Cupcake's Dropship Dealership...

[Cupcake...]

You're okay with me (briefly) using one of your craft (heavily modified) in this video, right?:

Of course you can! It always gives me a warm feeling inside when you use my craft (great flying BTW). In fact seeing your exploits has also inspired me to create a poodle powered T model (Tug) version of the Matador, which can be used for Minmusing, pushing very heavy vessels along and also moonlighting as a lander. In other news I've gone over the Puff Puff & Moth and with a few small modifications they are now 1.04 certified. To my relief neither vessel needed re-balancing which is always quite a chore! The Moth has lost around 500m/s of DV but not to worry, you've still got another 8,000 left over.

Cupcake...

Edited September 24, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Dafni]

What was the problem with the previous Puff Puff and Moth then? As far as I can tell they worked perfectly fine on my 1.0.4 install. Or at least I believe all the hard landings I did were due to my poor flying skills only

Haven't had that much time to actually fly a Matador around, but I already love it. Thanks for sharing. And the design of your new LVs set off a whole cascade of design ideas here, thank you so much for that too. You have been my biggest inspiration in KSP by far. If it weren't for your VTOL landers I think I would have quit the game by now. You changed the way I look at the VAB/SPH, and now with a functional joystick I can finally work on my flying skills too.

Usually I only fly your crafts for a short while before I start to copy or modify them, and the influence is obvious if you'd look at the stuff I come up with. Your old tutorial was a HUGE eye opener for me.

So good to see you are still at it. Let's enjoy the crafts for as long as they last and hope we're still around when 1.1 lands. Looking forward to all future designs.

cheers

-Daf

[Cupcake...]

What was the problem with the previous Puff Puff and Moth then? As far as I can tell they worked perfectly fine on my 1.0.4 install. Or at least I believe all the hard landings I did were due to my poor flying skills only

Haven't had that much time to actually fly a Matador around, but I already love it. Thanks for sharing. And the design of your new LVs set off a whole cascade of design ideas here, thank you so much for that too. You have been my biggest inspiration in KSP by far. If it weren't for your VTOL landers I think I would have quit the game by now. You changed the way I look at the VAB/SPH, and now with a functional joystick I can finally work on my flying skills too.

Usually I only fly your crafts for a short while before I start to copy or modify them, and the influence is obvious if you'd look at the stuff I come up with. Your old tutorial was a HUGE eye opener for me.

So good to see you are still at it. Let's enjoy the crafts for as long as they last and hope we're still around when 1.1 lands. Looking forward to all future designs.

cheers

-Daf

Wow! Thanks man, that's some of the nicest feedback I've ever had!

What I was worried about with the Moth/Puff Puff was that parts that used to be mass-less now have weight and I thought this would upset the balance of the crafts. As it turned out the balance hasn't been affected, either that or the difference is negligible. I'm really happy you're liking the new LVs BTW as that's something that's never been a strong point of mine.

Anyway, I've got a few more tutorial vids on the way so I hope you enjoy them too. Thanks again.

Cupcake...

Edited September 24, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Dafni]

You're welcome, man. Giving back this kind of feedback is the least I can do. Maybe one day I'll have the balls to actually make a video or even just post a craft-file.

Ah, I see, thanks for clearing the Moth/Puff situation up. Makes sense.

Looking forward to some more CC tutorials indeed, curious how you use the newer building tools and limitations. Bring them on already!

[Cupcake...]

Heh guys,

Just a small update, I've put together a little LV designed to get the Moth to the Jool system.

I'm happy to say it's a real doddle to fly and will get your Moth to a stable 80x80k orbit with plenty of fuel left over for extra cargo/de-orbiting.

Once in orbit you can dock your Moth to the top of the LV, which then separates to give you a kicker stage that'll see you off to the Jool system.

Success! Even with the solar pannel changes the Moth still performs like a charm in the outer reaches of the Jool system.

You can find the craft file here if you want to take it for a spin.

https://goo.gl/wRLdk4

LV INSTRUCTIONS:

Set control to the docking port at the top of the rocket, activate SAS, set full throttle and hit the stage button.

Eject the SRBs and LV drop tanks as soon they become empty.

