Most efficient Throttle [Space planes, Atmospheric aircraft]

[Vostok]

I\'ve come up with the idea to fly to the other launch site on kerbin, using as little fuel tanks as I can. I\'ve got four C7 tanks, and two standard jet engines at the moment. My aircraft cruises at 1/3 throttle (just enough to keep the engines running, and not cutting out) and stays at an exact altitude (the vertical speed meter = 0 ) at a speed of about 128 m/s.

Is this configuration the most fuel efficient?

[Herpderpsslerps]

Best thing is to get an altitude and speed where your engine efficiency is around .91. This is about best, where you are getting the most bang for your fuel usage. From there its about what throttle position gets you the most speed for the least fuel used. It will vary by design usually. My designs that use more engines will usually have a set or two deactivated once I\'m cruising.

[Vostok]

Therein lies the crunch; what throttle uses least fuel for most thrust based on how many engines... hmm

[Herpderpsslerps]

Its going to be a bunch of experimentation, that is about all you can do.

[samstarman5]

I feel like I missed an important meeting. What other launch site?

[Alehkhs]

I\'ve come up with the idea to fly to the other launch site on kerbin, using as little fuel tanks as I can. I\'ve got four C7 tanks, and two standard jet engines at the moment. My aircraft cruises at 1/3 throttle (just enough to keep the engines running, and not cutting out) and stays at an exact altitude (the vertical speed meter = 0 ) at a speed of about 128 m/s.

Is this configuration the most fuel efficient?

Just as a note... the runway is no longer there.

I got there with that plane and a couple drop tanks.

Full throttle getting to ~15,000 before the drop tanks run dry, then about 2/3 throttle after they drop.

[cardgame]

Why would you go to 15km altitude? Efficiency goes down to like .6 or so up there.

[Alehkhs]

Why would you go to 15km altitude? Efficiency goes down to like .6 or so up there.

Wasn\'t really shooting for efficiency, myself, just going for the sights. =P

[Vostok]

I feel like I missed an important meeting. What other launch site?

There\'s another space centre elsewhere on Kerbin. I believe there also used to be one on the Mun as well, but I think it got removed.

Location

Are you sure you want to know?

Really sure?

It\'s in some mountains West-north-west of KSC.

Still sure?

Last Chance!

EDIT: Oops! I marked the location of KSC 2 incorrectly on the map XD fixed now.

[antbin]

The location of the 2nd KSC isn\'t really that secret, since 0.15 has the navball 'HOME' indicator pointing there by default. : It is a fun target though! Vostok, why don\'t you start a challenge for fuel-efficient flying to KSC2?

Oh, and about efficiency - Remember, what you ultimately want is distance traveled. So besides choosing an altitude/throttle setting that keeps your engines running efficiently, you need to think about how much aerodynamic drag your plane has to push through at lower altitudes. Sometimes, the drop in engine efficiency is worth it if you can fly high enough (>10,000m) to enjoy the lower drag.

If I\'m not mistaken, what you want is the highest ratio of speed to fuel consumption. In KSP, the fuel consumption is proportional to throttle, so it\'s

[glow=red,2,300][tt]Maximise: speed / ( no. of engines * throttle setting)[/tt][/glow]

[Vostok]

Starting a challenge sounds like a challenge! Let\'s do it!

[rkman]

The location of the 2nd KSC isn\'t really that secret, since 0.15 has the navball 'HOME' indicator pointing there by default. : It is a fun target though! Vostok, why don\'t you start a challenge for fuel-efficient flying to KSC2?

Oh, and about efficiency - Remember, what you ultimately want is distance traveled. So besides choosing an altitude/throttle setting that keeps your engines running efficiently, you need to think about how much aerodynamic drag your plane has to push through at lower altitudes. Sometimes, the drop in engine efficiency is worth it if you can fly high enough (>10,000m) to enjoy the lower drag.

If I\'m not mistaken, what you want is the highest ratio of speed to fuel consumption. In KSP, the fuel consumption is proportional to throttle, so it\'s

[glow=red,2,300][tt]Maximise: speed / ( no. of engines * throttle setting)[/tt][/glow]

Right, most speed for a given throttle setting is what you want. Who cares that engine efficiency is 30% at 16k if you\'re going twice as fast as you would at lower altitude with 80% efficiency.