Unpowered re-entry glider, transforming into a rover when landed

[esd]

Probably easy for most, but I enjoyed doing this, so I'm throwing it out to see what others do with it.

Build an unpowered re-entry glider that turns into a rover when it lands.

Criteria:

Must not have any engines (including RCS, ion, antigrav, whatever) when it enters the atmosphere.

Must be flyable in the target atmosphere to select a suitable landing site.

Once landed, lose it's flight ability to perform rover duties on rover wheels.

Manned, unmanned, your choice (I did it unmanned).

Should carry scientific instruments!

No parachutes! (That's not gliding anyway)

Mods allowed (I used Mechjeb), but say which you use!

Pick a planet. I used Eve because of it's juicy atmosphere.

How I did it:

Built the glider, added a propulsion section and got that into orbit. Docked another propulsion module to the back of it, and flew the lot to Eve. Re-entered, found somewhere to land, landed on the rover wheels and then ejected the wings.

Pics:

Re-entry:

Landing:

Converted rover:

Prizes... um, there's no physical prize. Sorry about that.

Ev-ervescent First to complete on Eve. Claimed by SketchyGalore!

Duna Cup First to complete on Duna. Claimed by Francesco!

Lathe Trophy First to complete on Lathe. (Unclaimed)

Thimble of Glory Least parts (but must have all 4 instruments and at least 1 ariel!)

Thor's Goblet Biggest glider (by parts: (Unclaimed) by weight: (unclaimed))

Silly Stick Zaniest, silliest, glider/rover thing. Determined by "lol"s or "holy hell"s (unclaimed)

(To claim the size parts/weights prizes, make sure you give the number of parts or mass of the glider (before roverfication on the surface))

Proof required: Just screenshots in a similar vein to mine. If there's any real dispute (unlikely), you can always post your .craft

Edited May 4, 2013 by esd

[bulletrhli]

Working on this right now!

[Francesco]

bet I can build a micro one... sign me up!

[bulletrhli]

I have designed everything, it is GORGEOUS. But I made it interesting, this will be my first ever recorded challenge entry. Will I fail? Who knows.. watch the video and find out!

http://youtu.be/ZubzP6s6vDU

Edited May 3, 2013 by bulletrhli

[bulletrhli]

My video is up! I hope you enjoy my challenge entry!

[esd]

Nice tries! Love the dual-glider thing, especially trying to control them both (keeping them within 2km of each other would be very hard). The monoprop aboard each one - that for balance, or is there a sneaky RCS thruster on there...? I didn't even think of a tricycle rover using a landing gear for the third wheel.

"You can't land with rover wheels" - Oh yes you can! (See screenshots above!) You just have to land very... slowly (one of the reasons my run used Eve. I think the maximum horizontal speed on those wheels is around 60m/s before they break).

Planning on going extra-Kerbin?

[bulletrhli]

Nice tries! Love the dual-glider thing, especially trying to control them both (keeping them within 2km of each other would be very hard). The monoprop aboard each one - that for balance, or is there a sneaky RCS thruster on there...? I didn't even think of a tricycle rover using a landing gear for the third wheel.

Thanks, It took a long time to make XD and yes, it was very frustrating keeping them close to each other, but, I like to go above and beyond on my challenges. As for the monopropellant, it was strictly for balancing and I can provide the craft files if you would like and the tricycle idea was mainly for aesthetics, because two wheels on a point.. just.. well it ain't right.

"You can't land with rover wheels" - Oh yes you can! (See screenshots above!) You just have to land very... slowly (one of the reasons my run used Eve. I think the maximum horizontal speed on those wheels is around 60m/s before they break).

Planning on going extra-Kerbin?

See, you need to understand my flying skills, slow for me is 100m/s, I am a rocket scientist, not a flight doctor! I may take it over to Eve, or maybe Duna, I think Duna would be more appealing to my tastes. We will see!

[SketchyGalore]

This is my first try doing a challenge, so my apologies if I did anything wrong. It's also the first time I took a flight to Eve, and I was so excited it worked out, I had to run and post here

I did use the following mods:

Mechjeb (just for orbital alignment help)

KW Rocketry (for the launcher)

I might have used some things from B9 Aerospace or Firespitter (my selection is a little cluttered so it's hard to tell), but I tried to stick to stock parts where possible.

The glider/rover assembly (1.95 tons)

Separation from rocket

Entering the atmosphere (hit the dark side, sorry in advance for the hard to see images )

Landing

Landed! (I'm hoping the landing gear isn't against the rules)

SUCCESS!!

Edited May 4, 2013 by SketchyGalore

[esd]

Landing gear is just fine, as long as it still has powered wheels for roving (which you have). So far you're both the lightest and the heaviest, so we'll have to wait until some more show up to see where it actually ranks, but that's certainly an Ev-ervescent award!

[Francesco]

as promised, here's the micro Rover/Glider:

it uses the LRV-style wheels as landing gear due to their higher max speed (60 m/s).

wheels, wings and the two forward facing braking/stability helpers are attached to the side decouplers, and jettisoned (literally) once the craft comes to a full stop:

http://imgur.com/a/TBbsF#0

I therefore claim the Duna Cup!

[esd]

That is pretty awesome, almost like a rickshaw! Also reminds me of Robot Wars. Not sure why!

Definitely a valid claim for the Duna Cup!