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Kerbodyne SSTO Division: Omnibus Thread

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Somtaaw

Somtaaw

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With regard to bouncing, are you leaving SAS on at low altitudes? I had all sorts of problems until I discovered the FAR flight assistance options, and worked out what they did. I kill SAS the moment I'm off the runway and stable, then use alt-WASDQR to set a trim, alt-X to cancel it. Up until about 20-25km, most of my planes will fly straight(ish) and steady with just a little bit of alt-s at the start to keep the nose up, climbing at 10-20 degrees. Above that altitude, somewhere around 0.01 atmospheres and less, I need to kick in SAS and maybe some nosecone vernor thrusters to keep attitude, but at 25k I'm firing up rockets so it passes quickly until it all smooths out above 35-40 and becomes simple and ballistic :)

With the far assist options, I don't even need SAS at all until I hit the 19-25km height zone. At that point, even with SAS, FAR flight assist, and the Dynamic options (which in the help says its specifically for us keyboard pilots), the nose bounces like a pogo stick. If I run the MechJeb and can clear to 30km altitude, with all 4 RAPIERs in rocket mode, it settles down and gets some serious speed then. I'll move my KSP off my laptop back to my desk, and try and get video footage with my razer software.

Will be slightly easier than trying to screen grab a bunch of snapshots.

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MainSailor

MainSailor

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I'm running short of design inspiration.

What are folks interested in seeing? Long range, sporty, lab ships, VTOLs, budget trainers, cargo haulers, shuttle-style, space stations?

A crew launcher that is not as....extreme....as the Kerbodyne Invasion?

Otherwise, the lack of 2.5 meter parts currently limits the other options I'd ask for.

With the far assist options, I don't even need SAS at all until I hit the 19-25km height zone. At that point, even with SAS, FAR flight assist, and the Dynamic options (which in the help says its specifically for us keyboard pilots), the nose bounces like a pogo stick. If I run the MechJeb and can clear to 30km altitude, with all 4 RAPIERs in rocket mode, it settles down and gets some serious speed then. I'll move my KSP off my laptop back to my desk, and try and get video footage with my razer software.

Will be slightly easier than trying to screen grab a bunch of snapshots.

Slightly off topic, but Sarbian has posted a MechJeb extension that help MechJeb 'understand' FAR atmosphere controls much better than stock. It won't necessarily help your SAS bouncing if the aircraft is not trimmed, but I've noticed it really helps dial in your pitch for the 15-30km regime.

Edited by MainSailor
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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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With all of the SSTwherevers...I can do them (actually there are some here already), but actually getting them there requires piloting and space navigation as much as design. And if it can go to Laythe, it can usually go to just about anywhere else as well.

But I'm thinking what I might do is take one of my existing designs and do another step-by-step to show how it can be modified into a longer range version and taken to unusual places. Kinda like what I did with http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Challenges/SSTYC/story

screenshot553_zpsec9a3892.jpg

That's basically just the Skua/Endeavour/Explorer/Simplicio airframe (Investigator is another relative, albeit with widened lateral tanks) with the LV-N centre drive option, double-length lateral tanks and most of the cargo bays replaced with fuel tanks.

A Duna or Laythe landing sounds like fun for the demo, though. Only problem is that those long missions inevitably involve half a dozen game crashes for me...

--

A lot of what's here is highly modular; altering the weight balance requires a touch of tuning, but that's usually just a matter of sliding the lateral tanks and wings forwards or back a bit. I've got in the works a deep-space probe launcher that is basically a Wedgetail XXV with the central tanks replaced with a cargo bay stuffed full of long range probes.

This is also a design tip: when you build yourself a good airframe, make the most of it. Stretch it and tweak it into as many variations as you can. You don't need to build a ship that can do everything; you just need a framework that can be filled with whatever is required for the job at hand. As well as giving you a bunch of nifty spacecraft, doing this also teaches you a lot about how minor changes can affect a design.

--

Another thought: have many of you done much low-G (Mun, Minmus etc) spaceplane landing? How easy are you finding it? Would a tutorial on that be worthwhile?

Edited by Wanderfound
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Somtaaw

Somtaaw

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Most of your SSTO's, as I flip through the thread, are long, wide, or both. So how about trying out some SSTO fighters? Short, thin, long-range, high TWR.

Just as some off the cuff paramters, let's say:

-able to get to orbit, and have enough fuel to fly out of Kerbin SOI without refueling.

-primarily Verner RCS for any kind of agility // toggled so you can still have a few standard RCS for docking

-2 Engine struts on the wings, for externally mounted munitions

-cannot be longer than it is wide

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Stone Blue

Stone Blue

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I just downloaded the same plugin earlier today. I can't wait to play with the new parts. Already getting WILD ideas!

LOL...Me too (just found and downloaded today...).... And THAT is EXACTLY why I'm here right now....Noticed there were no ready made craft included with the mod, so I am trolling the forums, to find either a MkIV SSTO, or at least get some ideas on where to start with the parts set.....And this is the first thread I found....skipped to the last page, and Voila!.... Nice! :D

And I love the Aerojet Kerbodyne parts...that was one of the first mods I installed since having recently strated playing again...Installed it even before KW or B9...lol

Edited by Stone Blue
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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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LOL...Me too (just found and downloaded today...).... And THAT is EXACTLY why I'm here right now....Noticed there were no ready made craft included with the mod, so I am trolling the forums, to find either a MkIV SSTO, or at least get some ideas on where to start with the parts set.....And this is the first thread I found....skipped to the last page, and Voila!.... Nice! :D

And I love the Aerojet Kerbodyne parts...that was one of the first mods I installed since having recently strated playing again...Installed it even before KW or B9...lol

It's the same basic principles as using the smaller parts, just bigger. Build something that looks like a real aircraft and it should fly; learn how to use the FAR analysis screens and it will fly well. There's a couple of tutorial posts at the start of the thread that cover design basics.