Once the needle reaches the end of the light blue strip start pitching over on a 90* heading.

By the time the needle gets to the dark blue section you want to be at a 45* angle.

Hold this heading till your apoapsis reaches 40k then gently pitch over and hold course about 5* above the horizon.

Once you apoapsis reaches 80k cut the engines and coast out of the athmosphere.

Circularize then press 0 to open the cargo bay doors.

Undock your moth, and use the RCS thrusters to move it into position onto the docking port at the top of the LV.

Adjust the staging and then seperate the kicker stage, once you use this stage you'll also want to get rid of the remaining RCS in the Moth's cockpit as it will affect the balance of the vessal.

The LV has a probe core and can be de-orbited if and when you choose.

That's it, have fun!

Cupcake...

[linuxgurugamer]

Hi Cupcake,

Have you ever thought about putting your ships up on Kerbalx.com? Would make a nice place to keep all your ships together.

LGG

[Cupcake...]

Hi Cupcake,

Have you ever thought about putting your ships up on Kerbalx.com? Would make a nice place to keep all your ships together.

LGG

I find Dropbox a lot easier for keeping the crafts updates/adding new versions etc.

Cupcake...

[CrashTestDanny]

Hi Cupcake. I recently downloaded your Sprite dropship - one of the coolest looking ships I have seen - but can't seem to get it even up to 15km... I followed the instructions, but I'm doing well to get her up to about 5km before I'm running on fumes... Is it broken in the newer version or am I just doing it wrong?

[Cupcake...]

Hi Cupcake. I recently downloaded your Sprite dropship - one of the coolest looking ships I have seen - but can't seem to get it even up to 15km... I followed the instructions, but I'm doing well to get her up to about 5km before I'm running on fumes... Is it broken in the newer version or am I just doing it wrong?

I'm sorry to say the Sprite is well and truely broken post 1.0.

Cupcake...

[CrashTestDanny]

That is so sad... Really cool design!

[Gilph]

Hey,

Your Bullfrog saved Jeb's life today and helped with my awful fuel station error in Bop (story below).

I noticed on your main post saying Bullfrog had issues in 1.0.4. The only issue I came across is using RCS (usually during docking). It oscillates back and forth constantly and drains fuel very quickly. Otherwise, works wonderfully.

Question: Are the latest versions linked to the first post always? Sometimes there are updates that don't seem to be, and I wanted to make sure I got the latest.

Story: I had 5 contracts for 3.5 mil in career mode to land on Tylo. So, I created a Tylo lander with Jeb and got him to orbit around Tylo. After some stupid fuel routing that prevented me from returning to orbit, and thinking Jeb is stranded on the surface, I managed some creative manual fuel routing and got him into an 12K orbit with 150 deltav to spare. I used it to get to a 70k orbit, but he is now out of fuel and needs to be rescued. My only choices in this version are a space station in Bop that can house Kerbals but out of fuel, and my ISRU station in Pol, which has fuel but no Kerbal habitat. Other than sending a 3 year rescue mission, what do I do?

After a bunch of bad decisions to get to this state, I did make one good one...I previously sent a Bullfrog to Jool orbit.

So, I went to the Bop station and dropped off the pilot already in the bullfrog. Went to Pol to refuel. Rendezvous with Jeb around Tylo and brought him back to the Bop station. I have my Intersteller Taxi (the excellent Heinlein craft from Rune) already on the way to Jool, and he will drop off a scientist to the station and pick up Jeb and the other pilot to return to Kerbin.

Now, it is attached to my ISRU station around Bop, which sways so badly I cant dock my ore lander anymore. It keeps it nice and steady and things can get fuelled again.

Thanks again for the great craft.

[Cupcake...]

Hey,

Your Bullfrog saved Jeb's life today and helped with my awful fuel station error in Bop (story below).

I noticed on your main post saying Bullfrog had issues in 1.0.4. The only issue I came across is using RCS (usually during docking). It oscillates back and forth constantly and drains fuel very quickly. Otherwise, works wonderfully.

Question: Are the latest versions linked to the first post always? Sometimes there are updates that don't seem to be, and I wanted to make sure I got the latest.

