Goddess Bhavani

Building and flying this and learning about rotary wing dynamics from forumers with helicopter experience on KSP IRC! It's close to a craft file release, has articulated everything and optional independent collective for the ultimate in precision hovering!

Oh don't remind me. I have the opposite. My career save is all guys and only two hired girls (OMG that sounds so wrong!) If I can 'break' the save to get me some femme kertales I'm in.

Thank you. I might continue with Ep5 this weekend.

I noticed I don't have a description but these threads might serve as a decent summary of what I'm up to when not chasing space tuna and unfurling the secrets of intergalactic yarn. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/133588-Showcase-Thread-Kitten-s-Aerospace-Musings-Craft-for-All-Occasions-and-Everyday-Use?p=2181321#post2181321 http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/133584-From-XH-1-to-Mi-12-Rotary-Winged-Adventures-in-KSP ps. meow

Today on Air Crash Investigation..

Built a J-10 multirole fighter Craft thread

Chengdu Aircraft Corporation J-10 Dragon / F-10 Vanguard Background: The J-10 is a present-day People's Republic of China multirole fighter aircraft that resembles the Israeli Lavi technology demonstrator. It is capable of Mach 2.2 at altitude with a maximum payload of 6,000kg on a surprising number of hardpoints - 11 weapon stations. It is currently flown by both the PRC and Pakistan, with Argentina and Iran as possible future operators. This Kerbal replica of the J-10 "Vigorous Dragon" is presented significantly lighter than the actual aircraft; thanks to progressive design simplication during wing design, a similar wing shape was achieved with just 3 parts apiece and no struts required. It is also significantly faster in supersonic cruise thanks to the turboramjet we know and love. I have not attempted to reach Mach 4+ with this craft but there shouldn't be any issues with doing so save for aerodynamic instability; in order to match the actual aircraft's relaxed stability setup, the aircraft is configured to be quite twitchy and rather similar in feel to the flight model of Falcon 4.0 BMS. That said you can easily dial in positive stability by making small adjustments to the canards and control surfaces using the Rotate Part function in SPH. Download .craft file in KerbalX!

I have encountered this issue when I (silly me) tried to clip monopropellant tanks into docking ports of a pre-connected single launch space station. The clipped parts in the docking ports more or less created a sort of constant minor vibration and torque and caused a bit of alarm on my part. You might want to check if your docking ports, if any are clear from clipped parts and obstruction if preconnected.

Force OpenGL definitely worked for me in 0.90 but at the cost of about 30-40 percent of framerate. That itself is not exactly a bad thing as the tradeoff is significantly longer playtime with mods; I would build and test long range aircraft on OpenGL then switch to default renderer for higher FPS for video capture. In 1.0.4 I have not tried OpenGL as I run with multiple copies of near-stock installs for production purposes and just one modded install for Career. And oh my, running lite mods keeps the framerates really good!

Thanks for your review. I have a varied mix of 'fast' and 'slow' videos and I was wondering about the viability of the slow and ultra slow ones like POS Ep. 3. I will definitely make more videos of the same style - challenging to setup interesting scenes but sometimes they appear spontaneously, like the 'swimming in space' animation!

The rotor spin is also opposite from the historical example, due to issues with controllability under dynamic loads. I have two versions, one with historical and non historical gearbox direction and the "reversed" one is much more practical to operate over long durations. KSP rotors don't behave like real ones in specific circumstances, that's because we rely on low speed airfoils generating relatively large amounts of lift if using stock aero. That said, the wings and landing gear are a design compromise due to again, reasons of KSP practicality. We don't want another multi-rotor design with do we

Ah yes, I will have to get back to doing something useful with HX-1 soon. Will add your stock craft to the list when I next maintain it tomorrow I'm on to something good with the Mi-12 (V-12) helicopter though. I got someone to do voice acting for a faux documentary, and I just developed an auto-hover system for precision sling loading without needing any mods.

The Mi-12 is nearing production-ready status and will likely be sent for State acceptance trials soon, heralding possibility of serial production if near-historical vertical lift capability can be demonstrated. Today the analog automatic hover function was tested, making the world's largest helicopter... the easiest VTOL to fly, ever. I'm not kidding. You could park this thing with inches to spare on the tiniest helipads, and not feel stress

The monstrous Mi-12 now has analog automatic hover capability, making it the easiest VTOL to fly, ever. Really! Precision hover out of ground effect accurate enough for sling load operations, and landing in tight spaces or on water is a breeze. Now who wants to volunteer to walk on the wing to demonstrate the Mi-12's awesome stability? Yes it can fit on the VAB helipad. With literal inches to spare.

