Spaceplane/Airplane Cemeteries?

[moleman122]

So I've been designing a long series of spaceplanes and airplanes in a sandbox folder that I just have labeled "Spaceplane testing" because I love messing around with the aerodynamics of the game and coming up with new toys. I've been doing this for a few weeks now and I have 10 or so solid designs that I want to display right next to the runway as I take off, for prettiness sake. Has anyone else done something like this before that they could share or discuss? A plane graveyard or a decomissioned model museum or something along those lines?

[Cirocco]

Nah, my old design don't get placed next to the runway, they smash into a celestial body of choice at several km/s.

[Othuyeg]

I suggest downloading Kerbinside and using one of the fancy bases for this. I love the mod and you can then have them for example at the old KSC. And that way you won't have 1 fps when you try to launch anything since they are at another location.

[Alshain]

Yes, I've done this. Trust me you don't want to. The game can't handle it, you come into the 2.2km load range while trying to land on the runway and LAAAAAAG!

[Brotoro]

Nah...I don't need the extra lag.

[cantab]

I've had KSC cluttered a bit with vehicles, the lag spike when approaching to land is annoying. The old ones I've taken to taxiing a few kilometres south, out of the way yet not so far I can't use them again if I want to. Not particularly tried to group them together but I certainly could.

If you want something by the runway for looks, maybe you could make a version with as much welded as possible. You don't need it to fly or even move under its own power after all, so a single part "mockup" aircraft that you tow into place would do the job.

[DunaRocketeer]

Also tried this, and like everyone else, the lag is terrible - especially on my crummy laptop. However, I have at times had 3 planes parked in front of the SPH that are representative of the numerous subtypes I've made over the past few weeks. Maybe that's a way to go?

[Thomas988]

No way. I'm not the "place a spacecraft there just for the heck of it" kind of guy (and I know plenty here aren't either), mainly because I have better things to do with them and I don't want the lag every time I launch.

[eddiew]

Re; the lag, wonder if it might be possible to weld the entire plane into a single object, then move it where you want it with a crane? Wouldn't be any worse than a few cracked boosters lying around

* disclaimer: may not work at all.

[Tex]

Actually, I have done something like this! I actually tried starting a rocket cemetery as well, the logistics of which were pretty fun to sort out. I had to lay the rockets sideways after fitting them with the landing gear, and then I built a tug truck to pull them to the site!

As for the airplane one, it was fun to do as well, and it definitely did look awesome. I'm considering starting a new one as well!

[LordFjord]

I did something like that at the BSC Aeris4a challenge.

Yes, your CPU will hate you.

[Flixxbeatz]

Nah...I don't need the extra lag.

This guy nails it

[Sampa]

for me, at least with rockets, successful designs get upgraded, unsuccessful designs get scrapped. simple as that. the unsuccessful designs cease to exist.

[Taki117]

If I actually plan on reusing it and it's not completely destroyed (i.e it's just like I launched it) I won't recover the vehicle, but instead will just refuel and re-load

[Starwhip]

Crashed the mission that landed too... ran out of fuel and stalled just north of KSC.

[merendel]

I wouldnt do it next to KSC. if you park a bunch of planes near the runway you'll have a ton of parts withen load distance of the launchpad and runway. Launching a new craft will take forever as it takes a while to load onto the pad and even simple craft will put you into the yellow/red physics timesteps. If you actually land space planes its even worse as you'll get those big stuttering pauses as your on final approach when your graveyard enters the physics window. Bad situation all around.

The few times I've done a ship graveyard I've parked them well away from KSC. Once I landed a bunch in the desert but I've also taxied planes 5-6km Northwest or southwest while still on the grassy plain. Well out of load range of the space port and offset enough that a normal flight approach wont get close enough to load and give a stutter at a bad moment. I did try the island runway but not all my aircraft can safely land there unless I attach parachutes to them.

[celem]

I used to drive big nuclear reactor/transmitters out from KSC for the Interstellar mod. Build them as a rover in the SPH, then drive away so they dont load on launch. Conveniently the distance you need to go is pretty much marked, almost all of the light green grass around the KSC is loaded when launching to runway, if actually flying into the runway then you also need a clear strip westward so stuff doesnt load on approach. If you get to the edge of the light green when the ground becomes darker and starts to slope up then you are generally clear of the complex.

[Reactordrone]

Yeah, it doesn't take many for the lag to start to show.

[Remkeau]

When testing new spaceplanes and shuttles I often use the stretch of sea towards the island runway for testing stability, control etc. If they manage to touch down there in one piece, a lot of them will stay there (including pilots which go on a well deserved tropical island holiday )

[Columbia]

No, but I do have a small camp just beside the runway loghts for the Mk3 Passenger Cabins that survived a crash of an airplane of devastating length.

They claim it's "not dangerous."