Tips for sub-orbital flights on Kerbin?

[Shiv]

There's a specific mountain I'm trying to land on just NNE of KSC. It's above the cloud cover and I want to build a telescope/observatory on it. Having a devil of a time landing there though in the first place with just a basic rocket (I want to plant a flag as a beacon for later). I've tried...oh roughly 20 times now? You'd think I'd land there simply by accident at this point but nope, have hit all around it but never on it. A helicopter is really the ideal craft to get me there but we don't have one of those, nor do I have anything for a VTOL and the plateau isn't long enough for me to land on, so I'm stuck with a rocket.

Any tips for aiming these sub-orbital trajectories? I get up to about 70 km (just easier to maneuver and the trajectory stops moving once airborne) then make my adjustments to deal with spin and that sorta thing. Then I let it fall and make what few adjustments I can on the way down until the atmosphere grabs the rocket again and I lose control. I don't really see what more I can do but figured I'd ask. Or does anyone have any alternate ideas?

[Taki117]

Actually, what you can do (Instead of trying to land a whole plane) is attach parachutes to your plane and activate them when you are over your target (After you deactivate your engine of course) that way you can land vertically without a VTOL.

[GoSlash27]

Why not drive a rover up the mountain? I did a lot of testing with my tylo rover in the mountains around KSC, and it climbed them like a billy-goat.

-Slashy

[Shiv]

Taki: That's stupidly simple. I should've thought of that lol. I actually nailed the landing on the very next try after I made this post, but that would've been a lot easier.

GoSlash: The rover would take too long to drive over there.

[Pecan]

Actually, what you can do (Instead of trying to land a whole plane) is attach parachutes to your plane and activate them when you are over your target (After you deactivate your engine of course) that way you can land vertically without a VTOL.

LEGAL NOTICE!

The oversight committee is determined to terminate the employment of any pilot using the escape system to reach designated targets instead of landing correctly. Legal proceedings for wilful damage will also be brought against such pilots, seeking recompense in full. KSC cannot continue to lose this number of aircraft and this practice must stop immediately!

...Oh sorry, that's my roleplay, not yours...

[MarvinKitFox]

"and the plateau isn't long enough for me to land on"

It's shorter than the helipad on the VAB?

In the north-south direction??

Build an aeroplane.

a SLOW aeroplane.

Once that can land in its own length.

Maybe even add a seperatron to the nose, to brake with.

If you insist on suborbital ballistic trajectories, it gets tough.

Basically, hop on a 45degree arc, and aim for the lateral spot where you will be at 12km,

But this rule-of-thumb only really works for sealevel-to-sealevel. Stopping up a mountain adds yet another dimension of complexity.

You would need something with good hover & lateral translation abilities, i.e. you need a VTOL.

[Laie]

nor do I have anything for a VTOL

???

Pick up the blueprints of a basic Munar Lander. Replace rocket motor with jet engine. Add intake.

[LordFerret]

I agree with MarvinKitFox above... build an airplane. Only, instead of trying to land it, put parachutes on the cockpit and jettison it while flying low and slow right over the mountain top ... you should be able to land safely, and recover the pilot when done...... plus you'll get to watch a big explosion as the plane's body crashes. Hope you succeed!

[O-Doc]

These questions pop up pretty regularly on this sub-forum. I built the following craft a couple of months ago after a similar question.

The shot was taken at the very top of of that splintered peak in the mountains west of the KSC.

Supercruise: 1.7km/s with a service ceiling of 32km. 20 degree attitude at high altitudes is nominal.

Roving: deploy front gear to protect fuselage from damage during high speed driving.

Water landings: deploy chutes and throttle vtol engines to reduce vertical velocity to 1-2m/s. Ensure no lateral velocity.

Download: Pelican v1.0

Edited August 4, 2014 by O-Doc