Will there be propellers?

[THX1138]

Are propellers expected to be included in a stock update? I'm hoping to use them at some point and don't want to rely on a mod if stock ones are already anticipated.

[Red Iron Crown]

Haven't seen official mention of them. I don't see them fitting into a game that is nominally about space exploration, but we have the Goliath engine so who knows?

I'd suggest using mod ones, KAX is pretty nice.

[THX1138]

11 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said:

Haven't seen official mention of them. I don't see them fitting into a game that is nominally about space exploration, but we have the Goliath engine so who knows?

I'd suggest using mod ones, KAX is pretty nice.

I reckon they might fit into exploration of the planets with atmosphere. That's the reason I'm interested in them.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Edited July 12, 2016 by THX1138

[Majorjim!]

They totally fit in the spirit of the game and now that ions have been nerfed in atmosphere we should have a replacement and props fit the bill perfectly. Alas there is a certain lack of vision in KSP development so don't hold your breath.

[Xavven]

31 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

They totally fit in the spirit of the game and now that ions have been nerfed in atmosphere we should have a replacement and props fit the bill perfectly. Alas there is a certain lack of vision in KSP development so don't hold your breath.

Plus, we already have aviation parts that fit the theme of a small prop plane. For example, the fixed landing gear. You're not taking fixed gear on a high altitude, hypersonic flight (well, most players aren't, anyway). And props are more efficient in a thick lower atmosphere compared to a jet engine. I could definitely see myself using a prop plane for low speed Laythe and Eve flights.

And they would absolutely make sense on a dirigible. I could definitely see myself exploring Eve on a solar powered rigid airship.

[KerikBalm]

Electric/LFO powered ones would be great for Eve and Duna. Tekto as well if they make OPM stock (no plans for that, but given past stockification of mods, and the popularity, I'd say its a possibility).

Using the same atm curve as for the goliath/wheesely engines (since they are turbofans and the fan component provides most of the thrust, they should be the best approximation), electric fans would have to either be OP on kerbin, or barely usable on Duna.

I don't mind them being barely usable on Duna though... that's part of the fun.

[Bigbootie]

2 hours ago, Majorjim said:

They totally fit in the spirit of the game and now that ions have been nerfed in atmosphere we should have a replacement and props fit the bill perfectly. Alas there is a certain lack of vision in KSP development so don't hold your breath.

Yep. Good new content doesn't seem to be a priority right now in forever.

I'm looking at you "magic boulder"

[KerikBalm]

Luckily, this stuff is easy to mod in.

For all KSPs faults, I'm really glad they made it easy to mod

[GoSlash27]

 I would love to see a small prop engine in KSP. It would make a lot more sense in early career than the Juno. I've never seen anything to suggest that it will be incorporated into the stock game, tho'.

Best,
-Slashy

[Wjolcz]

An electric prop engine would be great to have in stock, besides it's more realistic than RAPIER, simply because it already exists and is fully functional.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Veeltch

[KerikBalm]

Yet... it still wouldn't be very useful on a proper mars analogue.

According to this http://www.aerospaceweb.org/design/scripts/atmosphere/

At the helios' maximum altitude (29,524m), the air pressure is just 1.285 kPa. By comparison, the bottom of Hellas is 1.155 kPa. The average pressure on Mars is 0.6 kPa.

Its a bit more forgiving though, due to the higher MW of the gas, and the probably colder temperatures - though in the day, low on Mars, it actually gets quite warm (spirit recorded 35C) on mars near the equator during the day, whereas 100,000' on Earth is going to be -50C. I suppose one could charge batteries in the day and fly at night when the air is colder and denser.

Also, the gravity of mars is lower... reducing power requirements for flight  which for sustained flight would offset the reduced solar output.

It seems Helios might be ablerto fly at the bottom of the Hellas basin... but lets not forget how flimsy that thing was

 

Duna on the other hand... with its surface pressure of 0.067 atmospheres and only 80% the gravity of mars, would be relatively easy to fly one with electric propellors.

Electric props belong in the game more than the Goliath/Juno/Wheesely, as those are really only useful on kerbin and maybe laythe (but who would take a goliath to laythe?!)

 

Its easy to mod, as I said:

\

Yes i would still like actualy propellors, and not a rescaled turbofan

[Wcmille]

4 hours ago, Red Iron Crown said:

Haven't seen official mention of them. I don't see them fitting into a game that is nominally about space exploration, but we have the Goliath engine so who knows?

I'd suggest using mod ones, KAX is pretty nice.

Eve, or even underwater on Kerbin, seems like the perfect place to use them. Doing much below 10km on Eve is awful.

[pandaman]

I certainly think there is a place for a couple of different sized stock propellers, both for atmospheric and underwater use. Perhaps a tweekable configuration could make them adjustable for different atmosphere densities, possibly even for underwater use too, to avoid too many extra parts.

Though it may make more sense to have a dedicated underwater propeller. 

[SchwinnTropius]

Could add some realism to progression by including a piston engine analog propeller that consumes Liquid Fuel and Intake Air, as well as electric props.

[foamyesque]

I've wanted stock propellers for years, but I've never seen any indicator they're being worked on.

Edited July 12, 2016 by foamyesque

[The_Rocketeer]

I think the recent rise of electric quad-copter drones indicates a strong future for propellor-craft in probe-based space exploration. I'd love to see some small rechargeable probe-rotors for surface exploration in other atmospheres.