Story: I had 5 contracts for 3.5 mil in career mode to land on Tylo. So, I created a Tylo lander with Jeb and got him to orbit around Tylo. After some stupid fuel routing that prevented me from returning to orbit, and thinking Jeb is stranded on the surface, I managed some creative manual fuel routing and got him into an 12K orbit with 150 deltav to spare. I used it to get to a 70k orbit, but he is now out of fuel and needs to be rescued. My only choices in this version are a space station in Bop that can house Kerbals but out of fuel, and my ISRU station in Pol, which has fuel but no Kerbal habitat. Other than sending a 3 year rescue mission, what do I do?

After a bunch of bad decisions to get to this state, I did make one good one...I previously sent a Bullfrog to Jool orbit.

So, I went to the Bop station and dropped off the pilot already in the bullfrog. Went to Pol to refuel. Rendezvous with Jeb around Tylo and brought him back to the Bop station. I have my Intersteller Taxi (the excellent Heinlein craft from Rune) already on the way to Jool, and he will drop off a scientist to the station and pick up Jeb and the other pilot to return to Kerbin.

Now, it is attached to my ISRU station around Bop, which sways so badly I cant dock my ore lander anymore. It keeps it nice and steady and things can get fuelled again.

Thanks again for the great craft.

Glad to hear you got Jeb home safe and sound! In answer to your question you can always find my latest crafts on the front page of this thread. Generally with a new craft I'll do a pre-release on my main page so people can help me fix any issues/design flaws. After this the craft will generally get it's own thread + video. The Bulldog should work fine in 1.04 but I'm afraid I haven't really had a chance to test it. Saying that I'm working on a new model which is kind of special.

Looks like a regular Bulldog right? Well pop the hood and you'll find a scanner suite and ISRU...

...there's also a drill at the back, you can probably see where I'm going with this right?

This model has a particulary tough brief, it has to able to land on Tylo, do its mining bit and get back to orbit in one stage! The same goes for Duna. In addition to this it has to be able to refuel other craft in the fleet such as the Matador here:

So far it's putting out 3.5k of Delta V (Approx 4k+ with Ore) which should give plenty of milage between fuel stops. Coming soon!

Cupcake...

[Dafni]

In addition to this it has to be able to refuel other craft in the fleet such as the Matador here:

Now this is very neat indeed! Beats the stationary refueling rig I built on all levels

[Gilph]

Really nice...looking to post my drilling landers as soon as I learn to post and link. They are ugly as sin, unfortunately. Just opened a kerbalx account instead of dropbox.....

Anyway, have tested bulldog pretty thoroughly on a clean 1.0.4. The oscillating issue under RCS is the only real issue, meaning the verniers in the nose and tail constantly puff up and down, about twice a second. Uses a lot of fuel if you are not paying attention. Seems like it thinks it's unbalanced in some way and trying to correct. The only other point is that it has no SAS if unmanned, so I used the mechjeb autopilots to compensate.

[Iago]

Cupcake, do you have any SSTOs for 1.0.4? Or just jet-powered dropships in general?

[Cupcake...]

Really nice...looking to post my drilling landers as soon as I learn to post and link. They are ugly as sin, unfortunately. Just opened a kerbalx account instead of dropbox.....

Anyway, have tested bulldog pretty thoroughly on a clean 1.0.4. The oscillating issue under RCS is the only real issue, meaning the verniers in the nose and tail constantly puff up and down, about twice a second. Uses a lot of fuel if you are not paying attention. Seems like it thinks it's unbalanced in some way and trying to correct. The only other point is that it has no SAS if unmanned, so I used the mechjeb autopilots to compensate.

Feel free to post some pics of your designs here if you like. Glad you're getting on with the Bulldog, I should give it some TLC sometime, I've just been a bit busy working on new designs.

Cupcake, do you have any SSTOs for 1.0.4? Or just jet-powered dropships in general?

Not at the moment I'm afraid, although there are some nice looking jet engines coming with the next update so I might try building some more soon.

In other news folks while the Bulldog has adapted well to it's role as a mining dropship, I've decided to start from scratch and build a custom vessel designed specially for the task.

