Cypher - High Performance Dropship/Prospector

[Cupcake...]

CRAFT FILES:
https://goo.gl/HCbxRV

Craft Video

LV INSTRUCTIONS:
Activate SAS then launch.
Eject the SRBs and LV drop tanks as soon they become empty.
Once the needle reaches the end of the light blue strip start pitching over on a 90* heading.
By the time the needle gets to the dark blue section you want to be at a 45* angle.
Hold this heading till your apoapsis reaches 40k then gently pitch over and hold course about 5* above the horizon.
Once you apoapsis reaches 80k cut the engines and coast out of the atmosphere.
Once you circularize, undock the Cypher and re-dock it to the long range drop tank stack using the cargo port.

CONTROLS:
1 - Toggle Engines
2 - Toggle Half Thrust (For Low Gravity Worlds/Docking Etc..)
3 - Toggle Radiators (LR Edition Only)
7 - Begin Mining/Refining (Press Twice, P Model Only)
8 - Cease Mining/Refining (P Model Only)

ABORT - Undock/De-Couple Cargo/Rear Ports


NOTES:
A vertical axis port is recessed above the rear docking port and should be used for orbital maneuvers/Mechjeb while horizontal axis (cockpit) control is best used for landing.
A Joystick is highly recommended and SAS should be left on at all times.
When mining/refining using the P model the craft lights must be deactivated!
In order to save weight the craft uses the cockpit RCS reserve rather then a dedicated tank. It only holds about 7 units but for a craft this size that's plenty!
Activating half thrust mode shuts down 2 of the engines allowing the remaining ones to be tuned down using the thrust limiter. This comes in handy for delicate manuever burns/docking!
Liquid fuel from the outrigger tanks will have to be transferred manually to an LV-N stage as they're not plumbed into the dropship's main supply.
In addition to the main/outrigger tanks there's a small reserve tank located above the cargo port.


Heh all, it's my great pleasure to present my finest light dropship yet. The Cypher is an all new unibody dropship which IMHO nails the holy trinity of looks, handling and performance.



The vessal is like a little swiss army knife; able to be adapted to a huge variety of missions. A central, balanced cargo port lets you haul frieght, load up drop tanks or even rescue other vessels in distress!

The standard model puts out a healthy 3.5k of Delta V (clean), with very high T/W. In fact you've got so much thrust under the bonnet you can make powered landings back on Kerbin without having to resort to chutes. In addition there's the model P or Prospector edition which has a built in ISRU and drill allowing you to conduct extended missions in deep space. You even mine ore with an X-200 drop tank still attached to the cargo port! The P model puts out 2.5k which is enough to make it to Ike from Duna or Pol from Val.



Pairing the Cypher with a long range NERVA stage really is a match made in heaven and will allow you to make use of the outrigger tanks to hold a bit more fuel for the nuke(s). The craft is so light only a single LV-N is needed and you'll be able to squeeze around 12k of Delta V from a 50t design (including the dropship), the long range model used in the video has been included as an example.



It's been a while since I've had cockpit visablilty this good!



Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the craft and please let me know if you have any Qs/issues. Cheers.

Cupcake...

Edited December 8, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Dafni]

Nice release OP there, awesome video and pictures as always. And a very cool craft too, of course. So sleek and simple, yet has everything you need in a lander, including RCS for docking etc.

Thanks for including the LR model too!

I'm looking forward to fly some Cypher missions over the weekend. Have to move around some hefty base modules, probably testing the Cypher to its limits. Let's see. Would you mind me dropping some pics in here once that new base is together?

BTW, nice guest appearance of the cute little Puff Puff there! Gotta love Minmus, eh?!

Thanks again

Daf

[Cupcake...]

[quote name='Dafni']Nice release OP there, awesome video and pictures as always. And a very cool craft too, of course. So sleek and simple, yet has everything you need in a lander, including RCS for docking etc.

Thanks for including the LR model too!

I'm looking forward to fly some Cypher missions over the weekend. Have to move around some hefty base modules, probably testing the Cypher to its limits. Let's see. Would you mind me dropping some pics in here once that new base is together?

BTW, nice guest appearance of the cute little Puff Puff there! Gotta love Minmus, eh?!

Thanks again

Daf[/QUOTE]

Please be my guest, I always enjoy seeing pics of people's adventures. :wink:

Cupcake...

[Darnok]

Very nice, but I saw that docking... my suggestion is to use one more part for perfect docking angle

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ZmIA2do.png[/IMG]

[ryan234abc]

Nice video there! Certainly shows off the craft. Did you add the sounds of touchdown etc post production or was it a mod? They really made the video what it is. As for the craft, I have to agree with you; it's got some of the best looks out there. I'm going to use one as a refueller for my Eve System ships; Gilly proves to be a good target for refuelling.

[Cupcake...]

[quote name='Darnok']Very nice, but I saw that docking... my suggestion is to use one more part for perfect docking angle

[url]http://i.imgur.com/ZmIA2do.png[/url][/QUOTE]

That's a nice idea, I like it! :D In this case however I'm trying to keep weight down to an absolute minimum and can't really justify adding another port. :P Even if the ships aern't 100% aligned it doesn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things.

[quote name='ryan234abc']Nice video there! Certainly shows off the craft. Did you add the sounds of touchdown etc post production or was it a mod? They really made the video what it is. As for the craft, I have to agree with you; it's got some of the best looks out there. I'm going to use one as a refueller for my Eve System ships; Gilly proves to be a good target for refuelling.[/QUOTE]

Heh there, I did indeed add a few extra sounds to spice things up (I think the stock sound design still needs a lot of work). If you're using the P Model as a refueler just bear in mind it's very, very slow and takes ages to fill its own tanks let alone another vessal. :P A couple of other options would be to use the standard model to soft land a full ISRU rig, or alternatively try the Pickaxe from the main page. Good luck! :)

Cupcake... Edited November 25, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Azimech]

[quote name='Cupcake...']Man, I gotta start building bigger. :P

Cupcake...[/QUOTE]

And I gotta start building smaller.

