Kerbodyne Challenge Series: Minmus Tourism

[Wanderfound]

Would KJR be allowed?

If you must, but it shouldn't be necessary.

[TrainEngie]

I have a question.

For the fuel bill:

Is is based off of how much fuel was spent, or the fuel before launch?

[Van Disaster]

Hm, so every return trip from Minmus so far I've got to the runway threshold & part of one of my wings has collided with the launchpad - now I'm not doing some monstrosity that reaches from the runway to the launchpad, just a Mk3-sized effort. Fairly sure I've seen this in the dim & distant past, but are ghost collisions something that pops up with compound stock wings?

[Wanderfound]

I have a question.

For the fuel bill:

Is is based off of how much fuel was spent, or the fuel before launch?

Total cost of the mission after recovery. For an SSTO that lands at KSC, that just happens to equal the cost of spent fuel.

- - - Updated - - -

Hm, so every return trip from Minmus so far I've got to the runway threshold & part of one of my wings has collided with the launchpad - now I'm not doing some monstrosity that reaches from the runway to the launchpad, just a Mk3-sized effort. Fairly sure I've seen this in the dim & distant past, but are ghost collisions something that pops up with compound stock wings?

I've had similar things happen a few times, usually after quickloading nearby to KSC. Not sure exactly what causes it, though.

Maybe try landing from the ocean side?

[Van Disaster]

I've had similar things happen a few times, usually after quickloading nearby to KSC. Not sure exactly what causes it, though.

Maybe try landing from the ocean side?

I always land on 27, it's causing the problem :S last time I crashed the game so it wouldn't update the save & reloaded and landed fine, so I guess it's just something to do with lots of SoI changes and I'll just reload before re-entry. Odd that it's never shown up with mod wings.

[Van Disaster]

Dammit, can't get under 122.5 for a 36 seat (FAR) ship :S must find that perfect optimisation somewhere...

[Van Disaster]

I can do a fair bit better I think - the ship is still way too heavy - because every launch I manage to find some way of reducing fuel burn, so I redesign and end up doing the same thing - and my orbit plans need some work too. Still, this will do for now because I'd quite like to do something else for a while ...

This is with FAR, just to be clear.

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LF: 5100 - 994 @ 0.8 = 3284.8

O: 4813 - 717 @ 0.18 = 737.28

Monoprop: 0 - I emptied it before launch.

Crew: 36 gives 111.72 per passenger.

I have Venn's stock revamp installed which is just cosmetic, in case you're wondering why the nervas look a bit odd.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Van Disaster

[UnusualAttitude]

Another run and as I suspected, it is possible to draw advantage from the better kerbal-to-mass ratio of the Mk3 crew cabin. I just needed to use nukes, get creative with RAPIERS and cut the weight of my ship in half... The result actually looks like a spaceplane for once, and not an Antonov.

LF:4,132 Ox: 4,542

Fuel bill: 4,123.16 funds Kerbals: 52

Cost per Kerbal: 79.3 funds

It is a KJR ship Wander, so I will quite understand if this doesn't go up on the leader board. I just think the mod is really meant to be used with FAR due to the additional aerodynamic stresses FAR entails, and it actually makes Mk3 planes a practical thing rather than a painful wobbly mass of struts, at least until we get larger wings, gear etc...

I've also learnt not to pay too much attention to the FAR data with Mk3 heavies. Often FAR screams red and the airframe will blast through it just fine.

I'm now totally gonna fit this ship out with a science lab and cargo bay, and send her interplanetary!

Regards, UA.

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[Van Disaster]

And just when I'd got down to 88 but yes that does seem the way to go.

[Van Disaster]

Rather than my previous effort being too fat, it just lacked payload fraction. Answer, increase the payload. Unfortunately something this long has considerable CoL shift if pitched up, so I had to shove CoL rearwards... which had another unexpected result.

7 Rapiers, four nervas, 151t, FAR. Honestly I suspect I used rather a lot more fuel than necessary, but what an unwieldy beast that turned out to be.

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LF: 6825-273 * 0.8 = 5241.6

O: 6875-181 * 0.18 = 1204.92

Crew: 100

Cost per kerbal = 64.47

Minimum speed for level flight: 151m/s

Landing: Fairly Terrifying

Bigger control surfaces please.