Maverick_aus

@DMagic thanks for the reply. Ok - so that confirms that the route plotting is not actually an intended working function built in. I'll look into other avenues. EDIT: Update: further discussion with @IvanSanchez and other Elcano guys reveals the discussed map plotting is the BTDT doing this: Thanks @kcs123. I'll look into it.

Thanks for the thoughts G. That's really interesting about pitching up the vessel etc. I love your Mackerel. It's hilarious. Yep - I hear you re: rovers on land at phys warp. I haven't been able to pull it off once at anything like a proper speed. That's out. 1:1 timing the whole way over land it is. Quick qn on the formatting of your posts - how did you respond inline with multiple segments of my post quoted? After all this talk of electric engines, I've decided to think a bit more about propulsion. I'm testing dual power plants at the moment. Firespitters electric prop + 2 Juno. It's working very well. I've always loved the idea of a solar powered explorer. I just wanted to check though, with you - my design and plan is starting to get closer to your mission: I may take a similar route, similar power system (solar electric) etc, sea borne...I'm conscious of trying to do this my own way, but it's starting to overlap a little with yours...just thought I'd check with you before pursuing the electric route more...

Pre-Mission Craft Testing: Day Two Testing Report is up: Part 1 Part 2 If you get a chance, have a read. This is my first blogging of KSP, so please any feedback welcome. I'm trying to narrativise it a little. And I'd like to make something that is fun for people to read.

Day 2 - Part 2 _______________________________________ Here's the map of testing: Test 1 - Basic Incline Ascent Location: What better place to test, than the conveniently located hills nearby. Off we go. Ascent began well... Ah. We might have a problem there. Even Jeb looks a bit afraid there! Funny how all that's left after these crashes is the wheels. *Bill egresses to initiate crash investigation procedures. Bill: Jeb, I think we may need to rethink the incline testing velocity. Jeb? Jeb: Weee! Flames! Boom! Let's go again! Bill: Jeb! *Jeb hops out to inspect the damage Jeb: Hmmm. Bill, you're really a glass half-empty, kind of guy. You know that right? Jeb: We can work with this... So after a few more of these... and these The testing got Serious, Rigorous & ScientificTM ... Test 2 - Medium Wheels The Dolomedes Triton ("Now with medium wheels!") passed all the required tests: Incline ascent, Stop start, etc... We quickly sanity-checked medium wheel water drag was not excessively high (point 2 on map). A brisk beach landing at speed (point 3) confirmed the craft's amphibious transition ability. No problems. Spotting a flattish plain, Jeb decided to open the taps. Sprint was successful at upwards of (from memory 100 m/s) without spinning out or crashing.These medium gear are strong! With the new-found geo-confidence, Jeb thought he may as well push the limits and ascend a small mountain! Success! (in the distance is KSC) My son decided to name the mountain Mt Pass. Sensible boy. On the way down, we tested stability, grip and handling on the steep decline. Success! Verdict thus far: The testing was to prove that, given the DT can swim ok, could it walk on land acceptably. That is a boat which pretends to be a car sometimes. But given the results above, at this point I'm wondering if it's actually a car dressed up to look like a boat which pretends to be a car sometimes. It only goes a moderate, sustainable 30 m/s on water, yet on land.... 1. Jumps off hills at high m/s, landing hard and surviving. 2. Stop halfway up a moderate incline, then accelerates upwards. 3. Scales a small mountain. 4. Survives the decline from the mountain. At the end of a hard day's testing and development, the boys look quietly confident as they contemplate the journey ahead in the Dolomedes Triton ("Now with medium wheels!") Up Next: Day 3 Testing - Power plant decisions:

This bloke has done most of the work, I think. But with graphical output. https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/4d8qee/knowing_persistent_trails_probabaly_wont_make_it/ Just need to figure out how to use the command you referenced to output the long. and lat. data to a file, at points in time.

