totm june 2018 Work-in-Progress [WIP] Design Thread

[Raptor9]

5 hours ago, MrMeeb said:

Okay, so after seriously breaking Windows 7, panicking, thinking I'd have to do a fresh install but then fixing the problem, we have liftoff!
---snip---
I think it really adds something to have a launch tower, and I'm really happy with it as a first try

That is awesome! I like how the drop-away gantries become flush with the launch tower.

11 hours ago, MrMeeb said:

Using a hinge I stole from @Raptor9...

We don't steal ideas around here; we borrow and sometimes improve upon. 

Edited June 30, 2016 by Raptor9

[He_162]

So I need idea's for a supersonic wheesley powered aircraft.

 

I want it to be as weird, if not weirder than some of these things...

http://www.luft46.com/fw/fw.html

[Castille7]

After hours of work on my next project "Crawfish Queen" my craft file got messed up when nearing 1,000 parts, back to square one . My norm is to make saves as I go but........

 

Edited July 1, 2016 by castille7

[Exothermos]

I'm working on something big.  Too big, because my computer cant really handle it.

 

 

[MrMeeb]

Whelp, I've made one launch tower, so why not make another? How about one for something even bigger? Take this 1000t behemoth for example (it carries the transfer stage to get the base modules I've been showing off to Laythe, and this will be the largest configuration):

Well, I've been toying around with a service structure that retracts before launch, to go along with the normal umbilicals. So far, this is what I've got:

Kraken tech is kind of fun  

[Columbia]

I realized that the Battle Of Britain's start will be coming around soon and so I started making ships around it.

I improved my 109 E-4:

And also, this is why playing KSP at 1:30 AM is a ridiculous incredible idea.

Screw this, I need my sleep.

[Castille7]

During my remake of the Steamboat I tested a new bearing set using the structural fuselage and some reaction wheels. Sea Trials are getting 0.2 m/s wow! we are getting somewhere quick! Well it's all in the looks and design right now, next I will add a piston and engine drive system for two options of the craft when completed.

 

[pTrevTrevs]

I made a variant of the H-5 for Medevac purposes, with two stretchers which hold one Kerbal each.

Because of the extra weight the engine is now slightly underpowered, but landing it accurately is still one of the most challenging things I've done in KSP, perhaps harder than even my first Mun landing.

This picture actually shows the chopper after it bounced off the pad. It's very hard to get the landing speed just right because of how the rotors have basically the same warm up/cool down delay as jet engines. I can confirm from flying simulators and seeing countless choppers landing and taking that real helicopters certainly do not do this, the change is thrust happens very quickly and smoothly.

 

I'm starting to think that the challenge in flying this comes mainly from the keyboard and the UI's unsuitability for vertical flight. With airplanes and rockets changing direction is usually quite easy and you rarely deviate far from the prograde vector (or other desired vector). I've found that flying this (while controlling from the pilot's seat like a real helicopter), the vector will often slide far out of sight in the navball. It can be very difficult to judge whether or not the helicopter is drifting, rising/falling, moving forwards/backwards, etc. like this. I can definitely tell something is up when I don't see the vector, but I have no way of seeing where is is on the navball, so I don't know how much I need to compensate or which direction to even tilt the rotor in.

Now, if you will excuse me I have an equally long worded complaint to post on the KAX thread about their helicopter engines.

[luizopiloto]

A flying kludge...

[MrMeeb]

More progress! I've designed an umbilical that's more alike to the ones seen on the Saturn V tower (and honestly, the tower is starting to look like the Saturn's too). These parts use a larger hinge, using the 0.625m jet-fuel tank and cubic octags, and I'm having a little bit of trouble with them randomly getting snagged on things that aren't there. It will happen once, and then not again without changing anything. I guess that's a risk with kraken tech, especially when you're new to it.

 

I'm finding it really hard to come up with any tower design I really like...might have to look at some more asymmetrical designs or something. I'm really open to ideas for absolutely anything: tower, umbilicals, service structure...anything. Give me some ideas people!

