Mod that shows drag force?

[martincmartin]

Are there any mods that show the aerodynamic drag force, or something similar like deceleration caused by drag?  For example, the most efficient vertical ascent trajectory is when the force of drag is exactly the same as the force of gravity (but in the opposite direction, natch).  It would be great if there was a mod which showed me those two, so I could adjust my thrust to make them equal.

[Red Iron Crown]

AeroGUI shows total net drag force on the craft, quite handy. 

I'm not sure that it's true that ascent is most efficient when F_d = F_g, but this should help you test that hypothesis.

[martincmartin]

1 hour ago, Red Iron Crown said:

AeroGUI shows total net drag force on the craft, quite handy. 

I'm not sure that it's true that ascent is most efficient when F_d = F_g, but this should help you test that hypothesis.

Thanks!  This post purports to prove that.  They claim it's not true for gravity turns, just for straight vertical acceleration:
 

 

[Red Iron Crown]

That post is from before the big 1.0 aerodynamics revision, I don't think it still applies. It will be interesting to see what results you find under the new aero model.

[martincmartin]

Yeah good point, I actually looked at the proof and it assumes drag is proportional to mass, which used to be true but, of course, isn't any longer.  I'm still working out the new dynamics model, AeroGUI is telling me Cd * S changes by a factor of 3 over a simple straight-up flight, I would think it should be a constant.  Anyway, I'll investigate some more and see what I can find.  Thanks!