Hi guys, @DMagic this mod is brilliant. Thanks so much for all your work in maintaining it. It enriches KSP so much and adds a level of realism and immersion. Well done. I'm preparing for the Elcano challenge (circumnav of Kerbin). I would like to log the path on a map. I heard that the BTDT can plot the path of a rover on the map, eg a simple line on the map showing where the vehicle has been. Is this the case? I've been trying to find out how to do it with no luck. If it does indeed do this, could you help me with the settings/process? Thanks and regards.

Thanks, mate! Although I think you might have fluffed your link there (links back to this mission report page).

DAY 2 More Prototyping and More Explosions _______________________________________ Being content the Dolomedes Triton passed yesterday's water testing, that is, that the craft floats: at an optimium level with any fuel load, stable, at moderate speed, at if need be 4x warp, etc., today it was crunch time. Sure the boat can act like a boat. Tick. But can this boat walk on land? Not run necessarily, but walk. The results were...well pleasant but surprising. Here's a glimpse of the end... Land Trials Specifically I wanted to know: 1. Would the small aircraft landing gear survive rough treatment on rough ground. And if so, how rough, what speeds etc. 2. Are 2x Juno engines going to be enough to push this craft uphill? And if so, how steep? What would the max. gradient be? What about fuel load? I know from using these gear on aircraft they can take a beating, but there's a big different between a craft of this fuel capacity smacking into the green after a small jump off a hill empty versus weighed down with a useful 'exploration' load of fuel on board. To this end, would I need medium wheels? Part of design philosophy of this craft was to keep it light, sleek, and low-part count. So I didn't want to go on the exponential bloat spiral: "Well I need more fuel to go further...But that will be heavier. So I better put the larger engines on. Oh, but then I'll need the stronger struts..etc etc" So would the added weight of the medium wheel be worth it? 3. Can this thing stop, then start again uphill? 4. What's the traction like? I haven't done much roving around since 1.1, and the high-speed power sliding I have managed around KSP in mostly aircraft, didn't fill me with confidence regarding grip. 5. Clearance. How many extra wheels will I need in the middle of those pontoons? [Now...by about here, I had hoped igmur would have all pics uploaded, so I could finish this post tonight, but it's mysteriously stalled. Ah and sleep beckons...] I'll finish this report tomorrow. In the mean time, to give you some indication of how the testing went... Stay Tuned for 'Day 2 - Part 2' Tomorrow.... _______________________________________ @DaMachinator Ah. Good plan. I've scripted a little - managed to get my Mk3 space plane reliably into orbit that way. Love kOS. I'll look into.

Hi Geschosskopf! Great to finally meet you. I've seen your posts around the place. Thanks for your tips! Your mission looked like a great time. Your story was very entertaining. And I liked how you provided clear maps and labels. I've been considering electric power plant as well. I've built a solar plane before using the Near Future KAX electric propeller (here). But then I thought I'd limit myself to stock. Now after reading through your mission report, you're making me rethink again! I do love the idea of self-sufficiency - not needing to refuel. Plus the added narrative shaping factor of having to spend the night at a landed location. But then again, aerial refueling is attractive narrative-wise as well. RE: CoM and CoT. Interesting. I'll have a play. Although I'v found with the new physics, it seems important to keep the vessel pointing straight as possible on water as the added drag with a higher angle of attack seems to slow the vessel. If I had the CoM further back it might create too much of a positive AoA. Where before it was a matter of just keeping the vessel from crashing into the water and RUDing now we can focus on getting the speed (and fuel efficiency) up. RE: Path - yes I think I'll be taking similar route to yours having looked at the sea-route options. Was toying with going further north at that point to get close to the ice, just for the fun of it. However, the main deciders here will be a) the aerial survey of that area -i f it's too mountainous, I'll have to go the more southerly route through the inland sea. b) the ability of my boat-car to drive safely. Land trails are underway as we speak. I'll post an update. The small aircraft landing gear are pretty robust, as you said. Although I'm still getting this... Although, to be fair, that was after a brief um...flying incident at the peak of the hill. Yup. Maybe a bit fast. Just a bit.

