Managing opening/closing air intakes.

[Sharpy]

At low speeds, low altitudes you need like 1/10 as many air intakes as at top speed, top altitude. They create drag, and they provide more intake air than you'd ever need.

At top speeds, high altitudes you need all the air intakes you can get just to keep the engine going a bit longer. You may also switch some engines off to keep air consumption lower.

Above that threshold you switch to rockets, and you should close all air intakes not to produce drag.

Has anyone given a thought how to manage that all? Through action groups? Seems like awfully many of them, as you'd regulate the number of active engines, number of open intakes, etc. Is there maybe a way to add more action groups? (I'd need a few for normal orbital/planetary/landing operations too!) Or some other smart way to do this?

Edited June 10, 2015 by Sharpy

[Warzouz]

I must say I'm not sure the open/close does any difference in 1.0 aero.

- Drag lines don't decrease when you close intakes.

- MechJeb "Drag coefficient" don't change either (even it changes when you lower landing struts), or do a minor pitch

Maybe it was a 0.9 features which was forgotten to be added to 1.0.

But I still close/open intakes for RP.

[Wanderfound]

Don't bother; closing intakes makes no difference to drag now, in stock or FAR.

[JoCRaM]

In older versions I used action groups to toggle - I'd have intake A always open, action group 1 would toggle intake B, action group 2 would toggle intake B , C and D, action group 3 would toggle intakes B, C, D, E, F, G, H.

before launch I'd hit "3" to go down to minimal intake, When I started running low I'd hit "1" to have two intakes, then hitting "2" would give me three intakes (A,C,D) hitting "1" again would boost to four intakes, then "3" would give me five, "1" six, "2" seven, and finally "1" would give me all eight.

I eventually realised this was overkill, and used just two action groups with out the complex toggling to give me three levels of intake 1->3->9

[Sharpy]

JoCRaM, that's a smart approach. Do Likey. I guess I can do the same with the engines reducing their number when all intakes are open.

[Box of Stardust]

Don't bother; closing intakes makes no difference to drag now, in stock or FAR.

That is an eye-opener.