I ignored your posts until now ... well ... I saw them just didn't reply to them. Was a mixture of jealousy and awe. Still have it. My hat's off to you, sir, for your complete repertoire.

[Cupcake...]

[quote name='Azimech']And I gotta start building smaller.

I ignored your posts until now ... well ... I saw them just didn't reply to them. Was a mixture of jealousy and awe. Still have it. My hat's off to you, sir, for your complete repertoire.[/QUOTE]

Thanks man, I really apreciate the feedback! :D I guess we've all got our own little niches, you could give me 50 years and a team of 100 monkeys and I still don't think I'd come up with a roter craft to match your designs! :wink:

Cupcake...

[Dafni]

Just dropping by under the new forum skin to report about the amazing capabilities of the Cypher. It can lift amazing weights on low grav bodies such as Minmus. Just make sure your cargo stays clear of those 4 rocket flames.

It has amazing reaction wheel authority, and the RCS is very suitable too. Yesterday I managed to dock it to some base module I had parked in orbit, the thing had no control and was spinning on an axis that was almost perpendicular to my docking port. It took some time, thinking and very fine joystick input, but I pulled it of nice and clean.

Thank you for yet another amazing creation.

I'm off to polish my avatar and signature for the new forum.

cheers

Daf

[Heckspress]

Call me stupid,but how exactly do I get the LR into orbit?

[Raptor9]

I like the concept of having a ship "split" in two like the Cypher and it's long-range NERVA piece.  I've played with it a little, have the manned component disengage and do it's thing, then return to orbit, pick up the other half, and continue on it's way.

[Cupcake...]

3 hours ago, Raptor9 said:

I like the concept of having a ship "split" in two like the Cypher and it's long-range NERVA piece.  I've played with it a little, have the manned component disengage and do it's thing, then return to orbit, pick up the other half, and continue on it's way.

It does give a lot of benefits with very few drawbacks that I can see. 

5 hours ago, Heckspress said:

Call me stupid,but how exactly do I get the LR into orbit?

On a magic ship named Hyperedit. I made the LR model specifically for the video and have included it as an example more then anything else. It can be adapted to get to orbit from Kerbin, but you'll have to get rid of the landing gear and build up a couple of luanch stages to get it out the athmosphere. I am working on a long range Jool version which will launch from Kebin but I'm afraid this is a while away from being complete. Sorry.

 

Cupcake...

Edited December 4, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Dafni]

[KingPhantom]

nice little craft. came here from another thread where you posted this.

 

i have a question: how did you clipped the mk1 cockpit into the tank? i dont get it. i can see every attachment point is working and not used for mk1. and radial isnt possible for cockpits (also with the setting "radial mirrored")... so i dont get it... is there someting with the hidden docking port jr? i dont think so. for what is that little one?

 

thx

 

edit: is it possible that this kind of construction is not possible anymore in 1.1.3?

Edited July 27, 2016 by KingPhantom

[Hodo]

It is possible,  You attach it to the bottom of the cockpit then use the adjustment arrows to slide it up over to where you want it.

[KingPhantom]

but you can't attach the adapter to the back of the mk1 cockpit and slide it to the bottom "in the air" as much as you want. it skipps back after a certain distance. probably a newer feature.

[ScriptKitt3h]

33 minutes ago, KingPhantom said:

but you can't attach the adapter to the back of the mk1 cockpit and slide it to the bottom "in the air" as much as you want. it skipps back after a certain distance. probably a newer feature.

Some people also use the mod Editor Extensions Redux, which removes some limitations on their editor (like limits on the offset tool), and adds other features like 5-sided symmetry, etc.

Craft built using stock parts with it still work in an all-stock, unmodded (or modded) install, so many players (myself included) use it to provide a larger level of control over our builds.

[Rune]

52 minutes ago, ScriptKitt3h said:

Some people also use the mod Editor Extensions Redux, which removes some limitations on their editor (like limits on the offset tool), and adds other features like 5-sided symmetry, etc.

Craft built using stock parts with it still work in an all-stock, unmodded (or modded) install, so many players (myself included) use it to provide a larger level of control over our builds.

And there are other tricks, too. Here, it could be as simple as surface-attaching the tank to the cabin, which would leave all four attachment points free.

 

Rune. IIRC, Cupcake uses no mods.

[Majorjim!]

You used to be able to use nodes twice, you now have to select an option in the 'cheats' menu, Alt-f12. Some options are not cheats BTW.

 Also the option for part clipping is there too, also not a cheat. But yes if you want to save on 'mounting' parts use editor extensions redux editor mod. It's awesome and saves you a lot of parts when building.

[Cupcake...]

On 28 July 2016 at 10:09 AM, KingPhantom said:

nice little craft. came here from another thread where you posted this.

 

i have a question: how did you clipped the mk1 cockpit into the tank? i dont get it. i can see every attachment point is working and not used for mk1. and radial isnt possible for cockpits (also with the setting "radial mirrored")... so i dont get it... is there someting with the hidden docking port jr? i dont think so. for what is that little one?

 

thx

 

edit: is it possible that this kind of construction is not possible anymore in 1.1.3?

Ah man, it's been so long since I designed this thing I don't remember how I put it together exactly.  I do use Editor Extensions and I think from memory the rear node of the main tank was used to attach the bottom cargo port, with the cockpit using the other. The cockpit and nose one were then offset inside the main tank. Hope this helps!

 

 

Cupcake...

Edited July 29, 2016 by Cupcake...