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, MrMeeb said:

More progress! I've designed an umbilical that's more alike to the ones seen on the Saturn V tower (and honestly, the tower is starting to look like the Saturn's too). These parts use a larger hinge, using the 0.625m jet-fuel tank and cubic octags, and I'm having a little bit of trouble with them randomly getting snagged on things that aren't there. It will happen once, and then not again without changing anything. I guess that's a risk with kraken tech, especially when you're new to it.

 

I'm finding it really hard to come up with any tower design I really like...might have to look at some more asymmetrical designs or something. I'm really open to ideas for absolutely anything: tower, umbilicals, service structure...anything. Give me some ideas people!

Might I suggest you use this hinge system and possible create an ion engine powered launch tower with a small SSTO which can return to Kerbin SOI, refuel and then go out on a new interplanetary mission. Might sound complicated but just throwing it out there.

[pTrevTrevs]

17 minutes ago, MrMeeb said:

More progress! I've designed an umbilical that's more alike to the ones seen on the Saturn V tower (and honestly, the tower is starting to look like the Saturn's too). These parts use a larger hinge, using the 0.625m jet-fuel tank and cubic octags, and I'm having a little bit of trouble with them randomly getting snagged on things that aren't there. It will happen once, and then not again without changing anything. I guess that's a risk with kraken tech, especially when you're new to it.

 

*snip*

 

I'm finding it really hard to come up with any tower design I really like...might have to look at some more asymmetrical designs or something. I'm really open to ideas for absolutely anything: tower, umbilicals, service structure...anything. Give me some ideas people!

If you want something that looks like a Saturn V launch tower (who wouldn't, it's one of the most iconic launch towers in the world), the two big things that this one is missing are the flared base and the elevator shaft. Right now the tower looks very empty, but adding a shaft down the middle should remedy that. I think it could also use more floors, but it's not as big a problem.

Oh wait, is this intended to look like the Mobile Service Structure instead?

Edited July 2, 2016 by pTrevTrevs

[MrMeeb]

3 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

If you want something that looks like a Saturn V launch tower (who wouldn't, it's one of the most iconic launch towers in the world), the two big things that this one is missing are the flared base and the elevator shaft. Right now the tower looks very empty, but adding a shaft down the middle should remedy that. I think it could also use more floors, but it's not as big a problem.

Oh wait, is this intended to look like the Mobile Service Structure instead?

I haven't got that far down yet!  That's not the bottom, don't worry  

[He_162]

I developed an aircraft capable of being stable up to and past mach 3 with no control surfaces, or vertical wings of any kind, and I figured out why.

The shock of the air hitting the strait wings behind the swept ones essentially balances out the nose every time it starts to waver off to one side.

It uses thrust vectoring to maneuver, and it can hit mach 3.06 at altitude. Should I put it up for download? If so, I need a name.

(To prevent it from waving from side to side, I had to put the fly by wire system in, but it is still stable without it)

 

Edited July 3, 2016 by He_162

[Rune]

3 hours ago, He_162 said:

I developed an aircraft capable of being stable up to and past mach 3 with no control surfaces, or vertical wings of any kind, and I figured out why.

The shock of the air hitting the strait wings behind the swept ones essentially balances out the nose every time it starts to waver off to one side.

It uses thrust vectoring to maneuver, and it can hit mach 3.06 at altitude. Should I put it up for download? If so, I need a name.

(To prevent it from waving from side to side, I had to put the fly by wire system in, but it is still stable without it)

 

You are surprised because KSP Doesn't have a "Center of Drag" visualization gizmo. This, for example, turned out to be a bit too stable, without any aerodynamic surfaces, on account of all the clipped tanks on the back. And that is with the heavy engines in there moving the CoM to the bottom!

 

Rune. A shame, because it is much cuter than the thing I ended up going with.

 

Edited July 3, 2016 by Rune

[luizopiloto]

8 hours ago, Rune said:

You are surprised because KSP Doesn't have a "Center of Drag" visualization gizmo. This, for example, turned out to be a bit too stable, without any aerodynamic surfaces, on account of all the clipped tanks on the back. And that is with the heavy engines in there moving the CoM to the bottom!

Rune. A shame, because it is much cuter than the thing I ended up going with.

 

Add some wings to it... and it turns into a shuttle...