I also got rather obsessed about making a dropship with a side opening cargo hatch despite it causing no end of design headaches!

Despite appearances this craft is in fact 100% balanced. No really!

Coming soon!

Cupcake...

Edited September 30, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Dafni]

Very unconventional design. I like it!

[Cupcake...]

CRAFT FILE:

https://goo.gl/pizBoh

CONTROLS:

1 - Toggle Engines

5 - Undock Rear Port

7 - Cut Chute

8 - Activate Trunk Stage

9 - Toggle Ladder

0 - Reduce Reaction Wheel Torque (For Navball Drift)

ABORT - Undock/De-Couple Top Port

NOTES:

The Scythe can suffer from "Navball drift" due to strong reaction wheel torque. If you find the craft drifting off course during maneuvers then press 0 to deactivate the primary reaction wheel.

LV OPERATION:

Activate SAS, set full throttle and hit the stage button.

Eject the SRBs and LV drop tanks as soon they become empty.

Once the needle reaches the end of the light blue strip start pitching over on a 90* heading.

By the time the needle gets to the dark blue section you want to be at a 45* angle.

Hold this heading till your apoapsis reaches 40k then gently pitch over and hold course about 5* above the horizon.

Once you apoapsis reaches 80k cut the engines and coast out of the atmosphere.

The SSTO fleet may have been retired but the Scythe lives on in the form of an all new lightweight dropship that's simply perfect for scouting runs.

The craft features a sleek, highly maneuverable unibody design, that puts out just over 4k of Delta V using the standard droptanks (5.6k with long range stage). The craft has been Duna, Mun and Minmus certified. It can even land on Tylo, though you'll have to top up the tanks at a filling station if you want to make it back to orbit again!

The craft comes with a dedicated, easy to use LV which has enough grunt to handle Duna/Jool missions.

Included is a long range "trunk" stage with can act as a portable fueling depot as well as keeping your valuables safe.

As always with these pre-releases there could be a few design issues that I've missed. If you spot any please let me know!

Cupcake...

Edited October 2, 2015 by Cupcake...

[Cupcake...]

...also on the way is the Pickaxe; a brand new design which stuffs everything you need to go mining into a (relatively) light weight, compact frame.

Dropships and mining: A match made in heaven.

The rig is set up to refuel light landers such as the the Scythe which can just roll on up and dock.

Coming soon!

Cupcake...

Edited October 3, 2015 by Cupcake...

[DMSP]

CRAFT FILE:

https://goo.gl/pizBoh

CONTROLS:

1 - Toggle Engines

5 - Undock Rear Port

7 - Cut Chute

8 - Activate Trunk Stage

9 - Toggle Ladder

0 - Reduce Reaction Wheel Torque (For Navball Drift)

ABORT - Undock/De-Couple Top Port

NOTES:

The Scythe can suffer from "Navball drift" due to strong reaction wheel torque. If you find the craft drifting off course during maneuvers then press 0 to deactivate the primary reaction wheel.

LV OPERATION:

Activate SAS, set full throttle and hit the stage button.

Eject the SRBs and LV drop tanks as soon they become empty.

Once the needle reaches the end of the light blue strip start pitching over on a 90* heading.

By the time the needle gets to the dark blue section you want to be at a 45* angle.

Hold this heading till your apoapsis reaches 40k then gently pitch over and hold course about 5* above the horizon.

Once you apoapsis reaches 80k cut the engines and coast out of the atmosphere.

The SSTO fleet may have been retired but the Scythe lives on in the form of an all new lightweight dropship that's simply perfect for scouting runs.

http://i.imgur.com/kd18uTZ.jpg

The craft features a sleek, highly maneuverable unibody design, that puts out just over 4k of Delta V using the standard droptanks (5.6k with long range stage). The craft has been Duna, Mun and Minmus certified. It can even land on Tylo, though you'll have to top up the tanks at a filling station if you want to make it back to orbit again!

http://i.imgur.com/Wab61s8.jpg

The craft comes with a dedicated, easy to use LV which has enough grunt to handle Duna/Jool missions.

http://i.imgur.com/FCJ1Dvh.jpg

Included is a long range "trunk" stage with can act as a portable fueling depot as well as keeping your valuables safe.

http://i.imgur.com/j7QoUp6.jpg

As always with these pre-releases there could be a few design issues that I've missed. If you spot any please let me know!

