Space plane wheels?

[velve]

Hi guys

Just had my first crack at the space plane hanger only to notice that I have most of the components for a plane and have constructed a small "scouting plane" that I managed to get into the air using girders as wheels . The problem is I am quite a ways down the technology tree and so far I still see no signs of wheels. This strikes me as a bit odd as the next part of the tech tree contains space plane fueselages and whatnot but there are no wheels.

Is it perhaps in a different path of the tree or am I not understanding something with the mechanics of career mode?

Edited June 17, 2014 by velve

[-root]

The wheels are down the bottom of the stock tech tree.

(hope this works... at work and can't edit the picture)

To the right and down of the light bulb. I'm guessing if you've gone for moar booosterz you've gone in the opposite direction . imho, good choice.

[velve]

Oh jeez thank you so much!

Actually went the science route because I was afraid of being left with no research. I found the wheels so thank you. They don't really work particularly well might I add, My plane keeps rolling over on the runway. Ill figure this out though.

[LethalDose]

in the SPH, right click on the front wheel(s) and click "Enable Steering". It will give you a lot more control over your plane on the ground.

[SpenSpaceCorp]

If your aircraft keeps rolling over before liftoff, check to see if the front landing wheel(s) are in fact lined up and straight. Same goes for the rear wheels. If not, if may be asymmetrical lift? Check your wings too. If that doesn't solve the problem, just get Jeb to lean the other way out the window

[-root]

They don't really work particularly well might I add, My plane keeps rolling over on the runway.

Some more experienced players might need to chip in, but i reckon i had a similar problem and it stemmed from having my wheels splayed and not vertical. SHIFT + E or Q will give you smaller rotation increments to get them vertical if that is the problem.

[velve]

hmmm I kinda wish there was some sort of display that would show the angle of the wheels I'm having a hard time judging in the 3D view.

I did however get a small jet into the air and well, coming from a bit of a flight simulator background am left slightly disappointed. Its not bad at all, just not good. This is with a small plane and from experience some games improve with larger scale crafts. It could also be a bad lift/COM balance too.

You can't build a plane in flight simulator though so this is awesome! I'm going to have to do some serious trial and error with space planes, I have a feeling anything over 6 parts will give me a headache.

[LethalDose]

Some more experienced players might need to chip in, but i reckon i had a similar problem and it stemmed from having my wheels splayed and not vertical. SHIFT + E or Q will give you smaller rotation increments to get them vertical if that is the problem.

I can attest to splayed ("cambered") wheels will ruin your day and/or take-off.

[-root]

Quite a few people believe the aerodynamics simulator is less than ideal. You'd probably see huge differences between a flight simulator (where planes are the focus) and a space program simulator (where rockets, orbits and stuff are the focus and Spaceplanes are a cool side note).

Spaceplanes are quite fun and experimentation is the key. Trawl through the internet for inspiration. There are many absolute nutters out there who make the craziest stuff.

[Claw]

If you want to ask about steering problems and wheels, its really best if you can post some pictures. There are a lot of reasons why you might be having problems, and it's easier to give good advice on this particular problem if you have pics.

In the SHP, from front and sides, with CoM, CoT, and CoL markers on. (Just make sure the markers don't obscure the wheels.)

[Taki117]

On an unrelated note, if you are looking for more realistic "flight simulator" style flying I suggest taking a look at FAR, which changes the aerodynamics of KSP to something much more similar to real life.

[velve]

Thanks guys I will post some pics as soon as I'm done with my current build.

Oh and just before anyone misinterprets my meaning of "not as good as flight simulator" I just want to add that I am fully aware that this game does not focus on the flight model, it does a brilliant job of it, I am not complaining in the least, all I meant was I was expecting it to be better after tinkering with the rockets etc.

I don't want to come across as whining lol. Just meant my expectations before entering the SPH, I'm not looking for another flight simulator here.

[How2FoldSoup]

Taki already mentioned it, but FAR is a great mod that replaces KSP's less than stellar aerodynamics with aerodynamics that behave like you think they would. I switched to FAR in my first week of playing and haven't looked back since. I also build a lot of planes and prefer (space)planes to rockets but hey that's just me

If you're not opposed to mods there are many mods that enhance the spaceplane experience. Most notably is FAR but there is also b9 which adds a lot of plane parts that can make them look quite beautiful. There is also procedural wings that lets you shape the wings to the shape you'd like that makes it not only less part intensive, but also easier to create the plane you want and get the CoL where you want.

Soup

[Claw]

Ohh, I should have also mentioned... If you are having CoM/CoL relationship problems and you are working with small margins, you should be aware that there is a problem with the small gear bay.

In the SPH/VAB it has mass. So when you put gear on your craft the CoM will adjust position. However, the gear is actually massless in flight. So it's best to remove your landing gear in the VAB to adjust the CoM/CoL margins. Then put the landing gear back on.

Alternatively, you can go into the landing gear's part.cfg and edit it to say "mass = 0". That'll keep the SPH/VAB from lying to you.

[velve]

Ohh, I should have also mentioned... If you are having CoM/CoL relationship problems and you are working with small margins, you should be aware that there is a problem with the small gear bay.

In the SPH/VAB it has mass. So when you put gear on your craft the CoM will adjust position. However, the gear is actually massless in flight. So it's best to remove your landing gear in the VAB to adjust the CoM/CoL margins. Then put the landing gear back on.

Alternatively, you can go into the landing gear's part.cfg and edit it to say "mass = 0". That'll keep the SPH/VAB from lying to you.

Thanks Claw, I would never have known this!

I think I'm getting somewhere now, Managed to get a plane up with the micro lab jr. As well as all comm. devices. I just wish you could adjust the length of the small gear bay, that would help a lot, at the moment the relationship between the front SGB and the rear is odd in a tripod configuration.

So yes my first small plane capable of transporting research goods. Unfortunately I flew it over to the nearest mountains where I have yet to research, dropped a chute landed on the mountain "unfortunately" and I swear kept rolling for about a minute. Needles to say everything was destroyed in this process argh, time to try again.

[Claw]

Needles to say everything was destroyed in this process argh, time to try again.

Haha, classic.

Keep at it!

[Padishar]

hmmm I kinda wish there was some sort of display that would show the angle of the wheels I'm having a hard time judging in the 3D view.

I did however get a small jet into the air and well, coming from a bit of a flight simulator background am left slightly disappointed. Its not bad at all, just not good. This is with a small plane and from experience some games improve with larger scale crafts. It could also be a bad lift/COM balance too.

You can't build a plane in flight simulator though so this is awesome! I'm going to have to do some serious trial and error with space planes, I have a feeling anything over 6 parts will give me a headache.

You can use the "Part Angle Display" plugin (see my sig) to see and set the angles of parts in the VAB to a much higher accuracy (hundredths of a degree). There is also a plugin in the FireSpitter mod that displays guide lines to allow you to see the angle of your wheels...