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Hodo

Hodo

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LOL...Me too (just found and downloaded today...).... And THAT is EXACTLY why I'm here right now....Noticed there were no ready made craft included with the mod, so I am trolling the forums, to find either a MkIV SSTO, or at least get some ideas on where to start with the parts set.....And this is the first thread I found....skipped to the last page, and Voila!.... Nice! :D

And I love the Aerojet Kerbodyne parts...that was one of the first mods I installed since having recently strated playing again...Installed it even before KW or B9...lol

Unfortunately my GF has other plans for me. As she does every day I have off. I can't just sit infront of the computer and do absolutely nothing for a few minute.

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Rakaydos

Rakaydos

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Trying it out now...

Flaps setting 1 handles wonderfuly at low speed/altitude even without SAS. At first I thought it had some kind of extreme roll stability, then I realized I'd left the "Level" flight asistance on. :P

The first thing to break after moderat maneuvering is a largely cosmetic fin reducing the drag of the tail- I can pump up it's durability fairly easilly.

With flight assistance and SAS off, roll can be a bit difficult to manage during maneuvers- I managed to get mysef off center and into a flat spin when heading to the island airstrip, recovered stability, but couldnt pull the nose up far enough when "up" was bouncing through a 180 degree arc. (perhaps I shoult deactivate rolleron on some of the delta control surfaces?)

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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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Trying it out now...

Flaps setting 1 handles wonderfuly at low speed/altitude even without SAS. At first I thought it had some kind of extreme roll stability, then I realized I'd left the "Level" flight asistance on. :P

The first thing to break after moderat maneuvering is a largely cosmetic fin reducing the drag of the tail- I can pump up it's durability fairly easilly.

With flight assistance and SAS off, roll can be a bit difficult to manage during maneuvers- I managed to get mysef off center and into a flat spin when heading to the island airstrip, recovered stability, but couldnt pull the nose up far enough when "up" was bouncing through a 180 degree arc. (perhaps I shoult deactivate rolleron on some of the delta control surfaces?)

I admire what you're doing, but it's also a demonstration of why I usually don't. Setting up a ship to fly without active stability management requires a lot of fiddly tuning.

SAS and PID tuning is less elegant, but a lot faster and simpler. Just set and forget.

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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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One for the probe fans (now that is a sentence to be careful with out of context)...the Kerbodyne Farseer. Extend your reach to the farthest corners of the Kerbol system.

A sleek and high performance medium cargo ship with exceptional aerodynamic finesse:

screenshot248_zpsd0b7f68f.jpg

screenshot252_zpsf7999037.jpg

As well as a substantial and long-ranged scientific payload:

screenshot280_zps4224246b.jpg

screenshot287_zpsbaa5be15.jpg

Short album at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Kerbodyne%2025/Kerbodyne%20Farseer/story with flight instructions. Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/x53y29cnsa2sl1l/Kerbodyne%20%20Farseer.craft?dl=0

Edited by Wanderfound
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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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Does it count as a new craft if it's just a Kerbodyne invasion with different moduels in the same slots? :P

It's actually more of a Wedgetail :D...which was originally a modified Velociraptor. But you can see the influence of the Skua family in the dihedral wingtips. You might also notice a strong family resemblance amongst the VTOLs...

All of the best design is evolutionary. Darwin and Newton were right.

Most of what I put up is multipurpose, and the payloads are just there as an example of possibilities. And some of the craft are designed to illustrate a technique as much as for their own right.

Need a tanker? Flood the cargo bay. Want long range? Stick an LV-N or some CoM-aligned droptanks on. VTOL? Vernors or cargo bays, depending on gravity. Etc.

I'd have no objection at all if people started posting home-tuned versions of my stuff here. Especially if it's JPEG and nicely Kerbpainted. :)

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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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This has got me thinking about categories...how many airframes do I have?

There's the Skua family, the Velociraptor/Wedgetail/Migration line, the Cicada/Locust shape, the De Minimus, the Scapa, the Evangelist and its half-dozen cousins, the Benchmark derivatives, and the beefy Dropbear/Brutus type stuff.

Did I miss any?

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Wanderfound

Wanderfound

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Want an over-the-top aerobatic sportsplane that can also carry a useful amount of cargo to orbit? Want something that can get back down from orbit at express pace?

The new Kerbodyne Infusion Corsair. Sporty with a quadruple zoom.

screenshot379_zpsb618c23b.jpg

screenshot359_zps78c47a07.jpg

Short album at http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/craigmotbey/Kerbal/Kerbodyne%2025/Kerbodyne%20Infusion%20Corsair/story

Square-to-line-of-flight wingtips make good mounting points for drop tanks or military toys.

Craft file at https://www.dropbox.com/s/o6dy1k4dzcixkeh/Kerbodyne%20Infusion%20Corsair.craft?dl=0

Edited by Wanderfound
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