Navigation system

[gilflo]

Hello

Is there any means for low altitude navigation with aircraft.?

When you fly in the atmosphere, is there any add on allowing you to see your position on a map, for example after having scanned the whole planet?

Or the only means is to make it visually?

[bsalis]

You will need a mod if you don't want to keep switching to Map View and back.

MechJeb and probably other mods give you your Latitude and Longitude. I don't know if there is one that can give you a mini-map.

[PlonioFludrasco]

Try SCANsat and RasterProp Monitor.

The first adds planetary maps, that have to be generated by a mapping instrument on a craft; the second adds configurable IVA monitor that can display everething you like, also a map.

EDIT SCANsat also adds a map window configurable via the Toolbar plugin.

[Kasuha]

Hello

Is there any means for low altitude navigation with aircraft.?

When you fly in the atmosphere, is there any add on allowing you to see your position on a map, for example after having scanned the whole planet?

Or the only means is to make it visually?

I'm not sure what exactly are you asking about but the game does not require you to scan the planet to get full map of it. If you press M, you can see position of your plane on the planet. Another option is to zoom out the camera a lot to get view at wider surroundings of the plane.

[gilflo]

Well, thanks for your answer, what I am looking for is something simple: Pointing a place on the map and it gives me the heading to go there as it could keep my departure location and gives me the heading to fly back.

The best idea is to zoom or dezoom the cam.

Themap mode it is no accurate at all.

[Kasuha]

I'm not sure if there is a mod that would place a "beacon" for you at the place where you want to go. But if you have some object there (such as a ship or a flag) you can set it up as your target and then fly towards the target indicator.

[Sirrobert]

Why can't you just switch to map view, see where you are, and switch back?

[gilflo]

Map view is not accurate at all. You cannot point any position on it. what i would like is to pint a position and see what heading to go there, like in aviation nav

[Claw]

The map appears inaccurate because Kerbin still rotates under the orbit line, even if you are flying close to the surface. Yes, it drove me insane until I figured that out.

If your ship is pointing straight north (nav ball surface mode) then the map appears as if you are going north and just a little east. But by the time you do go north, the planet has rotated. So if you tried to adjust your path slightly west to get the map line on the correct spot, you actually end up off course to the west. Very annoying for long range precision navigation.

If you want to be able to place a marker anywhere on the planet, MechJeb lets you do that. In stock, the only way is what Kasuha suggested, plant a flag or land a ship where you want to go, then navigate.

Realize that with either of these, they will be below the horizon and navigation to them is not always perfect because Kerbin is a sphere, and the navball was designed with spacecraft in mind, not low altitude airplanes.

[gilflo]

You're right.

What would be great would be just having an add on to plot a point on the surface and that would just give distance and heading to that point, then the system would update these 2 parameters along your path.

That's all we need. knowing the fuel flow of your plane at different altitude and power setting, the fuel on board, you're then able to know your range.

[Claw]

Yeah, surface navigation with a system built for orbital navigation kinda doesn't work all that well. I am quite far out of programming practice to try making a plugin for that. Maybe some day it'll get an update...