Just thought to share - Mil V-12, largest helicopter in the world, powered by IR Rework. Craft thread http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/133491-There-are-Helicopters-and-there-are-ROFLcopters-This-is-OMG%21%21%21-Mil-V-12-Homer-Super-Heavy-Copter

On the advice of a fellow forumer I created an imaginary aerospace company showcase thread and a chronicle of my history of building KSP Helicopters. I also flight tested the Mi-12 Homer prototype (Mil V-12) successfully proving flight control systems, basic flight maneuvers and landing on the runway after 40 minutes. It is very efficient and barely sips fuel thanks to turbo-electric hybrid power! Craft thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/133491-There-are-Helicopters-and-there-are-ROFLcopters-This-is-OMG%21%21%21-Mil-V-12-Homer-Super-Heavy-Copter

Kitten Aerospace is a fictional aerospace corporation run by yours truly. The logo is inspired by that of Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, which created the Mi-12 "Homer" - the world's largest helicopter. I may continue to construct never-flown Mil Helicopter designs, such as the triple rotor V-16, or convert prototype V-12 into a super heavy quad-rotor for space program support operations in the near future. That makes the "V-112" project twice as large as the world's largest helicopter! The idea to create a centralized craft directory instead of leaving my toys all over the place should be credited to fellow forumer GarrisonChisholm, who provided the idea to create a fictional company. I'm looking to perform collaborative builds with other KSP forumers, and collaborative projects often result in the most beautiful high performance craft; they and the original designers' names, will make star appearances in the lists below. Background: I am born in and educated in a society that is strictly anti-creativity. From elementary school all the way to joining the workforce, creativity is something which people frown on, no thanks to indoctrination via government policy. But these days I'm old enough not to bother, and use my KSP YouTube channel as a means to inspire the handful of special needs persons whom I care for in everyday life. KSP is not just a game - it's a cure for my depression and social anxiety, and for at myself and least one other, a creative outlet and a workaround for an autistic mind, to show that thinking differently, does not mean thinking badly. Mental healthcare does not exist in any helpful form besides virtual life imprisonment here, nor will I find any solace from people close by. I thus use the Internet as my canvas, scouring it for snippets of inspiration - everything from miltary history, science fiction, to the Real Housewives of (insert location here). For some time I used to make short showcase videos for various games including Orbiter and some of Rovio Entertainment's mobile games, but felt out of place until I found the present KSP community to be the perfect roaming ground for my ridiculous contraptions. My KSP YouTube channel also got me a valuable chance to embark on a career change. There is no set pattern to my creations in KSP. One moment I will work on Gerry Anderson-esque aircraft, the next moment I might build a house and attempt to sell it on the forums. Some of the best designs are gleaned from browsing Wikipedia on my phone at 2am in the morning, like this Rotary Rocket that somehow flew all the way to Kotaku. The below list, sorted by KSP version, is this completely random. Craft listed under current KSP versions are regarded as operational and actively supported by the kitten's various global subjects, while those listed under past KSP versions have their craft files available for use in that particular version, and porting them to 1.0.4 should be done at your own risk. Craft built in KSP 0.90 mostly utilize B9 Aerospace, which is not officially updated for 1.0.4 yet although you may find development versions available on the respective mod thread. *** 1.0.4 SPACE VEHICLES X-1 / X-2 Micro Shuttles [craft thread] [ ] [download at KerbalX]Primitive Orbital Station [video thread] [view in Sketchfab] AIRCRAFT Mil Mi-12 Homer / V-12 Prototype - Super Heavy Transverse Rotor Helicopter [craft thread] [video] "Big-S" Business Jet / HX-L Delta Clipper - Mach 4.5 Supersonic Business Jet [craft thread] [download at KerbalX] TXR-3 Valiant Strike Bomber - Fictional Royal Air Force Concorde & Vulcan-derived supersonic bomber concept [craft thread] [video] [download at KerbalX] HX-1 Artemis Hypersonic Airliner [craft thread] [video] [download at KerbalX] XV-4 Enforcer Intercontinental V/STOL / X-Com Skyranger Replica - Collaborative Build with LethalShade [craft thread] [ ] [download at KerbalX]PZL-230F Skorpion Attack Fighter - 1990s Polish Air Force Light Attack Jet Concept [craft thread] [ ] [download at KerbalX] OTHER CRAFT 2-Storey Kolonial House [craft thread] [download at KerbalX] Kerbalwagen Type 2 Microbus [craft thread] [amphibious assault video] [download Microbus at KerbalX] [download Amphibious Assault Barge at KerbalX] Kerbalwagen Mark 1 - The Kerbal's Car [craft thread] [download GTE Coupe at KerbalX] [download Spyder Convertible at KerbalX] 1989 Ford F-150 Replica / K-150 S2/S3 Pickup Truck - Collaborative Build with BlueCanary [craft thread] [download at KerbalX] McDuna Mobile Restaurant - Are Tomato Wheels a Good Idea? [craft thread] [download at KerbalX] *** 1.0.2 and Earlier X-Wing Rotary Rocket [Kotaku Feature] [craft thread] [craft file on KerbalX] Northrop Switchblade - Forward Swept Variable Geometry Winged SSTO [ ] [craft thread] [craft file on KerbalX]XV-1 Hummingbird Turbo-Compound Tilt Rotor [ ] [craft file on KerbalX]Kitty Space Program: Interplanetary Cat Explorer [ ]Kerbal Truck Simulator [ ] [KMC M2 at KerbalX]

