Journey to Kerbin's South Pole in a VTOL Dropship

[SkyFall2489]

Hi!

This is my first ever mission report. Here, my goal is to fly a small drop-ship craft to the south pole of Kerbin. As it doesn't have enough range to fly all at once, I'll be refueling it along the way.

The idea behind this mission was that I wanted to travel across Kerbin, but rovers were too slow, and large aircraft would just zip over all the interesting stuff at high speed and not be able to enjoy the view.

So, here is the ship I will use to fly this mission - presenting, the Knat!

The Knat has two Juno engines on rotating side pods, and a Spark engine on the underside for a rapid burst of precisely throttled thrust when I need it, such as for landing.

There is a clamp-o-tron jr on the back for refueling or carrying.

The engine pods can rotate from vertical to forward, allowing minimzation of body drag and letting the Knat reach speeds of up to 220 meters per second.

Thanks to the Spark engine and the vehicle's small size, the Knat is capable of hovering with reasonable precision, for landing on helipads or on ships.

 

Mods installed:

I have Kerbin Side Remastered and a few other KK things, both to visit and so I have a specific destination to navigate to at the south pole.

 

In my next post, I'll either set off from the KSC or show my refueling vehicle, which currently needs a little work.

 

Oh, and this design is VERY heavily inspired by (as in nearly copied from): 

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by SkyFall2489

[Cupcake...]

48 minutes ago, SkyFall2489 said:

Hi!

This is my first ever mission report. Here, my goal is to fly a small drop-ship craft to the south pole of Kerbin. As it doesn't have enough range to fly all at once, I'll be refueling it along the way.

The idea behind this mission was that I wanted to travel across Kerbin, but rovers were too slow, and large aircraft would just zip over all the interesting stuff at high speed and not be able to enjoy the view.

So, here is the ship I will use to fly this mission - presenting, the Knat!

The Knat has two Juno engines on rotating side pods, and a Spark engine on the underside for a rapid burst of precisely throttled thrust when I need it, such as for landing.

There is a clamp-o-tron jr on the back for refueling or carrying.

The engine pods can rotate from vertical to forward, allowing minimzation of body drag and letting the Knat reach speeds of up to 220 meters per second.

Thanks to the Spark engine and the vehicle's small size, the Knat is capable of hovering with reasonable precision, for landing on helipads or on ships.

 

Mods installed:

I have Kerbin Side Remastered and a few other KK things, both to visit and so I have a specific destination to navigate to at the south pole.

 

In my next post, I'll either set off from the KSC or show my refueling vehicle, which currently needs a little work.

 

Oh, and this design is VERY heavily inspired by (as in nearly copied from): 

 

Good luck with your mission. God speed! 

 

Cupcake...

[SkyFall2489]

10 minutes ago, Cupcake... said:

Good luck with your mission. God speed! 

 

Cupcake...

One thing, 

I noticed most of your twin-Juno dropships have 2 sparks for rocket assist, while mine has only one. Am I likely to regret this? One seems enough for precision hover, but I'm worried about emergency situations in which one Spark simply isn't enough power.

[Cupcake...]

34 minutes ago, SkyFall2489 said:

One thing, 

I noticed most of your twin-Juno dropships have 2 sparks for rocket assist, while mine has only one. Am I likely to regret this? One seems enough for precision hover, but I'm worried about emergency situations in which one Spark simply isn't enough power.

I think you'll be alright, but if in doubt test.

 

Cupcake...

[SkyFall2489]

Here is the carrier plane. It can refuel the Knat, or haul it if necessary. It will fly behind the Knat, refueling it. Jeb and Val will take turns flying the Knat and carrier plane on the way to the south pole.

I'm not sure exactly what route to take. I know I need to launch from the KSC, and reach Kermundsen at the south pole.

Ideas:

1. KSC -> Jeb's Junkyard -> Cape Kerman -> Meeda -> Uberdam -> Baikerbanur -> Kojave -> Dessert Airfield -> South Field -> Kermundsen

2. KSC -> Island Airfield -> Kola Island -> Sandy Island -> Harvester Airfield -> Kermundsen

3. KSC -> Jeb's Junkyard -> Cape Kerman -> Meeda -> Uberdam -> Woomerang -> Nye -> Round Range -> Dununda -> Kermundsen

4. KSC -> Jeb's Junkyard -> Cape Kerman -> Meeda -> Uberdam -> Woomerang -> Nye -> Round Range -> South Lake -> Area 15 -> Kermundsen

5. KSC -> Jeb's Junkyard -> Cape Kerman -> Meeda -> Uberdam -> Baikerbanur -> Kojave -> Dessert Airfield -> Hazard Shallows -> Dusty Island -> Dununda -> Kermundsen

 

Some legs of every route will be longer than the range of the Knat, and will need refueling along the way. In this case, the Knat will land just before it runs out of fuel, the Carrier Plane will land next to it, and the Knat will take on more fuel and continue.

Alternatively, I could install more airports. Maybe I'll try that.

[SkyFall2489]

Okay. I installed all the airports I could find, and now I should be able to "wing" most legs of the journey, and hopefully not have to land in the middle of nowhere too often.

[SkyFall2489]

Leg One: KSC -> Jeb's Junkyard

So, here goes!

Images:

(I'm using Google Drive to host them in this weird way, so all the images are one)

Spoiler

1. the Knat and Carrier Plane

2. taking off...

3. just #2, I accidentally took 2 screenshots

4. Beginning flight to Jeb's Junkyard

5. took 2 screenshots again

6. transitioning to cruise mode, for more speed and more fuel economy

7. through the mountains

8. empty expanse of grasslands

9. destination in sight!

10. Coming in for landing...

11. Final approach...

12. Landed!

I refueled the Knat with fuel bought from the truck at the junkyard, but Jeb's doesn't carry any Oxidizer, so I'll need to pick some up at the next stop. Oxidizer isn't used in flight, but it's helpful for not crashing while landing. I should still have enough for several landings before I need to refill it.

Next stop: Either Booster Flats Local or Manhattan, both airports are on the same island. I should check with whether they overlap, it could cause some issues...