Lander Legs

[NecroniserRocks]

Which Landing legs do you find the most helpful in landing on say, the mun. i personally use the thickest ones (idk the name) for mine just because they look beefy and can hold 12 m/s crash instead of 10 m/s like the thinnest ones. Feel free to discuss which you find most helpful

[Franklin]

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Modular_Girder_Segment

cheaper than any other landing gear, with far better impact tolerance, same drag, and a hair heavier. you just need to stretch your imagination a little more.

[Guest]

But no suspension? :-)

[Renegrade]

But no suspension? :-)

Beh! For the longest time, I used to land on the nozzle of the LV-909. Suspension my foot!

That being said, I like the look of the mid size landing legs for some reason. They look sturdy enough for a Mun landing, but not excessively heavy (note that I use mk1 pods and mk1 lander cans for landers as technology/mods permit, and not the 2-man can or mk1-2 or anything.. again, mods permitting).

On Minmus I like to use the micro struts...you're barely landing, so little wirey legs seem to be suitable.

[Guest]

I just fear that this time used to suspension next time I land with a girder I'll fall over. Great for many landings though.

[GreeningGalaxy]

I just use whatever I need to clear the engine. Tiny probe? Small landing legs. Giant nuclear powered monster that I probably shouldn't even be trying to land at all? Big legs. I use the medium legs for most 1.25m ships and the big ones for anything bigger. I don't build a lot of tiny probes so the tiny legs don't get used much in my space program, but I sometimes use them for VTOLs.

[Mister Kerman]

Mid size is the best balance. I suppose it depends on whether you want to arrive in a Smart Car or a Hummer. I'm Hummer all the way.

[Random Tank]

This one. It has 100m/s impact tolerance and it rolls

[SRV Ron]

Whatever does the job at the least cost and mass;

[RexKramer]

I generally don't use landing legs. Most engines have 8 m/s impact tolerance, so I just land on the engines. A side effect is the ship then sits lower than it would with landing legs, so it's more stable, less tippy.

There are only a few places where I feel the need for a 'crumple zone' to protect the engines in case I can't control my descent to under 8 m/s- Moho and Tylo. Even then, I still usually just land on engines.

[Renegrade]

This one. It has 100m/s impact tolerance and it rolls

Hi Random! Hehe.

I never noticed the impact tolerance on those. Good catch.

I did once make a lander using the Moon Rover styled wheels though. They weren't arranged in a drivable pattern, however, so all I could do was spin on the spot...

[Red Iron Crown]

The soccer balls in the Kerbin Cup mod have absurdly high impact tolerance (1000m/s IIRC). Put them on the bottom of some girders and lithobrake away!

[Alshain]

Yeah, I use the lowest mass part for the size of the lander I'm building. If you do it any other way, your just wasting fuel (assuming your using landing gear and not girders or the LV909 engine bell).

[MarvinKitFox]

I just fear that this time used to suspension next time I land with a girder I'll fall over. Great for many landings though.

Try this:

This baby can land *intact* with 35m/s vertical and 25m/s lateral.

It can also survive a once-off "landing" at 125m/s while losing only some 'feet' from its 'legs'

Caution: Maximum load allowance is 73 tons *per leg*.

[cantab]

I've used girders and yeah, find them bouncy. So normally I use the legs that feel right for the craft in question. Even if I'm only going to Minmus, the toothpick legs on a 3-kerbal lander just wouldn't feel right.

And always at least four legs. Three makes the lander too tippy on a slope.

[Masetto]

Something about the shock-absorb of the tiny legs seems gentler and more reactive than the other two legs, but that's just what I perceive. Still, they weigh very little and I try to use them as much as possible.

Also note:

If you're using something like Gigantor Solar Rays on the side of your vessel, you need the legs. A ship can land intact on girders, engines or other parts, but breakable components will most likely break, even if they stay connected. Learned my lesson on that one.

[Alshain]

Also note:

If you're using something like Gigantor Solar Rays on the side of your vessel, you need the legs. A ship can land intact on girders, engines or other parts, but breakable components will most likely break, even if they stay connected. Learned my lesson on that one.

Except, I've seen people use the undeployed Gigantor AS landing struts. Never tell KSP players they can't do something, they will find a way.

[Guest]

Quick mun landing, this works rather well!

[Renegrade]

http://puu.sh/bagPI/3c195329d7.jpg

Quick mun landing, this works rather well!

I love those legs! The angle and shadows makes it look like some alien walker thing out for an amble on a fine Munar afternoon.

Hehe.

[r_rolo1]

Hum, that reminds me of something ...

[Franklin]

The soccer balls in the Kerbin Cup mod have absurdly high impact tolerance (1000m/s IIRC). Put them on the bottom of some girders and lithobrake away!

Haven't people made Opportunity airbag-like landing systems with these? I hope Squad considers these types of landing devices down the road, that'd be fun.

[Red Iron Crown]

Haven't people made Opportunity airbag-like landing systems with these? I hope Squad considers these types of landing devices down the road, that'd be fun.

They sure have. This is not mine, but it is a near perfect Opportunity replica (well the landing system more than the rover):

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[AlexanderB]

Airplane landing gear is mass-less and has pretty serious impact tolerance? cheating the physics system, lol.

Other than that, I use the medium or large one, depending on craft weight and such. The probe ones I only use for probes, they buckle a little too easily under heavier landers.

[Overfloater]

Mine is definitely the plane gear.

A mere six of them is enough to support my 180-ton ship:

For heavy VTVL rockets it's the I-beams, Especially after the 0.23 update, where all the legs got nerfed & rendered useless. I know they added option to turn suspension back off, but I-beams are still far more effective.

For light landers I like to construct legs from a series of cubic struts:

Edited August 27, 2014 by Overfloater