Beginner to Expert - Flight Practise Scenarios

[Scarecrow88]

We all know that this is a great game, but it has a steep learning curve and can be a bit daunting for someone coming to it that doesn't have a degree and Masters in rocket science. Want to go to orbit, just burn straight up, right!? Trying to rendezvous and dock, and need to catch up to the target vessel. Simple, open the throttle 'til we catch it up! I'm not saying we've all made these particular mistakes, but I'm sure you'll understand the point I am making.

When I was struggling at the beginning of my Kerbal adventure, I wasn't sure if my failures were down to ship design, or piloting error. I have no doubt that there were times when it was a bit of both, but it made it difficult to know what to adjust in order to improve. The scenarios that I have come up with put a number of craft in different positions that will allow the player to practise various aspects of flight in the local system, knowing that if they fail it's down to them as a pilot, rather than the craft not being up to the task.

These scenarios aren't designed to try and teach someone how to complete a particular task, there are plenty of tutorials out there for that. They are designed to give you craft set up for a particular situation, and which are capable of meeting the requirements of that situation.

The scenarios

Flight Practise (BASIC)

Includes :-

1. Simple jet on runway, for anyone wanting to practise flying airplanes
   
2. Lander orbiting Minmus, because Minmus is the easiest of the two moons to land on, and a good place to practise your first landings
   
3. Orbiter on launch pad, for anyone struggling to make a simple craft capable of reaching orbit
   
4. Docker in close proximity to target satellite. Great for practising those final stages of docking with another craft
   

Flight Practise (INTER)

Includes :-

1. SSTO on Island runway. Slightly more difficult to fly than the simple jet. Not enough fuel in this to try for orbit, but useful for practising switching engine mode whilst in flight
   
2. Lander orbiting Mun. Having masterd Minmus in the basic scenario, this allows you to take that skill and practise on the slightly more difficult Mun
   
3. Mun insertion vehicle. Set in Kerbin orbit, allows you to practise flying to Mun, getting captured in orbit, and returning to Kerbin
   
4. Docker set on intercept course with target vehicle. Comfortable with actual docking, now you can practise the rendezvous part.
   

Flight Practise (ADVANCED)

Includes :-

1. SSTO in Kerbin orbit. Comfortable flying these, you can now try de-orbiting and getting back to KSC, or maybe try docking with the nearby space station before returning
   
2. Mun insertion vehicle. This one includes a lander, which allows you to bring together the two skills from the inter scenario to try for a Mun landing, but starting from Kerbin orbit
   
3. Docker. This one is in a lower orbit than the target vehicle, so you will need to set up your own intercept and rendezvous
   

Flight Practise (EXPERT)

Just two vehicles in this one, which are designed to pull all the skills together required to fly an SSTO to orbit, or to fly a Mun mission with a CSM and LEM.

Includes :-

1. SSTO on runway. Fuel is tight, so you need to fly a good ascent profile to get this one to orbit. If you are feeling really confident, you could try docking with the Station to refuel before returning
   
2. Mun mission. Two stages to get to orbit. Extract the LEM from the lift stage, so close docking skills required. Insert to Mun and EVA to transfer crew from CSM to LEM. Land on Mun. Time your launch to intercept and rendezvous with the CSM to get the crew home. Again, fuel is tight in most of the stages, so you can't afford to be wasteful.
   

The craft in the early scenarios are designed to have plenty of fuel for the task in hand, so as not to be difficult to fly. In fact the landers in orbit around Mun and Minmus have more than enough to return to Kerbin after landing on their respective bodies. I am hoping that by using these scenarios for practise, it will enable a player to build up the confidence in their abilites to start looking towards flights to bodies outside the Kerbin system.

To use these scenarios, download them to your Kerbal/KSP_winxx/saves/scenarios folder. When you start the game, they will appear in the Scenarios option. At any time, the position of the craft can be reset by selecting the restart option. Very useful if you have been practising your Mun landings and then want to have a go at the docking option, only to find that the two docking craft have drifted apart. Restarting the scenario will put everything back to where it was.

Scenario Downloads:

Flight Practise (BASIC)

Flight Practise (INTER)

Flight Practise (ADVANCED)

Flight Practise (EXPERT)

Edited July 18, 2014 by Scarecrow88

[Webferret]

Thanks downloaded and trying them out. Fairly new to kerbal, so any tutorials are great

[twisted666]

thanks something to get my teeth into