The KSC Rocket Hover Race: Hover around the VAB on rocket thrust

[Klapaucius]

I don't think I qualify for anything because I went over the altitude limit a few times and did not manage to land right on the launch pad.  Considering how long it took me to learn to fly this thing and the fact that landing is a bear, I'm just stoked I made it. I could make quite a long video of my fails.

 

I present "Sophocles"  Like good Greek Tragedy, those involved will likely die.  This is a solid rocket VTOL, so  I had to get creative to adjust the thrust. It just barely has enough juice to make it around the course.  The initial TWR is 1.15 but by the time the fuel runs out, it is  over 3, so it gets much harder to slow down. 

I actually built it on a whim and then noticed this challenge pop up in the recent activity list, so I figured I would give it a go. I have a variant for the Mun, and it works brilliantly in low gravity, plus it has a lot more endurance.

2:00 starting to landing.

 

 

[vyznev]

2 hours ago, Klapaucius said:

I don't think I qualify for anything because I went over the altitude limit a few times and did not manage to land right on the launch pad.  Considering how long it took me to learn to fly this thing and the fact that landing is a bear, I'm just stoked I made it. I could make quite a long video of my fails.

I present "Sophocles"  Like good Greek Tragedy, those involved will likely die.  This is a solid rocket VTOL, so  I had to get creative to adjust the thrust. It just barely has enough juice to make it around the course.  The initial TWR is 1.15 but by the time the fuel runs out, it is  over 3, so it gets much harder to slow down.

That's bloody insane! You did skirt a few of the rules a bit there, but the sheer craziness of your contraption definitely deserves at least an honorary mention.

[ralanboyle]

9 hours ago, Klapaucius said:

I don't think I qualify for anything because I went over the altitude limit a few times and did not manage to land right on the launch pad.  Considering how long it took me to learn to fly this thing and the fact that landing is a bear, I'm just stoked I made it. I could make quite a long video of my fails.

 

I present "Sophocles"  Like good Greek Tragedy, those involved will likely die.  This is a solid rocket VTOL, so  I had to get creative to adjust the thrust. It just barely has enough juice to make it around the course.  The initial TWR is 1.15 but by the time the fuel runs out, it is  over 3, so it gets much harder to slow down. 

I actually built it on a whim and then noticed this challenge pop up in the recent activity list, so I figured I would give it a go. I have a variant for the Mun, and it works brilliantly in low gravity, plus it has a lot more endurance.

2:00 starting to landing.

 

 

Love it

[Klapaucius]

PS.

If anyone wants to give Sophocles a go, it is up on KerbalX (with a few added safety features, like parachutes).

https://kerbalx.com/Klapaucius/Sophocles-Solid-Fuel-VTOL

[ralanboyle]

1 hour ago, Klapaucius said:

PS.

If anyone wants to give Sophocles a go, it is up on KerbalX (with a few added safety features, like parachutes).

https://kerbalx.com/Klapaucius/Sophocles-Solid-Fuel-VTOL

I'm not man enough for that. 

[sturmhauke]

SRBs on hinges

"safety features"

LOL

[Klapaucius]

54 minutes ago, ralanboyle said:

I'm not man enough for that. 

Says the man who flew a pile of sticks around the VAB in 18 seconds...

[DRAG0Nmon]

My first attempt didn't go too well

Poor Pables

[DRAG0Nmon]

But the 4th attempt did! 2 minutes 22 seconds

Full album here: https://imgur.com/a/aNfyiuH

[jshu]

Is this challenge still open for submissions @vyznev?

Since I am a programmer but a terrible pilot, I decided to try a different approach for this challenge: I automated the whole flight using robotic parts and a KAL controller. This allowed much more aggressive optimizations because you can precisely control the whole flight and do not have to account for pilot errors. By doing that, I got around the VAB in 16 seconds!

The whole thing works by setting the probe SAS to Radial out and rotating the horizontal engine with a servo. You can see the KAL controller tracks at the beginning of the video. Additionally, here is an Imgur album showing the previous versions. Some of these used hinges instead of a servo:

https://imgur.com/a/k45HViC

Unfortunately, KSPs' physics calculations do not seem to be deterministic, so the whole thing is somewhat unreliable. Recording this video took about 5 tries. It often lands (or crashes) somewhere next to the launchpad.

