Refueling aircraft on the ground. halp?

[scotty93]

Sup guise.

Do you bother to refuel spaceplanes once their fuel is gone?

I want to have some kind of fuel truck that I can drop from orbit to refuel used airplanes, but I can't seem to make a design that doesn't partially explode as soon as they dock, or will even dock at all..

I also know there are mods for stuff like this, but I would like to do this in stock.

Soooo, I was hoping for some inspiration from you guys. How would you make a craft/system like this?

Edited May 17, 2013 by scotty93

[TooManyErrors]

You could create a vehicle with Clamp-o-tron Jr. on it, and add other at the same height on the vehicle that you are refueling. Thats what I do.

I would give screenshots but I can't use my main computer at the moment.

[Dictator Dan]

You could create a vehicle with Clamp-o-tron Jr. on it, and add other at the same height on the vehicle that you are refueling. Thats what I do.

This. Also, test on Kerbin before you deploy the system anywhere, otherwise you might risk it being just barely off, and then useless.

[scotty93]

You could create a vehicle with Clamp-o-tron Jr. on it, and add other at the same height on the vehicle that you are refueling. Thats what I do.

That's what I do too, but my planes like exploding just after it docks. Have you had that problem?

[loppnessmonsta]

I've been working on Kerbin rescue vehicles, and one of the concepts I came up with was a rover that had rockets. the idea was, I'd drop this rover from orbit as close to the guys needing rescue as possible, then drive it a bit, then drop more fuel. I was going to use KAS to refuel it. Just get it close, attach the nozzle, etc. But that would have been tedious and I got tired of the rescue mission scenario so I just ended the flight I was trying to rescue.

[Spatzimaus]

Here are a few ways.

1> As they've said, put a Jr. port on everything, and make sure they're at exactly the right height. Once the vessels are linked, you can transfer fuel.

2> Download the Kerbal Attachment System mod, which adds winches and fuel connectors. Only works in a gravity well, or when you can EVA the connector over. On a surface, this allows you to drop a connector from directly above the destination port, which means you don't need to be precise with positioning of the ports in your initial designs.

3> Download the Quantum Fuel Transfer mod. Similar to #2, but with less parts involved.

4> Download the robotic arm mod. The Buran arm weighs 0.5 tons, and once connected to the other vessel you can transfer fuel through it. It's kinda cheating, though.

5> Make a design that can "squat", to link up vertically aligned docking ports similar to #2. The easiest way is to make a wheeled rover, and then add some folding landing legs to it; you drive near the vessel you want to refuel, then activate/deactivate the legs to raise/lower the rover to make up any minor height differences. This can be designed to work either from above (raise the rover up, pull the spaceplane in underneath, then lower) or below (put a "tongue" on the rover, drive it underneath, then use the legs to raise it until they connect), but the heights have to be very close for this to work. Note that you can combine this with a non-fuel winch from the KAS mod to make up larger height differences, but the basic concept can be done with stock parts. (Also, by retracting landing gear you can make up larger height differences, especially if you use the Modular Multiwheels for landing gear instead of the stock wheels.)

There are more, but that's a good start.

[katateochi]

^^ what Spatzimaus said, but I'd suggest the KAS is the way forward for on land refuelling. The fact you have to get out and run a 'fuel' line over is quite nice. And your fuel truck can carry spare transferable docking ports that a kerbal can bolt onto anything that you want to refuel, so you don't even have to plan ahead for something to be refuelled.

[B787_300]

KAS, the quantum mod, and Lazor System are all good options.

I have a rover that can squat and raise with the MOdular Multiwheels mod that i use to conect to docking ports on top of everything...

[georgTF]

Sometimes it works.

Sometimes things go boom for no rhyme nor reason...

I suspect that if two heavy craft are connected with lightweight pieces, the CoM will shift towards the middle of the joined craft and probably end up near weak, lightweight pieces. Somehow pulling and torsion occurs and the whole thing just twists itslef into a pile of debris.

But just like planes that steer themselves for no real reason, sometimes you will build a craft that refuses to behave when docked to a fuel rover. It does help if you align docking ports as perfectly as you can.

Refuelling spaceplanes is not really worth it at KSC because they cant steer well and you might as well just end mission and take off another one. On other worlds though, planes that can refuel would be pretty awsome.

[B787_300]

Honestly we need like a full Airport Tarmac...

[lobsterbark]

Just use KAS. Its does not cause any angle, or height, or docking concerns.

[bsalis]

My docking system is pretty simple, mod free and explosion free.

I just put the docking port on the nose. The tanker has the port very slightly lower. Notice how they don't quite match up...

Then I just retract the landing gear to lower it into place...

Work fine elsewhere too...

[Macenzie]

Try the Kerbal Attachment System mod, you can transfer fuel with the winch if done correctly