Rocket keeps flipping over

[Tortoise]

So,

I built a rocket and everytime reach 10km where I try to pitch east a little bit, to get into orbit, all hell breaks loose and my rocket starts flipping all over the place. And I can never correct it.

Anyone know a solution?

EDIT: And the SAS is enabled all the way until 10km when I try to pitch over a little bit. The only way of correcting it (Theres still a chance of this failing) is to enable SAS And RCS. :/

Edited April 13, 2014 by Tortoise

[SRV Ron]

So,

I built a rocket and everytime reach 10km where I try to pitch east a little bit, to get into orbit, all hell breaks loose and my rocket starts flipping all over the place. And I can never correct it.

http://i.imgur.com/qixtJ04.png

Anyone know a solution?

EDIT: And the SAS is enabled all the way until 10km when I try to pitch over a little bit. The only way of correcting it (Theres still a chance of this failing) is to enable SAS And RCS. :/

If you have staged, the pod in use doesn't have sufficient torque to counteract the imbalance once you hit a critical point in your turn. You may need the fins at the base of the second stage or a reaction wheel to regain stability.

There are some designs, while looking good, will flip ends once you start a turn. Often, a minor modification or adding a reaction wheel or fins will correct the issue.

[Eric S]

Do you have FAR installed? That makes this issue much more likely to crop up. However, I don't see anything that looks likely to cause this problem.

What parts are the nosecone and engines? I'll try to recreate the rocket and see what I can see, but I can't without knowing what mods you're using for parts.

[SRV Ron]

May be KW rocketry on the second stage engine and nose cone. Just tested one closest to the design and it flew rock stable.

[Boomerang]

If it were me, I'd move those fins up into that middle stage. Think of it like a lever. You've got a ton of weight above your pivot point (the low control surfaces), so once it starts to keel over, it keeps going that way and there's nothing on the long, heavy end with enough control to correct it. So either shorten the stack or add higher control surfaces

[SRV Ron]

Figured out the engine. It was KW Rocketry. Had to go back to 0.23 version to find it. I was able to fly this to orbit but one has to do the gravity turn gradually or you will lose it and flip over. This is partially due to the very small 0.25 gymboling range of that engine. It's also more power then you need.

Start your turn soon after staging the SRB. Turn slowly and you will be OK.

BTY, add some solar panels as the pod you are using constantly uses power so will be out of battery some 20 minutes into your flight.

[SpenSpaceCorp]

make sure the engines have a gimbal or some other significant control mechanism (such as control surfaces) on the second stage AFTER the boosters.

[SRV Ron]

make sure the engines have a gimbal or some other significant control mechanism (such as control surfaces) on the second stage AFTER the boosters.

The KW Griffon used has a weak gimbol. The KW nose cone has a narrow range of stability when doing the gravity turn. It can be flown, you just can't turn too fast or you will lose control and flip it over.

[EliteShadowLeo]

What you may want to do is to add some control surfaces such as wings. It might just work, or may not! (It will help to give you more control over the rocket nonetheless)

[Tortoise]

Thanks for your help guys! I'll see what I can do to fix this.

[Javster]

Mount your SRBs radially, if you have the tech. It will make your rocket more stable.

[SRV Ron]

Mount your SRBs radially, if you have the tech. It will make your rocket more stable.

The stability issues are taking place when he starts his gravity turn at 10,000 meters, long after staging the SRBs.

[Tortoise]

Thank you all, I took all of your advice and formed it into a new rocket:

http://garyscrib.com/KSPA/IMAGES/KERBITAN1/

.