Cupcake...

http://i.imgur.com/0yLfICv.jpg

It looks like an awesome craft!

When I can, I will download it.

But I have one question. If the trunk is attached, how does the spacecraft goo anywhere and stay stable (I haven't downloaded yet so maybe the trunk has rockets).?

DMSP

[Cupcake...]

It looks like an awesome craft!

When I can, I will download it.

But I have one question. If the trunk is attached, how does the spacecraft goo anywhere and stay stable (I haven't downloaded yet so maybe the trunk has rockets).?

DMSP

Nope, no engines on the trunk. Anyway, I'll give you a hint, it involves undocking.

Cupcake...

[TheLeganderyHero]

CRAFT FILE:

https://goo.gl/pizBoh

CONTROLS:

1 - Toggle Engines

5 - Undock Rear Port

7 - Cut Chute

8 - Activate Trunk Stage

9 - Toggle Ladder

0 - Reduce Reaction Wheel Torque (For Navball Drift)

ABORT - Undock/De-Couple Top Port

NOTES:

The Scythe can suffer from "Navball drift" due to strong reaction wheel torque. If you find the craft drifting off course during maneuvers then press 0 to deactivate the primary reaction wheel.

LV OPERATION:

Activate SAS, set full throttle and hit the stage button.

Eject the SRBs and LV drop tanks as soon they become empty.

Once the needle reaches the end of the light blue strip start pitching over on a 90* heading.

By the time the needle gets to the dark blue section you want to be at a 45* angle.

Hold this heading till your apoapsis reaches 40k then gently pitch over and hold course about 5* above the horizon.

Once you apoapsis reaches 80k cut the engines and coast out of the atmosphere.

The SSTO fleet may have been retired but the Scythe lives on in the form of an all new lightweight dropship that's simply perfect for scouting runs.

http://i.imgur.com/kd18uTZ.jpg

The craft features a sleek, highly maneuverable unibody design, that puts out just over 4k of Delta V using the standard droptanks (5.6k with long range stage). The craft has been Duna, Mun and Minmus certified. It can even land on Tylo, though you'll have to top up the tanks at a filling station if you want to make it back to orbit again!

http://i.imgur.com/Wab61s8.jpg

The craft comes with a dedicated, easy to use LV which has enough grunt to handle Duna/Jool missions.

http://i.imgur.com/FCJ1Dvh.jpg

Included is a long range "trunk" stage with can act as a portable fueling depot as well as keeping your valuables safe.

http://i.imgur.com/j7QoUp6.jpg

As always with these pre-releases there could be a few design issues that I've missed. If you spot any please let me know!

Cupcake...

http://i.imgur.com/0yLfICv.jpg

Awesome design! Wondering though if you'll be realising some fighter VTOL's any time soon, I really liked the old ones you did. They made for some great firing practise!

[linuxgurugamer]

...also on the way is the Pickaxe; a brand new design which stuffs everything you need to go mining into a (relatively) light weight, compact frame.

http://i.imgur.com/CpMLYUR.jpg

Dropships and mining: A match made in heaven.

http://i.imgur.com/RMJppNW.jpg

The rig is set up to refuel light landers such as the the Scythe which can just roll on up and dock.

http://i.imgur.com/pYJuetb.jpg

Coming soon!

Cupcake...

Not pushing, but do you have an ETA on this?

LGG

[Iago]

Ermagherd can't wait for these new crafts!

[Cupcake...]

Awesome design! Wondering though if you'll be realising some fighter VTOL's any time soon, I really liked the old ones you did. They made for some great firing practise!

I think once multiplayer hits I'll get back into making them again. Truth be told though they just don't look as cool since they got rid of the black parts.

Not pushing, but do you have an ETA on this?

LGG

Ermagherd can't wait for these new crafts!

The Pickaxe is ready to go, I've just gotta work on the LV, I'll try and have it out later today. The other larger (still unamed) miner still needs a lot of work though.

Cupcake...