@IvanSanchez Bold roving on the Mun! I was very curious about your phrase: "...I didn't realise BTDT could plot a map of the route taken in the SCANsat small game until it was too late...". (Thanks @Claw for pointing out your comment). I'm trying to get BTDT to plot the route taken but failing so far. How did you get it to work? And in your view, would this be superior to the Rover Autopilot plot you used? I'm planning Elcano on Kerbin here.

Thanks Claw. Beautiful - I'll follow up with IvanSanchez. (by the way, how do you tag/reference him like that? Is there a BBcode tag or something or do you just type an 'at symbol' before his name?

Thanks Claw. And I really appreciate you offering help. As you say, half the fun is discovery and design improvement. One thing I would like to ask you about: RE: path tracking/logging (esp. over water): in the OP for this challenge (realise you didn't post it) Fengist says you can track the vessel using ScanSat BTDT. Trying to figure this out. Do you know what Fengist meant by this / how to use the BTDT to show path? Not sure if you have experience with ScanSat or not. It updates ship location in real time with an icon which is fine, but other than taking a screen grab of the ScanSat map showing the vessel icon and then compiling them into map at the end, I can't figure a way to map path detail using this scanner. (Experimented, checked ScanSat site etc...). Also, I'd rather do the challenge with as few mods as possible. Do you have any suggestions for path logging (automagically)?

What could be better than an Kerbal Sukhoi Flanker, you ask? A VTOL Flanker.

Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my page. Great to see some veterans of the challenge coming by! Hopefully in this adventure I can provide you with some of the entertainment you've provided the community already! G'day damerell! Yes. I'm thinking of warming into this challenge with the sea route, then if I still have the stomach for it, go the land route. Looking at existing mission reports, discovering and taking in Kerbin's geographic beauty seems to be one the big pluses. It's the Mighty Claw! Thanks for taking the time to come on down here. Yes I've been reading about your cockroach escapades. Yes sea crossing attempt with the old physics - very impressive. Thanks for the feedback. There's a few gadgets and gizmos to add. I wanted it to look more 'explorer'-ish, like the Land Rovers packed with fuel cans and all sort of supplies, a shovel on the front etc. But I'm keen to keep parts to a minimum as well. 'All hail the Claw!' Hi Thalamask! Thanks for your thoughts. 1. Yes I'm still thinking this through. No ISRU - trying to go light and 'realistic' as possible. KIS/KAS refuelling - yeah - tempting. I think I want to keep mods down for this. Plus, I've recently managed to connect my VTOL fighter with a land base using the docking ports. It's fiddly but I like the 'authenticity' of it. (Well, maybe I just like the extra challenge!) (Quote me on that when I'm swearing, stuck out in no man's land out of fuel because I can't dock!) 2. Absolutely good call. The four wheels (as above) are not final. Land testing starts today, so let's see where we end up...

Hi all, Long time reader, hoper, planner... Finally thinking I can do this. (Especially since 1.1 water travel is waaay easier.) I'm writing a Mission Log here: My first post there is about design and planning. There's many expereienced players and Elcano explorers on here, so I'd be honoured if you check out my design and I'd love your thoughts. Otherwise...happy exploring!

