Makeshift Crew Cabin

[tymur888]

I'm trying to save weight with my lander and I have come across a wonderful idea. I will stick 2 kerbals in EVA seats in a 1.25m service bay. Although, I'm not sure whether the kerbals would be able to get in or out in such a tight space. Anybody able to give me any info on this?

[Fearless Son]

49 minutes ago, tymur888 said:

I'm trying to save weight with my lander and I have come across a wonderful idea. I will stick 2 kerbals in EVA seats in a 1.25m service bay. Although, I'm not sure whether the kerbals would be able to get in or out in such a tight space. Anybody able to give me any info on this?

Depends on how you orient the seats.  @Cupcake... does a lot of things with EVA seats in service bays to save weight, you should check out some of their designs for inspiration.

[LordFerret]

They can sit and get back up, but their heads clip with the 1.25m service bay... the 2.5m would work better.

 

Edit:
Yes, the 2.5m nicely seats 6. They get a little wonky getting up out of the seat however, so I don't know if doing that would be a good idea out in space.

Edited June 22, 2018 by LordFerret

[Rocket In My Pocket]

It works...alright. Here's two different styles using the smallest storage bay.

Idk, about getting two in there though.

Edited June 22, 2018 by Rocket In My Pocket

[Fearless Son]

17 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Idk, about getting two in there though.

I suppose it would work if you left the doors open and sat the Kerbals butt-to-butt with their heads sticking out either end.

But if you are doing that then why even use a stowage bay instead of just sticking the seats elsewhere?

[katateochi]

I would go for making a perhaps slightly more spacious "command pod" around the seats using structural panels and I-beams; I've not build landers like that, but I've made a few aircraft with cockpits like that and one big advantage with them is they are fantastic in a crash. Unlike a command pod that goes poof taking everyone inside it with it, make shift cockpits crumple (kinda), the external parts take the impact and even in some truly spectacular nose dives into the ground, the pilot was only slightly dazed (as opposed to slightly dead).

[swjr-swis]

4 hours ago, tymur888 said:

I'm trying to save weight with my lander and I have come across a wonderful idea. I will stick 2 kerbals in EVA seats in a 1.25m service bay. Although, I'm not sure whether the kerbals would be able to get in or out in such a tight space. Anybody able to give me any info on this? 

You can just barely fit two kerbals side by side without clipping their helmets into each other, and still keep them visually within a 1.25m diameter part (like the service bay), by offsetting the seats down from center (somewhere between 2 and 3 fine offset 'clicks'). The kerbals and the seats will be fully shielded from drag or heat.

Keep in mind though that when leaving the seats, they are displaced up and forward, which can clip them inside parts of your lander and sometimes causes violent forces.

I uploaded a subassembly of the arrangement, because it requires a bit of snapless offset adjustment:

Spoiler

Doors open.

Doors closed. Only the very corner of the seats 'poke' through, which does not affect the shielding.

Subassembly file: https://kerbalx.com/swjr-swis/2-seat-125m-bay

More pics on the above link.

 

2 hours ago, katateochi said:

Unlike a command pod that goes poof taking everyone inside it with it, make shift cockpits crumple (kinda), the external parts take the impact and even in some truly spectacular nose dives into the ground, the pilot was only slightly dazed (as opposed to slightly dead).

My experience is that service bays (and fairings) tend to have the same results: being destroyed before the kerbals in a crash tends to make the kerbals survive the ordeal. Not always, but definitely adds to the survival rate.

Edited June 23, 2018 by swjr-swis
image link

[ARS]

Better yet, stack 4 or 5 of those donut tanks on top of each other, put oscar-B on the bottom and an engine, put a cap on the other side, and the hollow room inside is enough for a single command seat for a kerbal to sit inside (If you click "board", they'll teleport, already sitting inside. If you "leave seat", they'll clipped and teleported outside). Just found out this morning when I'm thinking that if the donut tanks can be used like lifebuoy, why can't I have kerbal sit inside?

Edited June 23, 2018 by ARS