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Barnstorming Pilot Challenge


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This challenge has elements of the 'Bridge that gap' challenge, as well as being a race. Flying under either of the bridges in the new R&D complex is no mean feat, and anyone who can do it has to be applauded. But that is just one demand for skilful piloting in a flight. Can you manage four? That is the challenge.

I have placed 4 'gates' around the KSC complex, and anyone who takes part is required to fly through each in turn and land back on the runway, as quickly as they can. Simple right.

The Course

Gate 1 is at the east end of the runway, and can be negotiated directly from take off. It's orientation is E/W

Gate 2 is out on the grass to the north of the runway. Orientation is E/W

Gate 3 is on top of the VAB. Orientation is N/S

Gate 4 is on the Launchpad. Orientation is N/S

Playing the challenge

Create a new game save, and copy this persistent file in to the game save folder, overwriting the one already there. This is required to give you a save game that has the gates in position. Before making your first attempt, I would recommend making a backup copy of the persistent file, or doing an f5 quicksave, as it is very easy to destroy a gate while attempting to fly through them. A backup, or reload with f9, will reset everything. The alternative is to make sure to 'revert to launch' if you have a failure to reset everything.

Rules

  • All craft to be launched from the runway, as the rocket pad is already occupied.
  • All gates to be negotiated in order
  • Wheels must be off the ground when going through the first gate
  • Gates can be negotiated from either side
  • The challenge ends with all gates having been flown through, and the craft stationary back on the runway
  • At the end of the challenge, the craft must capable of taking off again, so no crash landing
  • Screenshot required of the craft on the runway, showing speed as 0 and MET.
  • No restrictions on types of craft or motive power.

I appreciate that taking screenshots in flight while trying to negotiate these obstacles is very difficult, so this is very much depending on trust.

Leaderboard

  • Traches 1m 50s
  • Zorque 2m 06s
  • Jordanpumah 2m 40s
  • Kasuha 2m 58s
  • mcirish3 3m 36s
  • Scarecrow88 3m 46s

barnstormer.png

Edited by Scarecrow88
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Start your game, create a new game in Sandbox mode, and then quit out. If you go to your saves folder, the game you have just created will be listed in there. The persistent file I have provided should be written over the persistent file that is in your new game folder.

Start up KSP again, resume saved game, selecting the game you recently created, and the gates should be there, waiting for whatever craft you put together to fly through them.

The path for me is C:/Kerbal/KSP/saves/gamename

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I love this challenge but I find myself unable to complete it today. I did it in some 3:13 except my craft ran off the runway when landing and exploded and I think it doesn't count. So I'll try again tomorrow.

I must say, these gates look way smaller than they are when you got to fly through them :D

Edit: okay I decided to give it a bunch of more tries and finally succeeded. 3:05 if you accept me stopping right beside the runway, otherwise 3:27 after I taxied back on it.

Screenshots of me flying through gates are all from different attempts, there was no way to screenshot them every time for all attempts - so they're just for illustration.

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Edited by Kasuha
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Good effort Kasuha, I have no idea how you manage to take a screenshot whilst flying, so hats off to you. I am going to be harsh and insist on using your on runway time, as the rules do stipulate that's where you must finish. Sorry.

Your plane looks amazingly similar to a design I was putting together in an effort to improve my time.

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the upload is going to have to wait, there's a level 1 hurricane forming where I am, and my internet is crap to begin with, and my mum wants to watch netflix, so I have to wait.

frowny face.

(the video will go in this post when it's ready)

Edited by Jordanpumah
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I just had to try again. In the end I just used chutes to drop me safely on the runway, I know it's cheap but very effective, too.

2:58 this time

5mNruXr.jpg

BTW, thank you for the challenge. It was really fun, I wandered to area I didn't explore much yet (planes) and it tested my control skills rather than ability to put more boosters on the design. Good job!

Edited by Kasuha
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here's my attempt. The key seems to be not using full speed, and having a craft that doesn't take too long to turn. Had to backflip after gate 2 to make it to gate 3 without a ridiculously wide arc.

-Mike

Stopped at 2:03, but the speed still showed 2m/s because my tail was dropping to the ground, so complete stop at 2:06.

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Well not sure you will accept this entry. My plane liked to fly so much it would not land. You can see over half my time was after I exited the fourth gate. I ran into the perpetual glide bug in KSP which would not let my plane go below 50m/s but my plane likes to fly at 40m/s. in short it would not stay on the ground so after three landing attempts I did a crash landing and got the the time in the last pic. Also I stink as a pilot in third person so I went first person for this one. easier to judge distances on the fly, and freed up my right hand to take screen shots.

Whether you take it or not thanks for the fun was a real challenge.

The first pic was not taken during the flight in my entry but I added so you could see the plane I was flying.

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Well not sure you will accept this entry. My plane liked to fly so much it would not land. You can see over half my time was after I exited the fourth gate. I ran into the perpetual glide bug in KSP which would not let my plane go below 50m/s but my plane likes to fly at 40m/s. in short it would not stay on the ground so after three landing attempts I did a crash landing and got the the time in the last pic. Also I stink as a pilot in third person so I went first person for this one. easier to judge distances on the fly, and freed up my right hand to take screen shots.

I'll give you a place, as the craft is stationary on the runway, and Jeb survived and the rules didn't say that your plane had to be able to take off again, but I will amend the rules for future entries so that people don't start crash landing to knock a few seconds off.

Thanks,I can't seem to get through gate 3 though, and I've tried 3 different designs now...so I raged and decided to kamikaze all of the gates, that also took me 3 designs...:P I'm a noob

I think gate 3 is probably the most difficult, as you can't so easily use a shadow on the ground to judge your height.

Edited by Scarecrow88
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Scarecrow88 You have inspired me to try my own hand at making this type of challenge. I haven't finished it yet and since I have three children and a wife and I work overtime all week we will see if I get it done this week or not. And perhaps it won't be any good once it is done but I hope to have it finished in the next two or three days.

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Currently trying to do this in FAR using a general purpose acrobatic plane I made a while ago. It is easily up to the task and could hypothetically do it in about 50 seconds or less. Problem is I keep clipping the wings.

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So I had a few beers, built a new plane, and gave it a shot. Depending on your definition of stationary, my time's either 1:43 or 1:47. (To start moving backwards, I have to be stationary for a split second, right?)

Screenshot was a couple seconds late -

1024x576.resizedimage

but the video's on

(90 minutes to go on the upload as I write this.)

1024x576.resizedimage

I held the throttle in for way too long through gate 2, and clearly I have too many separatrons. With a little tweaking of the craft and a few more laps around the circuit, I'm pretty sure I could shave that down to 1:30 or less. Overall, excellent challenge. Thanks!

Edited by Traches
I gots more to say.
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