ELCANO CHALLENGE - ACCEPTED Prologue _______________________________________ Many intrepid adventurers have set out to explore the solar system, only a few have attempted to drive or float their way around the entire home planet. Well, perhaps rashly, perhaps ignorantly, I'd like to try. I received much pleasure from reading others' attempts at this, successful and otherwise and hats off to you, I have great admiration for your achievement. I'm not a patient or faithful person. So I'm concerned, but on the other hand, hopefully this is an opportunity for growth, even if in only a small way. If I fail, at least I will have tried. If I succeed, hopefully I will have had a great adventure, gotten to know Kerbin better, be a better engineer, conquered my own laziness and lack of constancy. At this point I'm planning on majority sea travel, with a couple of small trips across the land bridges. We may need to modify our plans as we go. Pre 1.1 sea travel was a much more impressive accomplishment. So I'm taking the easy option in a sense, but hey at least now it's achievable for the likes of me! _______________________________________ CONTENTS 1. Design, Development and Testing Day 1 (below) Day 2 Day 2 - Part 2 Days 3 & 4 Route planning Preparation checklist Final Planning 2. The Expedition Day 1 - Birth and Death Day 1 - Part II - Berthy and Depth Days 2 & 3 - Kraken Attacks! Days 4, 5 & 6 - Plain Sailing & Kraken Bites Day 6 - Vehicle Replacement Days 7 & 8 - Progress...? Days 9 & 10 - Help Sails on its Way Days 11 & 12 - Reunion Day 13 - Unflipping Day Day 14 - Sullen, Sadness; Glade and Gladness Days 15 & 16 - Secret Seas, Kraken, Claws and Sounds Days 17 & 18 - Gulf Crossing & Black Rock 3. Vessel Overviews The Waarn _______________________________________ DAY 1 Prototypes and Explosions _______________________________________ Design Thoughts: Two different schools of thought on Elcano. A car that can swim or a boat that can walk. The great blue yonder beckons... Several different experiments in the SPH resulted in a catamaran type hull. With more parts touching the water there is more drag I think, however I found with longer outriggers/pontoons the craft is more stable. The goal here for me was being able to run this craft stably at 4x speed with physics. So to that end I set off on a sea-worthiness trial and managed to cross the Eastern Sea by water, for the first time! Amphibious! Land! Check it out Jeb! _____ Bill: " Hey, Jeb, can I come out too?" Jeb: "Ummm. No. Maybe you can get out next time." Bill: "Flip." Jeb: "You're just the engineer after all. You were drinking cokes in the back seat the whole way here, while I was doing all the hard work!" Bill: "..." _____ Name: Always important. Embody the ethos of the mission; inspire the adventurers. Being stumped, I asked my wife, who took one look and said: "it looks like one of those spiders that walk on water" 1 minute of googling later,,, Behold!: The Dolomedes Triton! The namesake is an spider which is known to run on water - hence the reference to Poisidon's son - and even 'fish'. How apt - a sort of amphibious arachnid. Additionally it's coloring's are similar. Drag: So, this craft is efficient enough. Having experimented with different nose cones I found the NCS + small nose cone is pretty efficient. -Further, interestingly the 'straighter' or more level the craft moves through the water, the less drag. Having long pontoons seems to level out the craft and enable higher speeds. Additionally the vertical stabiliser helps with a little snaking in the water which knocks off speed too. -Fully loaded this craft can cruise at around 25 m/s. I realise this is no speed boat. But I think this speed is acceptable, and more realistic this way. -Having small wheels housing clipped into the pontoons seems to make no difference to drag. Funny, I thought it would. This is good news, as it means more ground clearance underneath for those nasty hill crossings. Engines: Also the Juno engines, whilst not as efficient as the Wheesley are better suited to this craft. When trying the Wheesley, the higher thrust meant the craft tipped more with the center of thrust higher than the center of mass. With the smaller engines this is not a problem. The center of mass needs to be low down so it doesn't tip, so the pontoons are the primary fuel tanks. On returning from the sea trials... Next thoughts: Wheels: Overland small landing gear + the Junos should get me there for the land bridges. But I'm not so sure about this. This is probably what I'm most worried about. Before I set off, I definitely need to test thrust going uphill. Might need the Wheesley after all...or moar Junos (*lol*). Surveying: To that end, aerial survey will be in order. I'll fly to the two proposed land sections which need to be crossed and check their inclines and plan out the ingress and egress points. Fuel: The on-board fuel load gets the craft pretty far. In one test I went 335km and used 1,079 LF, which was only a small fraction of the tanks capacity. Even so, as with most Elcano attempts, a refuel will be necessary. I'm thinking a cargo-plane drop of a refueling rover (read orange tank with wheels!). Or possible a VTOL plane could be fun. I've recently discovered these and they can be quite fun. Regarding the actual refuel connection...To Klaw or not to Klaw that is the question. (Last time I seriously used the Klaw 'round Minmus to recover a lost capsule the Kraken was awoken and ate my game. Ships in orbit started accelerating. Nasty. Nearly lost my whole carerr save game. Fortunately I'm a little OCD with backing up.) Logging: Don't really want to have to manually log lat./long. The old Persistent Trails mod is not up to date, so that's out. Up Next: ...Land Trials & Refueling tests!

