Making Things Hover! (Showcase?!)

[BagelRabbit]

Hello everyone! I'm UpsilonAerospace.

Recently, I discovered a very nice feature in KSP 1.0 that allows various craft to 'hover' above the ground. I'm dreaming up a lot of ways to abuse this effect. Come and join me!

The Grand 'Making Things Hover' Thread!

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In KSP 0.90, various types of rover wheel did strange stuff when they had parts placed between them and the ground. This peculiar setup resulted in an eerie effect where the rover appeared to hover a few inches in the air. I always wanted to exploit this effect, but I feared it wouldn't work when 1.0 dropped.

In 1.0, wheel mechanics were changed, but they didn't fix the hover effect! As a matter of fact, 1.0 made craft even better. The small steerable landing gear, in particular, can make any sufficiently light craft "hover" if another part is clipped into it. This hover effect occurs even when it looks as if the wheels should be touching the ground, adding another layer of spookiness to the mix.

Craft utilizing this cute little bug feature appear to have an almost magnetic repulsion to the ground. They merrily bob about, up to half a meter in the air. The effect is even better with the help of some small engines on the bottom (to "lighten" the craft, not to actually cause it to lift off).

Here's a video of my first hovering craft in action. The fun starts at about 1:15. Note the impressive ground clearance, which actually gets better throughout the video as the craft burns off fuel. When I first flew this thing (intending for it to be a VTOL), I could have sworn that it was flying, and that it merely had a low thrust-to-weight ratio. The reality was a bit more amusing.

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Of course, this effect has the tremendous potential for abuse. I'm imagining Star-Wars-style podracers, "hovercraft," and similar glorious abuses in the near future. I'm sure the possibilities here are limitless.

So, are you ready to have some good old-fashioned fun with this interesting effect?

Good. Let's get started.

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Please post your craft utilizing this effect here! If you have a craft that utilizes a mod to hover, that's okay to post too as an inspiration.

Good luck! Have fun! Let me know what you come up with.

This will be great.

-Upsilon

[Majorjim!]

So how is this different from what we had before man?

[BagelRabbit]

So how is this different from what we had before man?

Well, for one thing, the landing gear suspend your craft higher in the air than the old rover wheels. They also offer a bit more suspension, which makes the hovering effect seem more realistic. They can 'look' as if they're on the ground and not glitched out, like the previous rover wheels kinda did 'way back when. Finally, they work in 1.0, and I wasn't expecting them to.

I suppose there aren't all that many differences, but at any rate, no one has created a showcase for hovering craft in any version (I think). Why not try one out now?

-Upsilon

[Majorjim!]

Why not try one out now?

-Upsilon

Agreed! It's a great idea. I am still waiting for someone to make that landspeeder thing from starwars!

Upsilon, you build now!

Edited May 6, 2015 by Majorjim

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

How's this?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/116004-This-hover-tank-goes-to-11!?p=1846495#post1846495

[BagelRabbit]

Agreed! It's a great idea. I am still waiting for someone to make that landspeeder thing from starwars!

Upsilon, you build now!

http://www2.gpmd.com/imagel/r/lrmxs1874.jpg

Maybe at some point, Majorjim. Right now, my computer is acting up, so I can't actually play KSP... which is why I've been doddering about on the Forums so much.

How's this?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/116004-This-hover-tank-goes-to-11!?p=1846495#post1846495

http://i.imgur.com/Hv8c6LZ.png

That's excellent! Like, seriously. Wow.

Does the hover-y bit still work in 1.0? (I presume that the turret does not, sadly. Wheel collider mechanisms are different now.)

-Upsilon

[Zucal]

Right now, my computer is acting up, so I can't actually play KSP... which is why I've been doddering about on the Forums so much.

You should update the Light-Green Group thread then, it's in dire need

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

[...]

That's excellent! Like, seriously. Wow.

Does the hover-y bit still work in 1.0? (I presume that the turret does not, sadly. Wheel collider mechanisms are different now.)

-Upsilon

The hover works, the turret sort of works.