starbork

Yep -- you're lifting a LOT of gear up for no purpose other than lifting gear up :-) My advice is this. 1. Keep your part count as low as you can -- e.g. ONE orange tank instead of TWO half-jumbos (same weight, same fuel count, more stable, less parts). 2. Lose the RCS systems -- pods and tanks -- for your orbital mission. I landed on the Mun long before I ever learned or added RCS systems. 3. Drop parts at stages if you can --an engine carried that is NOT thrusting is dead weight! Empty fuel tank is dead weight! 4. Use fewer engines and keep them burning as long as you can (drop tanks!). 5. Trust your ASAS, and only add wings and stabilizers as a last resort. 6. Fresh local ingredients, served simply and sensibly. Look at legoheli's design. It is designed with the mission in mind. It is simple, it is (probably) quite stable in flight. You could simplify it even further and achieve the same orbital result. Clear skies to you sir. Please keep us informed on your progress!

Ah, I see, thanks! Just to be clear, the engine shrouds are the cylindrical coverings that appear when you connect (say) a decoupler to the bottom of the engine, correct? What is the use of jettisoning those, I wonder? Anyhow, thank you for the answer!

Hi all, When creating an action group, if an engine is selected one of the options is "jettision". Presumably, if this option is assigned to an action group, then when in-flight the respective action group should detach the engine, right? I've tried this a few different ways, and it does not seem to work. Can anyone here shed any light on what the "jettison" option actually does, or is supposed to do? Thanks!