I whipped up this basic F-4 analogue in the SPH one night quickly, optimised for looks. Then as a just-one-more-thing before bed today, thought I'd take it for a quick spin to see how it is. And it. is. fabulous. So. agile. Couldn't help myself giggling at how much fun it was, I was worried about distracting the other guys in my (shared) college study! They were trying to write a sermon and an essay, and I was having a ball! Poor buggers. It's put one of those treasured KSP-smiles on my dial.

Thanks Wink. Post yours if you build one.

@nicky, Thanks! Ah yes good point. I had forgotten about that rule (stock parts only). @ferrows What's your policy on adding new divisions to this challenge eg solar powered etc?

Having already completed this challenge once with the standard strap-a-kerbal-on-a-whiplash-powered-missile-with-fins approach, I'm trying something slightly different. Today I test flew an early prototype solar endurance plane: The Condor. My eventual goal is to complete this challenge again but with this craft. I'm inspired by the real-life Solar Impulse project. My Condor here managed a trans-oceanic hop from KSC due east to the next continent (sort of unnamed in my universe as yet), and landed successfully. The solar panels generate enough electricity to fly when the sun is high enough - most of the daylight, however - when the sun is near the equator at dawn and dusk the angle is too great on the panels to get enough and it runs off batteries. My aim for the Condor here, is to store enough charge to run over-night, and so be a genuine perpetual aircraft. Val did the honours in this landmark (for me) test flight, proving the basic technology. Now to hone it. The test flight was an incredibly close thing. If you look at the pics, you'll notice Val just made it with barely enough power stored (around 500 units e)!

Test flew an early prototype solar endurance plane. My eventual goal is to complete the air circumnav challenge (again) but with this craft. I'm inspired by the real-life Solar Impulse project. My Condor here managed a trans-oceanic hop from KSC due east to the next continent (sort of unnamed in my universe as yet), and landed successfully. The solar panels generate enough electricity to fly when the sun is high enough - most of the daylight, however - when the sun is near the equator at dawn and dusk the angle is too great on the panels to get enough and it runs off batteries. My aim for the Condor here, is to store enough charge to run over-night, and so be a genuine perpetual aircraft. Val did the honours in this landmark (for me) test flight, proving the basic technology. Now to hone it. The test flight was an incredibly close thing. If you look at the pics, you'll notice Val just made it with barely enough power stored (around 500 units e)!

G'day guys, I'm preparing for this challenge. (Good planning is half the fun eh?). I'd like to plot the path of the rover (or particular points) on a map. Could anyone recommend a good mod for this? (I recall once seeing a mod with a part you add which logs long/lat over time, but I couldn't find it again). Other data such as alt. would be handy too. Cheers

@ clowny_baby Cool Raptor. I've recently discovered SSTO spaceplanes. Yesterday I flew a plane to the Mun for the first time. It was fantastic! I got to orbit with only about 800 dV remaining. This was spent on a fly-by of the Mun (and happily delivered to an aero capture post-Mun!). Recovery was miraculous. After reentry, I lost all control authority, entering a sort of flat spin. The craft literally fell out of the sky. Furiously attempting to get my nose down, I passed through the clouds. Popping out under the clouds I noticed a mountain passing by! Surreal. Realising I only had seconds, I figured out the controls were doing the opposite of what they ought. With the altimeter flipping past around 300m, I acted on instinct: got the nose down, then pulled up until the prograde marker was near the horizon, instantly touching down all in one spontaneous action! I couldn't believe it. Crazy. - - - Updated - - - Oh, and how good is the new afterburner exhaust for the Whiplash in 1.0.4?!

KSP Aerial Circumnavigation Complete! I can fly in a circle. (Well, Pilot Assistant can, anyway).