interstage fairing not working

[Laie]

So I have, in that order, a 2.5m ore tank, a standard docking port, and a 2.5m fairing base. The sole purpose of the fairing is to cover up for the docking port. I can build it alright, however, it doesn't work in flight.

When I turn on the AeroData I see tank above has ridiculous drag, and the docking port is labeled "Shielded: No".

The fairing gives me some leeway for where to close it; by now I think I've tried every point between the boundaries where closing the fairing is possible. The result is always the same: drag-wise, it's wholly useless.

Known problem? Workaround?

[AeroGav]

I think you would have to put the docking port inside the fairing - ore tank, then fairing base,  then docking port.   If the docking port is attached to another docking port, you need to make sure the fairing encloses both.   Once in space, you can jettison the fairing and undock/redock as many times as you need.

 

The "shielded : no" is not reliable - i've seen it on components that were inside a service bay, and the drag readout on those items was showing 0.   I think it's meant for indicating when a component is disabled due to it being inside a bay - some things like batteries are just fine being inside, others like antennas, air intakes and landing gears need to be able to go " hello world"

[bewing]

Agreed wtih AeroGav that the "Shielded: No" is (almost?) never reliable. It seems that the reliable number is to turn on "Aero data in Action Menus" in the Debug Menu. Then open the context menus for those parts while in flight and look at the Drag value.

Are you running a modded game? What version?

I just tried in 1.4.5 and it's working correctly. I can post a pic to prove it.

Edited October 8, 2018 by bewing

[Laie]

That "shielded" is no reasonable indicator is something I learned before, possibly several times, but tend to forget.

On 10/8/2018 at 8:48 PM, bewing said:

Are you running a modded game? What version?

Yes, modded, and in this particular case even 1.4.4 -- don't ask. For whatever reason, it seems to be a persistent issue in my install. The vessel has gone through countless iterations and as best I can tell, the high drag has been with me since I first added that fairing.

Designing around the problem has increased the performance considerably, opening the way for another round of major revisions.