Test Flight Showcase Video of Mi-12 / V-12

"From XH-1 to Mi-12: Rotary Winged Adventures in KSP" Part of Kitten's Aerospace Musings Chapter 1: Airwolf Hello, I'm pandoras kitten, one of the silly people who thinks watching things move round and round like the wheels of a bus is a practical method of sustained flight. Rotary winged craft have been a part-time obsession of mine in KSP ever since I discovered the Infernal Robotics mod. I wish I could find a picture of XH-1, an experiment to see if KSP's aero model can generate an appropriate amount of lift (and realistic torque) from a rotating airfoil. It was simply a thrust frame with a IR powered docking washer on top with a pair of swept wings stuck to the side. Lo and behold, XH-1 worked perfectly fine, albeit using an SAS module to provide countertorque. To work around the countertorque issue, I decided having two counter rotating rotors would be a simple solution, and set out to create a synchropter very loosely inspired by the Kaman K-MAX. I also decided free-spinning, tip-jet propulsion would be an interesting thing to try, resulting in my first helicopter video set to the soundtrack of Airwolf. Chapter 2: Triebfluegel Rotary Rocket on Wikipedia Shortly after, reading up on tip-jet propelled craft led me to the startling realization that an externally driven rotor does not need counter-torque, beyond what is necessary to compensate for rotor bearing friction. My pursuit of all things whirly led me to the Rotary Rocket Company of Mojave in the Year 2000, where the Roton Rotary Rocket was test flown and reported to be something like -the- most difficult aircraft to fly, of all time. Externally driven rotors are not a new concept - the Focke Wulf Triebfluegel concept of World War 2 envisioned a "thrust wing hunter", a tail-sitting, jet rotor propelled VTOL interceptor that would not need airfields. This inspiration of course, let to my own "thrust wing" prototype, the XRR-1 Rotary Rocket which attempted to pick up where the real Roton left off - a rotary wing assisted SSTO tailsitter that never got anywhere for real as KSP test pilots would report being scared out of their wits seeing so many huge, heavy parts rotating at absurd velocities! The XRR-1 also had a unique ability to transition to fixed wing flight since KSP rotary wings are inefficient beyond a certain speed - cruising at Mach speeds on the tip jets it had the option of operating as a VTOL kerbinside and it could perform unpowered landings after re-entry by autorotation alone. This makes possible future non-parachute re-entry solutions using the latest Infernal Robotics Rework parts. The X-Wing Rotary Rocket as it was called, also got the showcase video featured on gaming blog Kotaku! Chapter 4: Synchropter With the release of KSP 1.0 came a new near-stock installation of KSP. ZodiusInfuser of Infernal Robotics Rework also requested a near-stock synchrocopter (synchropter) so out came the KE-2 "Mosquito" synchropter which promised reasonably brisk short range passenger and light cargo capability. However, the intermeshing rotors proved to be less than practical in operation, creating a high level of inflight vibration due to the low speed rotor design. Chapter 5: Edge of Practicality To remedy this, a was drawn up in short order after I watched the Boeing-Vertol V-44 Quad Tilt Rotor (QTR) in Edge of Tomorrow. Skirting the "edge of practicality", the QTR concept worked flawlessly in 1.0.2 but was non-functional once the aerodynamics was once again altered in 1.0.4, greatly limiting the V-44's top speed. It is notable that we can't do the kind of torque-vectoring control necessary for successful quad-copter operation in KSP, but I did master the art of constructing fully articulated folding rotor blades! Phew! Chapter 6: Mil V-12 / Mi-12 "Homer" Finally, we've come to the present cutting edge offered by Kitten's Aerospace Musings - a working replica of the record-breaking Mil Mi-12 design, which, as the V-12 prototype in 1969, achieved FAA-authenticated fame with many payload to altitude records. Designed to ferry strategic missiles to remote launch sites, the Mi-12 "Homer" could carry 40 tons of payload and served as inspiration for the fictional "Hotelicopter" which took the Internet by storm. Although it's unlikely to see service as a general purpose heavy lift VTOL due to its very complex and precise manner of operation, the Mil V-12 Replica represents the pinnacle of my short helicoptering career in KSP, with silky smooth, vibration free flight, high efficiency turbo-electric hybrid propulsion and a yet to be tested oversize cargo lift capability proposed as a means to transport low cost prefabricated Kerbal housing to remote locations.

