Two stage lander concept with solid landing legs

[Majorjim!]

Hi all,

Just wanted to show off my new two stage lander. I wanted to try and design my own landing struts for this one and I'm chuffed with the results!

Munar descent

You will notice that the 'foot' sinks a little on the surface

Which is fixed by flipping the part, shown here on an earlier model

These legs are nowhere near as forgiving as the stock legs. but if you can land under 5ms then its all good.

Thanks for looking.

MJ

[llamatoes]

There are a few problems with that lander. I love the design, but, having two supports for each leg is a waste of weight, as kep only counts one of the things, sue to the mother child part structure.

You'd be better off just making the legs out of girders, as you want fewer parts, so less things can shear off at the drop of a hat.

[Majorjim!]

There are a few problems with that lander. I love the design, but, having two supports for each leg is a waste of weight, as kep only counts one of the things, sue to the mother child part structure.

You'd be better off just making the legs out of girders, as you want fewer parts, so less things can shear off at the drop of a hat.

I have tried girders, they look terrible. Its just wrong to have what looks like a steel girder on a Mun lander. I should make this clear, the lander is a concept and is more of an exercise in aesthetics than anything else.

I have landed it dozens of times with nothing breaking off or being damaged. Weight is not an issue as she is capable of a powered decent and ascent of the Mun.

Its much more of a challenge using these legs. Not impossible, it just focuses you during those final few meters.

MJ

[Elmetian]

I have tried girders, they look terrible. Its just wrong to have what looks like a steel girder on a Mun lander

Not to mention that the girders have a much higher mass! 1 small girder is 0.1875 tons compared to 0.005 tons for the equivalent length of cubic struts. It might be 16 extra parts, but it's 1.46 tons lighter.

Does the lander's engine draw fuel from those toroidal tanks on the 'feet'? Also, does the lander can decouple from the base and have a separate ascent stage to return to orbit?

[llamatoes]

Not to mention that the girders have a much higher mass! 1 small girder is 0.1875 tons compared to 0.005 tons for the equivalent length of cubic struts. It might be 16 extra parts, but it's 1.46 tons lighter.

The legs would be much stronger if you did it my way, which involves two or three girders for each leg, has less parts, which makes it stronger, and would weigh about as much.

I have tried girders, they look terrible. Its just wrong to have what looks like a steel girder on a Mun lander. I should make this clear, the lander is a concept and is more of an exercise in aesthetics than anything else.

I have landed it dozens of times with nothing breaking off or being damaged. Weight is not an issue as she is capable of a powered decent and landing on the mun.

MJ

I agree that your method does look at lot nicer to compared to mine, but I was thinking from a practical standpoint, and I understand now that you were over engineering for the sake of aesthetics.

[Majorjim!]

Does the lander's engine draw fuel from those toroidal tanks on the 'feet'? Also, does the lander can decouple from the base and have a separate ascent stage to return to orbit?

No. not yet anyway. And, yeah. It is a two stage lander. The two man can detaches and is the ascent stage.

[Jamie Logan]

I don't get all of the negativity. I think this is an amazing design, and I love the fact that landing this vehicle adds an extra challenge to the game, as you need to be more gentle with the touchdown.

[Majorjim!]

I don't get all of the negativity. I think this is an amazing design, and I love the fact that landing this vehicle adds an extra challenge to the game, as you need to be more gentle with the touchdown.

Everyone plays the game differently so its just a misunderstanding. Thanks for the comment Jamie. I'm still tweaking it.

And check out Capt Snugglers SSTO and refuel truck. Its very kewl.

[Urban_K]

You'd be better off just making the legs out of girders, as you want fewer parts, so less things can shear off at the drop of a hat.

I don't agree: If you make legs out of cubic octagonals it can happen you only break off the downmost and then you've got a mostly useful leg left. I use that method for small landers as it's a low mass solution which is stronger than it looks. (See Luun MK4 in .sig for example.)

I think the lander in this thread looks very good and certainly not impractical.

[Ojimak]

Uhhh, it might be useful to point out that the cubic struts are massless and dragless as far as the Kerbal physics engine is concerned, so their usage only affects lag, which doesn't seem to be a problem at all, seeing the quality of the pictures.

Nice ship, by the way.

-Ojimak

[GusTurbo]

That looks great! Very original. I'm a big fan of the Oscar B's around the top.

~Kerbal Aesthetics Krew~

[Majorjim!]

That looks great! Very original. I'm a big fan of the Oscar B's around the top.

~Kerbal Aesthetics Krew~

Cheers Gus. Now to build her a launch vehicle!!

[Rune]

While I wouldn't use it on account of part count (I like to have lots of crafts on screen, and I don't own a supercomputer, in fact I don't have a SSD drive), the aesthetics are surely awesome.

Rune. And that's more than enough. Have a cookie!

[Majorjim!]

While I wouldn't use it on account of part count (I like to have lots of crafts on screen, and I don't own a supercomputer, in fact I don't have a SSD drive), the aesthetics are surely awesome.

Rune. And that's more than enough. Have a cookie!

Cheers Rune!

MJ

[TheWanderer]

I like the concept. Not sure I would use it for legs but it certainly has lots of other uses and look very good

[Majorjim!]

I like the concept. Not sure I would use it for legs but it certainly has lots of other uses and look very good

The strut legs are quite strong. The feet are not strong. They feel (to me) fragile in a real way. The stock part landing legs (big ones) are really super strong. Unrealistically so. Its just adds a bit of fun into what has become routine to some.

MJ