can we make a plan who drop things ?

[ombrero]

hi, 

 

i would like to know if it's possible to make a plane who drop object/science sonde at 4km altitude.

i tried and, even with parachute, my sonde keep crashing at the ground

[Gargamel]

Hi there @ombrero!

Yup, attach a probe core to the dropped experiments, make it a probe unto itself, and the dropped experiments should survive.   Of course, you have to make sure the parachute you are using is strong enough to safely land the pod. 

 

And this has been moved to Gameplay Questions.

[ombrero]

i did this, the second vessel is seen by the game as a probe. i put 3 parachute, (for a really light probe) but when i open the map a check the probe, i see it going to 170 m/s), if i take control of it, it goes at 3m/s (and return to 170 if i come back on the plane)

[VoidSquid]

Reminds of a mod I've seen (though never used myself):

 

[Caerfinon]

Another good one for this is Survey transponder. You get a probe and a float for water and a storage unit you can pack science into. Drops very nicely from a plane and you can track it's progress as it lands from your plane.

 

[K^2]

59 minutes ago, ombrero said:

i did this, the second vessel is seen by the game as a probe. i put 3 parachute, (for a really light probe) but when i open the map a check the probe, i see it going to 170 m/s), if i take control of it, it goes at 3m/s (and return to 170 if i come back on the plane)

Yeah, certain physics updates, like parachutes, are only applied to vessels within a short distance from one that you have active. I don't know if there's a way to extend that with any mods. The only way I know of solving this proper is to simply switch to the probe until it lands.

[ombrero]

is there a risk that, if i switch to the probe, the plane loose his control ? or can he fly without my help ?

 

[fourfa]

In KSP there's a "fine physics bubble" of 2.3km around the active craft.  Inside that bubble, physics events like chutes opening, drag effects, solar panel EC charge etc get calculated even for craft other than the one you're flying.  As you move away from a probe, some of these stop being calculated.  For instance as you fly away from your drop probe, I would not be surprised if KSP stops modeling aero entirely and the probe plummets without deploying chutes at all.  Even worse, entire craft that are in flight in atmosphere just get deleted when they're more than 25km (I think?) away. 

The solution is to drop the probe, throttle down, and circle around it until chutes deploy and it lands safely.  I wouldn't change focus to the probe at all, just stay within that 2.3km bubble.  Once it's safely landed, it's safe to leave the area and eventually come back to the probe via the tracking station.  I do this all the time with plane-dropped relay stations, rovers, etc.

Another solution would be for KSP to model fine physics to a larger bubble, or to all craft - people on potato computers would not like this solution.  But if you're able to use mods, it is possible to increase the fine-physics bubble size on your install, or control both craft sequentially after the fact.

Edited January 5, 2021 by fourfa

[ombrero]

thank you all, i succeeded to land a probe by flying at 600m altitude at 100m/s.

but i think i'll try the mods, it'll be easier i guess