Also, while this entry does not seem to be against the rules of this challenge (this is neither scripting nor an autopilot mod, it's just stock SAS with some robotic parts) it does violate the spirit of a piloting challenge, so it's definitely OK for me if you don't want to put it onto the main leaderboard.

But I like automation and I wanted to see if it could be done . Thanks for the challenge!

[ralanboyle]

1 hour ago, jshu said:

Is this challenge still open for submissions @vyznev?

Since I am a programmer but a terrible pilot, I decided to try a different approach for this challenge: I automated the whole flight using robotic parts and a KAL controller. This allowed much more aggressive optimizations because you can precisely control the whole flight and do not have to account for pilot errors. By doing that, I got around the VAB in 16 seconds!

The whole thing works by setting the probe SAS to Radial out and rotating the horizontal engine with a servo. You can see the KAL controller tracks at the beginning of the video. Additionally, here is an Imgur album showing the previous versions. Some of these used hinges instead of a servo:

https://imgur.com/a/k45HViC

Unfortunately, KSPs' physics calculations do not seem to be deterministic, so the whole thing is somewhat unreliable. Recording this video took about 5 tries. It often lands (or crashes) somewhere next to the launchpad.

Also, while this entry does not seem to be against the rules of this challenge (this is neither scripting nor an autopilot mod, it's just stock SAS with some robotic parts) it does violate the spirit of a piloting challenge, so it's definitely OK for me if you don't want to put it onto the main leaderboard.

But I like automation and I wanted to see if it could be done . Thanks for the challenge!

Holy love! That is awesome! Of course I'm going to have to come back to this challenge now that you have beaten me but I'm impressed. As a professional pilot who now flies highly automated systems which require zero manual input from me, I respect the progression from manual flight to robotics! 

[Klapaucius]

3 hours ago, jshu said:

Since I am a programmer but a terrible pilot, I decided to try a different approach for this challenge: I automated the whole flight using robotic parts and a KAL controller. This allowed much more aggressive optimizations because you can precisely control the whole flight and do not have to account for pilot errors. By doing that, I got around the VAB in 16 seconds!

The whole thing works by setting the probe SAS to Radial out and rotating the horizontal engine with a servo. You can see the KAL controller tracks at the beginning of the video. Additionally, here is an Imgur album showing the previous versions. Some of these used hinges instead of a servo:

 

There should be a thread called "submission of the month" for a single, standout post. This is brilliant! @St4rdust One for the Twitter feed?

[vyznev]

11 hours ago, jshu said:

Is this challenge still open for submissions @vyznev?

Since I am a programmer but a terrible pilot, I decided to try a different approach for this challenge: I automated the whole flight using robotic parts and a KAL controller. This allowed much more aggressive optimizations because you can precisely control the whole flight and do not have to account for pilot errors. By doing that, I got around the VAB in 16 seconds!

Well, that was unexpected. And your entry does indeed appear to be perfectly valid under the challenge rules, too.

I'm not 100% sure whether to just give you first place in the general category or to start a whole new category for fully automated craft. I guess I'll put you in general for now, and think about possible new categories if and when more robotic entries show up. (I'm also wondering, if I do make a new category, whether I should allow kOS in it.)

In any case, thanks for the awesome entry, and congratulations on taking first place!

[jshu]

Wow, thanks a lot to you all for so much overwhelmingly positive feedback! Really didn't expect that...

15 hours ago, Klapaucius said:

There should be a thread called "submission of the month" for a single, standout post. This is brilliant! @St4rdust One for the Twitter feed?

7 hours ago, vyznev said:

I'm also wondering, if I do make a new category, whether I should allow kOS in it.

I don't know exactly what kOS can or cannot do but if it can somehow read the current coordinates of the craft then you could actually guide it towards its target instead of simply using a timed sequence of control inputs, which should make it much more reliable. Also, you could probably get even better times because you can increase TWR even further without running into stability problems.

Might give it a try next weekend, but no promises .