What's an easy way to get around on Eve?

[butterknife]

I want to send a crew down there to investigate the rocks and liquidy stuff, but there's lots of hills and really big puddles, so rockets seem like bad ideas, and a space plane wouldn't have a landing strip. Also, I don't have much in the way of space plane research, so there's also that. Any thoughts on how to get around?

[Master Tao]

A lightly powered glider might be ideal, especially since the early space plane parts (swept wings) are better for that. The trouble is probably engines, since Eve has no oxygen for jets. I'm guessing you haven't unlocked the aerospike yet. Firespitter and Kerbal Aircraft Expansion have electric propellers that work very well on Eve since you don't need as many solar panels as on Kerbin

Other than that, try a rover or amphibious vehicle.

[allmhuran]

There's no really easy way, not so much because of the terrain, but because of the high gravity and super dense atmosphere. If you're only going a couple of kilometers rovers are your best option... but even those can buckle under the high gravity (1.7g), so make sure you have plenty of support!

[butterknife]

How do you make an amphibious vehicle?

[Cerberus738]

Use structural fuselage and girders as pontoons. You'll still need rocket engines or ion engines to move around. You can either use retractable landing gear to move around on land or use regular rover wheels if you keep your speed down in the water.

I too am currently planning a mission to Eve! I haven't designed the rover yet but i've tested a few ion gliders on kerbin and i think they should do quite nicely on Eve.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Cerberus738

[allmhuran]

I've never tried to build a ship for the oceans of Eve, so I don't know if Eve has even more structurally lethal oceans than Kerbin. I would suggest driving around the puddles, not through them.

If you actually want to travel a long way then a rocket (ideally aerospike) or ion powered aircraft can work, but you have to fly very high if you don't want to waste a huge amount of fuel fighting the atmosphere (over 25000m), so it's not efficient for short trips.

[Rhomphaia]

A lightly powered glider might be ideal, especially since the early space plane parts (swept wings) are better for that. The trouble is probably engines, since Eve has no oxygen for jets. I'm guessing you haven't unlocked the aerospike yet. Firespitter and Kerbal Aircraft Expansion have electric propellers that work very well on Eve since you don't need as many solar panels as on Kerbin

Other than that, try a rover or amphibious vehicle.

Who needs engines?

[butterknife]

Who needs engines?

http://i.imgur.com/pgu0LU2.png

Whaaaaaaaat?

[Master Tao]

I've been playing with FAR long enough that I'd forgotten about infinigliders. I'm impressed you managed to build one that looks like it might actually glide on its own.

[DeepOdyssey]

Airships.

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[Pecan]

butterknife - before thinking about moving around ON Eve, have you considered whether you'll ever be able to COME BACK?

Getting back into orbit from Eve is one of KSP's hardest challenges, requiring a minimum deltaV of almost twice that of a Kerbin launch and preferably 12,000m/s. Your TWR must also be high (~2) throughout the ascent as well - at least until the final stage, very high in the atmosphere.

If you're doing this for science plan on transmitting it back, not bringing it back. Expect it to be a one-way trip for any Kerbals you send down.

[Claw]

If you don't mind abusing some physics (no infiniglide), here is an idea for an ultralight glider that is capable of carrying a kerbal and can land on water. Though I haven't actually thought about testing this on Eve until now.

[technion]

I rovered about 180km on Eve. I think it's a great place for them - not taking off because you hit a slight bump like on the Mun is very handy.

That doesn't help with the water but I always drove around the puddles.

[LethalDose]

I don't have experience with it, but it probably depends on how far you want to go.

Gliders/low power aircraft are probably better for longer distances or substantial elevation/altitude changes, but require that whole, y'know, landing thing and have finite fuel.

Rovers, however, run on electricity, and are probably a bit more robust as long as you're going short distances over mostly flat ground. Just mind the large hills.

[Xavven]

I rovered about 180km on Eve. I think it's a great place for them - not taking off because you hit a slight bump like on the Mun is very handy.

That doesn't help with the water but I always drove around the puddles.

Agreed! Test out some rover designs on Kerbin first and find something that isn't prone to flipping, stay at 3x phys warp (4x causes my rover to catch edges and flip), put on some good music and drive around. I find roving on Eve far easier than Mun or most other bodies.

Edit: Oh, and one more thing... when going downhill, you will accelerate like mad up to terminal velocity, which is thankfully low. Stay off the accelerator and tap reverse or the brakes to keep your speed under control!

[Voculus]

I know you said you're not 100% with planes, but they're incredibly easy to fly and land in Eve's thick atmosphere, with very little ground required to land, and low stall speeds. However, propulsion becomes a problem, because there's no oxygen. One solution is to use the Kethane turbines, if you're not averse to doing some scanning and drilling. Regardless of the vehicle you use, though, it's going to be slow going. That's just how Eve rolls!

[MarvinKitFox]

EVE is great for flying!

Ion drive works fine, if a bit boring.

If you accept mods, Kethane's turbine jet is *great*.

How about Interstellar's thermal turbine. No fuel(runs on air + lots of power)

Electric-driven propellers from Firespitter.

.

But the ultimate mod-style exploration on EVE is in a Hooligan Labs Airship!

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/53961-0-23-5-HL-Mods-on-Curse

[Zephram Kerman]

butterknife - before thinking about moving around ON Eve, have you considered whether you'll ever be able to COME BACK?

Getting back into orbit from Eve is one of KSP's hardest challenges, requiring a minimum deltaV of almost twice that of a Kerbin launch and preferably 12,000m/s. Your TWR must also be high (~2) throughout the ascent as well - at least until the final stage, very high in the atmosphere.

If you're doing this for science plan on transmitting it back, not bringing it back. Expect it to be a one-way trip for any Kerbals you send down.

Now I wish I'd been more productive in KSP last week. I'm "almost done" with an Eve exploration / surface sample return vehicle. By making maximum use of the kethane mod, I believe it is possible for a plane to explore Eve, land safely, refuel, ascend to orbit in stages, rendezvous with a transfer module, and then return home. Unfortunately, RL got busy, so it might be a while yet... Heh...