Flying a plane on Eve or Duna

[Jenteb07]

Hello all,

I have an Eve transfer window coming up in a couple of ingame days so I decided to explore the planet and do some science using two robotic planes.

My question is now, is flying on Eve even practical? Or am I better of driving a rover?

And same question holds for Duna.

Thank you,

Jenteb07

Edited November 16, 2013 by Jenteb07
answered

[700NitroXpress]

I've flown planes on EVE and Duna. The first thing you need to know is that the atmosphere on Eve and Duna doesn't support air intake engines because the atmosphere isn't oxygen. However, you can make planes that fly on Eve and Duna as long as they're rocket powered. Landing is kind of difficult, you have to pick a good landing zone that's smooth enough.

Here's my current design that I'm using on Duna as a Duna SSTO, this plane was designed to fly and land on Duna, doesn't have Jet Engines and can be refueled in orbit. It also has retrograde rockets to help it stop quickly. If you have a vertical take off plane design or one that can land vertically, then landing zone problems are more easily solved.

[Tex_NL]

Flying on both Eve and Duna is very doable but there are a few things you should keep in mind:

- Both Eve and Duna lack oxygen, regular jet engines will not work! You'll either have to use a rocket, ion engine, a Kethane turbine or electric propeller.

- Eve has a very thick dense atmosphere and high gravity. You get great lift but also a lot of drag. You'll be flying slow and sluggish.

- Duna has a thin atmosphere and low gravity resulting in poor lift and relative high speed. Your plane will be highly maneuverable but prone to stalling.

[Jenteb07]

hmm ok, so for what I want to do I think I'm better off using a rover or landers then...

But I will surely try a (manned) rocket powered plane in the future

I will fly my designs on Laythe then, just have to add some delta-v to my transfer vehicle.

Thank you for this quick and clear response.

Jenteb07

[Richy teh space man]

If your not adverse to using mods, then Hooligan Labs airships work on both of these planets, especially with aerospitters propellor parts. However getting them from the surface back into orbit will be slightly challenging.

Edited November 16, 2013 by Richy teh space man
Mistyped

[700NitroXpress]

hmm ok, so for what I want to do I think I'm better off using a rover or landers then...

Before you go launching stuff to Eve, make sure you build manned landers with enough power to get back into orbit. Eve is a whole different ball game compared to what get's off the ground on Kerban. The terrain is rough and difficult to land tall and thin vehicles on. You want to make sure you have a wide landing base so your craft doesn't flip over when it lands. Also, parachutes deploy at different altitudes and can rip the ship apart due to the thicker atmosphere's sudden deceleration. The best way, is to use landing engines to decelerate your lander or other craft to a safe 40 m/s or less before you deploy the parachutes so you don't risk structural failure to the craft. Also for rovers, the wheels will break easier from impact with the ground just by the craft hitting bumpy terrain at medium speed of 10 m/s or faster depending on the weight of the rover. So be careful if you haven't been to the surface of Eve yet.