Jump to content

Better than Google Project Wing


Recommended Posts

So I was reading the news and happened across a video released by Google today regarding their 'Project Wing.' Have a look.

Like Amazon and Dominoes, Google has entered into the delivery drone race (like Google hasn't entered into everything, they even bought a kite power company). Naturally, seeing this odd contraption my first thought was, "I wonder if that would work in KSP." So, I had to build one.

Here's their basic design.

BN-EH818_googdr_D_20140828190204.jpg

And here's my version.

PWing1.png

Now you might say, "That's nice, but where's the payload. Even though I have a KAS winch inside the cargo hold of this thing, carrying a payload became WAY secondary to just getting the thing to fly. Yes, it's more difficult that it appears. And I'm only TOO aware of just how crazy things get when you put them on the end of a KAS winch and try to fly.

So, that gave me an idea for a challenge.

The Challenge

Your challenge is to build and test a 'Google Wing' type aircraft capable of delivering cargo. Discover it's design flaws and improve upon it. Basically, this is your chance to prove that you can build a delivery drone better than the engineers at Google.

There is no scoring system, this is a 'completion' challenge.

Step 1: Build an aircraft that looks very close to the Google Wing.

Step 2: Test fly this aircraft and to prove it works, land it on the Island Runway.

Step 3: Using either that craft or design a completely different one, deliver a package to the Island Runway weighing at least 5 tons and return to KSC.

Rules :

There will be both a stock and a mods category.

1. The standard no cheats, hacks, part clipping or infigliding applies.

2. Because the drones being tested now are designed to deliver everything from books, to pizza to... dog food, your aircraft must be completely VTOL. It must be able to take off and land without using any horizontal runway.

3. Jets, props and rotors only. These drones must be practical and while small jet engines aren't practical IRL, this is Kerbin.

4. You must be able to SAFELY (no splosions) deliver a 5 ton package to the Island Runway from KSC and return to KSC and land. You do not need to use KAS to do this in Google Wing style, though it would be really impressive if you did.

5. Images required:

a. Landing a Google Wing type craft at the Island Runway.

b. Delivering a 5 ton payload to the Island Runway. (Not the same as the previous one).

c. Your craft at KSC after delivering the payload. (To prove it still flies well after losing 5 tons of weight;)

6. No Kerbals. Because the goal of these drones is to reduce the manpower required to deliver goods, you can just assume your Kerbal is sitting in the Space Center fiddling with a joystick.

7. While you may use reaction wheels (and will probably need to) try not to get excessive.

8. If you use mods, please list them.

9. Any rule I haven't thought of that defeats the spirit of this challenge.

Pizza Man Award: For a real challenge, your drone must not come pre-loaded with cargo. You must load it after launching. As these drones are designed to make multiple trips, an easy way of loading them is essential.

Winning:

Get hired by Amazon, Dominoes or Google to design their delivery drone.

Drone Builders:

Stock

Mods

Da OP - Pizza Man

Alfondoo - Lotsamods

My Entry:

Mods Used:

Pwings, B9, Firespitter, LLL, KAS, Stock

PWing2.png

And here's a video of my completed delivery. NOTE: There are some serious audio glitches in this and I'm not sure why. I was too lazy to find out and reencode it. If it's an issue, just turn the volume down.

video on hold, youtube is being an ass.

Edited by Fengist
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fun little challenge!

I decided to mostly copy the google wing itself.

5 Tons is pretty heavy/chunky and doesn't make for a small craft. I tried to load it myself but I'm simply not a good enough pilot and the KAX rotors are pretty slow to respond to demands. Same goes for the drop-off, to do it airborne would require the control skill of a KSP god and I simply can't keep a consistent hover, I'm either shooting into the sky or about to contact :P

Mods Used: All of them! (mostly: KAS, KAX, Real Fuels, FAR, Procedural Wing, KER.) Also a couple of AIES, NFC and Novapunch parts

Album, for your amusement:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I do think you should mention that parachutes are off limits. I tried it on an early prototype and it felt a bit...simple.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks similar to the
. The biggest problem with tailsitters is that they don't land so well in the wind. Well, they don't land at all. :wink:

Well, it's good that the weather has not yet been implemented then!

Reserved for entry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I decided to try. I'm still making prototypes but I am making it using JUST stock and firespitter. I've got the VTOL ready just need to balance it with the payload! I'll get some screenshot's up soon!

Morf of The Community Mission Log Project!

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/87255-Community-mission-log-project-Registration-Open

PLUG MUCH.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...