Thanks for featuring my humble house. I might be merely mediocre at constructing aircraft that work but thankfully I found a new niche in the Kerbal Everyday Program Now, onwards to furnish it! And move it somewhere! ps. I love the variety of the craft featured on this and earlier SF threads! Anyone who doesn't 'get' the selection well, there's room for one or two other themed weekly showcases featuring specific preferences for performance or aesthetics...

No, in each case, the TWR would have been about 0.5, with the rotors acting as a sort of 'flow multiplier' by generating lift. The rotary rocket however can cruise on its tip jets in its trademark "X-Wing" mode, to a higher altitude where the rockets can produce maximum ISP. It's a bit of a 'mad scientist' experiment more complicated than any practical solution while giving a small percentage of extra capability. The rotors and thrust bearing structure do weigh something... Rotary winged capsules with flip out wings for re-entry and autorotation should be easy on my next project through. Parachutes are so yesteryear

A bunch of us 'engineers' bored at work nothing to do one evening decided to gather around my gaming laptop for a session of 'hold my kerbal beer and watch this'. We were talking about the misadventures of one Jaca Kerman when an Indonesian engineer answered to that name and wondered why we were talking about "her" for an hour or so! (His name is Djaka, which is pronounced identically)

I'm sure photosynthesizing is one of them. They're green after all

Been there, done that. 1) 2) Just 3 days later... Probably the one and only 'orbital helicopter' The problem with the first is figuring out dynamic stability from the (relatively) huge tip jets whirling around causing intense shaft bending and vibration issues. Note the old (weak) IR joints and rigid rotor system. I never bothered to make rotor articulation for that one. The gyroscopic forces from the heavy tip jets made maneuverability a big problem. The second well, lets just say real life rotary rocket test pilots rate such tailsitting rotary wing designs the hardest ever aircraft to pilot. Very few people test flew in the rotary rocket in KSP, as the prospect of having huge heavy blades spinning at insane RPMs made them all run away. However it -is- capable of autorotating down from orbit and conducting unpowered landings without parachutes. With FAR even! How cool is that!

The Mi-12 does not have any of the vibration issues from earlier helicopters I built because its designed to use a very low rotor speed. It spins like a ceiling fan. It should be able to carry a useful load in 1.0.4 too, since a development test flight took off with a full fuel load by accident once because I forgot to offload the fuel for basic control tests. And that test model had a full complement of engines too unlike the current control test model. It can run at a very low rotor RPM due to the length of the blades. Lifts the same hull mass with half the rotors and half the rotor RPM than the impractical V-44 I made some time ago. Actually, take this V-12, flip the wings around, double the rotors and we would have a easy contender for a working super heavy quadcopter.