Lift ratio for Duna? (Stock)

[Kyrt Malthorn]

So I got this idea to try recreating the Bono Glider Mars mission concept. It wouldn't work in real life it turns out, but Duna's atmosphere is apparently dense enough to fly in because it's been done here.

So what kind of lift rating to mass ratio is good for Duna? For example of what I'm looking for, I consider in Kerbin having 1 lift rating per 2 tons is my standard for aircraft; can get away with less if necessary, or add more if a lot of stability is desired.

What would that ratio look like on Duna ASL?

[legoclone09]

I think more is needed, I'll run some tests with hyperedit.

[Kyrt Malthorn]

That's what I was thinking, due to low air density. But there's also lower gravity. I sent an unmanned glider to Eve and had drastically unexpected results, so for a manned mission I'm being cautious.

[Hagen von Tronje]

The plane I sent weighs just about 10t with payload and has about 8 lift available. But it's also sporting a .83 TWR which goes a long way, it's pretty floaty on lift alone. So I'd say 1:1 is a decent reference point.

In stock your thrust options are Dawn ions or rocket engines of whatever flavor (RAPIERS certainly operate, in rocket mode). In an ion glider you're likely going to want a lot more lift, RAPIERs can likely keep a decently built plane aloft without much help so wings would be largely for control surfaces - which is important, it's not easy to turn in Duna's atmosphere, at least compared to Kerbin.