Attaching parts/docking ports and cargo in spaceplanes

[barfing_skull]

All,

One of my biggest frustrations with this game is that I spend so much time building craft, and it would go three times as fast if things would just attach the way I want them to. Yes, I realize there's a myriad of different situations and parts that affect how something is attached, and half of them are problematic for me, but let's go with a specific example. This has had to have come up over and over, though I'm not quite finding what I need in searches.

In the VAB or SPH, I want to build a craft where docking ports are attached as docked, not directly attached via nodes. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't, usually doesn't. A bit of reading suggests having angle snap on - doesn't seem to help. Holding the Super key, apparently turns on node-only attachment (no surface) but this is the opposite of what I want. I want surface only. Tried changing view angles, most of what I could find through searching. Soooo....is there any sure-fire way to get docking ports attached as docked?

Now the problem I'm trying to solve. I've got some wheeled cargo that I put in the hold of a cargo plane. I want to detach these and roll/drive them out the back. What's the best way to get them in and out of the plane? How do I attach them for the flight then release them when I land? Is there some way other than building them into the craft with docking ports (or decouplers, though this has many of the same problems) in order to transport them?

Cheers,

-BS

Edited September 29, 2015 by barfing_skull

[TronX33]

Hey, there is no way to attack docking ports as docked. However, it fll function the way you want, if you attach the two docking ports with the nodes, in flight, right click one of them, and click Decouple Node. If that does not pop up, right click the other. After this, you can still redock them, as they will be functioning as normal docking ports. So think of the docking ports as reattachable decouplers that don't show up in the staging menu.

[barfing_skull]

Hey, there is no way to attack docking ports as docked. However, it fll function the way you want, if you attach the two docking ports with the nodes, in flight, right click one of them, and click Decouple Node. If that does not pop up, right click the other. After this, you can still redock them, as they will be functioning as normal docking ports. So think of the docking ports as reattachable decouplers that don't show up in the staging menu.

I've actually gotten it work - I have two separate vehicles in my cargo bay, and I can attach them together with a large docking port. It's attaching the vehicles to the plane where I'm having problem. So I know it's possible....just don't know how to consistently make it happen. No problems decoupling the two vehicles when I launch the (test) mission.

Cheers,

-BS

[TronX33]

Hmm... Maybe have a decoupler that the payload is mounted on, and a docking port that is very close to docking with the other docking port. Then, use a thruster to attach the docking port, decouple, and like that? What exactly are you trying to accomplish? I think I'm just being stupid right now.

[barfing_skull]

Hmm... Maybe have a decoupler that the payload is mounted on, and a docking port that is very close to docking with the other docking port. Then, use a thruster to attach the docking port, decouple, and like that? What exactly are you trying to accomplish? I think I'm just being stupid right now.

I'm trying to build cargo into a cargo plane that I can undock and release when I get to my destination. It's a way of getting the moving bases into the plane - since bringing them in when the plane is parked on the runway has its own set of problems. I haven't tried this in 1.0.X, but I found it impossible to dock things that were on the ground and not in space in earlier versions.

I did try this again, and it seems to work better with large docking ports (Clamp-o-tron Sr.) I couldn't get the smaller ones to dock in the VAB/SPH. So maybe I just need to use the large docking ports, though that's not my preference.

Cheers,

-BS

[TronX33]

If you are trying to get a base module to dock with your Cargo plane, do some testing, add landing struts, lock suspension, and adjust until lowering the legs gets you aligned and docked. In the SPH, just build it attached to a docking port, at destination, right click, decouple node, and your module is disconnected.

[Merandix]

Do these work to attach your docking ports to? Because then you CAN use node-attach.

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/BZ-52_Radial_Attachment_Point