[Castille7]

The Steamboat Project "Crawfish Queen" is near completion. The craft is very sturdy, speeds are nice with jet engines but not with the paddle wheels, they look nice in action but have no pushing power. Planning to release it after some video footage but right now it's exploding with the jet engines running to a location where I wanted to do my video shots. Here is a sneak peak of what it's looking like and I will reveal it with details when its complete.

 

[PointySideUp]

I've been working on a new nuclear family of ships, a small, medium, and huge, plus a nuke powered shuttlecraft.  The ships have 6000 dV or more and twr ~.25 to .30 in LKO.  I still need to make the launcher for the huge one  

 

[MrMeeb]

Hey, @pTrevTrevs, is this more your style?  

Looks like I need to add some struts.

 

 

[pTrevTrevs]

23 minutes ago, MrMeeb said:

Hey, @pTrevTrevs, is this more your style?  

Looks like I need to add some struts.

 

 

The elevator shaft makes it look pretty good, but the base probably has a little too much flare. 

Add struts and place a heavy ore/fuel tank at the bottom to help keep orb from flipping entirely.

[pTrevTrevs]

Here's a little taste of some Military-Issue  .50 Caliber Freedom (Model 1776) for you all, inspired by @Redshift OTF's Huey (the inspiration it has caused isn't likely to wear off anytime soon).

Happy Independence Day, or... Treason Day, as I hear it's called in Britain.

USA!  USA!  USA!

[SaturnianBlue]

After some more *boring* days of toiling, I realized something i should have if I had not suffered such a amazing streak of tunnel vision, I should have realized: the pumps on the ship were not really working to keep the water out, since many of the pumps to keep water out were on the action group 1, not stage for some reason. This would explain the slowly shifting balance of the ship (front to back) to some extent, but not left to right motion, which takes hold several minutes later, unless the places where water filled were uneven, which certainly explains the inconsistent balance, even though the ships were fundamentally the same. unfortunately, all the work that had given some balance to the ship for several minutes is undone, with the ship having tendencies to nosedive or lean back by 20 degrees. I have slapped a buoyant dockyard part, but its effect is not really known. To counteract the bit of over buoyancy and the problems with the ship plunging back/forward, I added a medium Keel part. I haven't had the time to really try balancing, so I will not know the result for a while. I will try to get a download for you all to also tinker with. 

 

In the mean time, here are pictures! (Sorry for the ugly water, I'm stuck in 1.0.5 because of kerbpaints unworkability in 1.1, and the ocean keeps disappearing once KSP uses a bunch of RAM.

[MrMeeb]

Breaching 1500 parts, this is probably the most part intensive thing I've ever built. Thankfully, 1.1 runs like an absolute champ, and can show it all at around 14fps. Staging is another problem, but these are for a video, and I have video editing experience. It'll look as smooth as silk. But anyway, here is the first working prototype of the pad, with the rocket mounted. The idea would be that the structures surrounding the external boosters will be placed differently depending on the configuration of the booster. It's all looking a bit grey though...I might look into Kerbpaint. Hows it been working for people? I've never used it before, but I've seen some mixed responses.

Again, feedback is welcome 100%  

 

[Redshift OTF]

15 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Here's a little taste of some Military-Issue  .50 Caliber Freedom (Model 1776) for you all, inspired by @Redshift OTF's Huey (the inspiration it has caused isn't likely to wear off anytime soon).

Happy Independence Day, or... Treason Day, as I hear it's called in Britain.

USA!  USA!  USA!

Oh yeah. Wow! Please finish this when you have time. It would go well with my Huey and Carrier. Forgive my ignorance but is this the AH-1 Cobra?

[pTrevTrevs]

25 minutes ago, Redshift OTF said:

Oh yeah. Wow! Please finish this when you have time. It would go well with my Huey and Carrier. Forgive my ignorance but is this the AH-1 Cobra?

It sure is! I'm trying to recreate the F model because the flat paneled canopy is easier to make than the curved one of the G model, but I'm not sure whether AH-1Fs were use in the Vietnam war. I saw an F model that was said to have served in Vietnam the other day at my military base's 4th of July festival, but I'm still not sure, as I can find any pictures or articles about the F in Vietnam.

I'm still trying to figure out how TOW missiles work.