My first post on the KSP forums. Here I will write on my work building rovers with rockets on them for leaps over obstacles and so on. This started as an attempt to recreate the M35 Mako from mass effect, but changed into an attempt to build a flying rover. Question: Is it possible to build a wheeled rover with some vertical capability? Difficulty 1: The biggest problem is (especially in my attempts to build the Mako), if the thrust is not perfectly lined up with the center of mass, the rover simply flips over, as the off-center thrust creates angular force rotating the rover. Solution: Building more symmetrically largely eliminates this difficulty, but I have found that by using A.S.A.S. coupled with RCS thrusters it is possible to build asymmetrically. Balancing by moving around interior components (generators, batteries and so on) is possible, but be careful that the fuel tanks are balanced so that as you use your fuel you don't unbalance your rover. Difficulty 2: From my testing, it seems that even small vertical forces on rover wheels causes them to break, making a "hopping and rolling" rover difficult to maintain without downtime replacing the wheels between jumps. Solution: I have found it is possible to mount landing legs directly onto the wheels (I was using ruggedized wheels). These legs, while on the wheels, won't rotate with the wheels. The legs can be folded down while in flight or on the ground, and can be retracted, putting the rover back onto its wheels once one has landed. This gives a much larger margin for landing speeds. I believe that this idea has some practical use, for jumping over obstacles, as well as some game-use, such as mapping the engines to allow flips and other stunts. I have found my rover capable of jumping on Kerbin and the Mun, and for a model capable of jumping on high gravity worlds, simply adding more engines is easily done. Thank you for reading my submission, Kevglob
