Working on a crazy Eve ascent vehicle

[nhnifong]

Meet the 7th Generation Electric Heli-Rocket.

[Dictator Dan]

Will the solar panels withstand Eves atmosphere and gravity?

[bigdad84]

Will the solar panels withstand Eves atmosphere and gravity?

They should as long as you're going straight up.

[Specialist290]

Don't forget to plaster the fuselage with the static ones, just in case.

[FlamedSteak]

Will the solar panels withstand Eves atmosphere and gravity?

I know I've had them break off when I extended them during a 6m/s decent on Eve.

[Deadweasel]

Von Braun would be proud.

[nhnifong]

ZOMG I put it in orbit and attached a tug

[Mekan1k]

Damn. That's.... Epic. Seriously.

[nhnifong]

my ship is tempting fate with wild oscillations so Im updating to 20.2 with my fingers crossed.

EDIT: 20.2 did not help, but the magical forces were found to be within operational limits, after the operational limits were increased and baver pilots were installed.

Edited May 31, 2013 by nhnifong

[nhnifong]

After a 4-pass propulsive orbit capture, i made it to 100 km circular Eve orbit. (aerobraking is too risky on a multiple docked vessel ship, not to mention totally unrealistic)

[nhnifong]

It spins out of control when it enters the atmosphere :/ several revolutions per frame it seems but I can't tell. it always begins spinning extremely fast and tears itself apart.

I would try to shield it, but without some really generous physics magic, its never going to make it to the surface.

[Francesco]

how much electricity do those rotors consume?

on Eve, solar panels should have their energy output doubled.

[nhnifong]

It's more than doubled I think. The rotors consume a different amount of power based on the air. The thicker it is, the more they consume. As I ascend, i gradually throttle up to keep the net energy flow around 0. then as the air thins out, the rotors begin consuming less power and produce less thrust, so I drop solar panel to lighten up. When Im down to the last panel and my vertical speed drops to about 10 m/s, I press the button that decouples all the helicopter parts and leaves just the rocket, and try to make it to orbit. I know I can do it on kerbin with plenty of fuel to spare, but eve is still a mystery.

Speaking of magic, I managed to get it on the ground.

The ascent worked well, but the transition to rocket mode cause a huge explosion as something collided. (i think because I forgot to remove that docking ring while I was in space)

I made it to 17 km on electricity alone though!

[Herman Kerbal]

very impressive, to bad you lost some of the large solar panels due to the explosion

Edited May 31, 2013 by Herman Kerbal