPete
    Mk1 is a headlight, meant for seeing long distances. Not very useful at short range as it washes out any surface detail. Mk2 is more of a floodlight. Doesn't shine very far but covers a broader area. I sometimes equip rovers with one of each to give low and high beam lights.
  10. FlyingPete
    One thing missing- Dilsby: The Battbots have probe cores. Battbots: Nananana nananana....
  11. FlyingPete
    I was also a bit puzzled as to how the Billmobile is driven, but looking closely it seems there's some small ore containers fuel tanks and a couple of rocket engines hiding at the stern. I guess you don't need to worry too much about fuel consumption with this method when you can just dig up some more
  12. FlyingPete
    Looks good to me! It seems like all that would be needed for 1.0 is an interstage fairing between the docking port and the base of the lander can to protect the rover during launch/entry. Once you've deployed the drogue chute you could dump the fairing and docking port to allow the rover to be driven out from underneath. I'm guessing it's destined for Duna?
  13. FlyingPete
    Landed Val on Minmus in my career save. Lots of science on its way back to Kerbin for Wernher and co to deal with Also launched a probe to go and fly by Moho and do science, partly because I've never been there before. It will be a rapid flyby as there's only 20 minutes between encounter and escape (as plotted). Hoping to get Space High and Space Low data to transmit back.
  14. FlyingPete
    What I mean is that if you're running excursions to the surface from an orbiting lab/station, you'll need to send resupply ships with extra fuel (plus extra crews if you feel like rotating them out for training purposes.)
  15. FlyingPete
    I did wonder exactly how the Billmobile was going to be unpacked from the container. Aerial deployment is pretty BadS!
  16. FlyingPete
    I'd be in favour of reducing its mass considerably, and maybe downgrading it to a 2-Kerb capacity. The lander can is all well and good, but not very suitably for a reentry vehicle.
  17. FlyingPete
    I'd build the base on Ike, then from there do excursions to Duna itself. You can more easily land a mining rig on Ike and refuel ships there. I'd have some small rovers and things to go driving on Duna.
  18. FlyingPete
    Are you referring to the in-flight food, or the flight crew?
  19. FlyingPete
    I'm now starting to see a practical use for the administration building. With long-term research going on around both Mun and Minmus, you can do science for profit by using the Science->Funds and possibly Science->Reputation strategies. It would have to be worth the investment in infrastructure and running costs though.
  20. FlyingPete
    I believe it acts as a docking port for all practical purposes. It's useful when you're building something like a fuel truck as you can just drive it up to anything without worrying about precise alignment. It's not really what it's intended for, but then we don't currently have fuel hoses/power cables so it's the next best thing. Beware when using it on the surface though- if you claw-connect while focused on the vehicle without the claw, the planet surface can disappear and bad things usually happen
  21. FlyingPete
    I've always gone for the 'armada' approach. Gather a space station, landers, crew return module, extra fuel etc in orbit of Kerbin, then dock general-purpose tugs to the payloads. Each ship then gets sent on its way independently and if required, meet up in orbit of the target. More launches but smaller launch vehicles. The spent tugs can be returned to Kerbin along with the crew and reused.
  22. FlyingPete
    The trick is to keep mostly on the prograde marker (in surface mode.) I tend to be at about 5 degrees by the time the rocket's at 100m/s. From there, it's about 65 degrees at 250, 45 degrees at 500, then mostly horizontal by 1000m/s. It will vary depending on the rocket you're building, but generally you want to gradually push the prograde marker one way or the other.
  23. FlyingPete
    I think where ISRU would really come into its own is if something like the Star Systems mod becomes stock. It's a long trip that needs a lot of delta-V to send fuel from Kerbin to a distant planet on another star. Pack ISRU equipment with the initial mission and they can support themselves. Even better if you make use of extra-planetary launchpads.
  24. FlyingPete
    I built a TSTO plane with detachable side pods for extra fuel/thrust. I just ran fuel lines from the side pods to the main orbiter, which seems to drain the side pods' fuel first, leaving the orbiter's tanks full when they're detached.
  25. FlyingPete
    This is basically it. Aim for a Mun intercept that results in a collision course with the Mun. As the ship enters Mun SOI, make a plane change burn while you're as far as possible from the Mun. This is the most effective way of lining yourself up in a polar orbit. One complication is that you need to approach the Mun from the right angle- you can otherwise end up in a polar orbit that's still 90 degrees out.
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