Are Aerodynamic Nose Cones useful during Launch?

[Lexyvil]

Knowing that "Aerodynamic Nose Cones" have pointy tips, do they really contribute on how fast a rocket can pick up speed during the launching phase if I place them on top of a flat surfaced cylinder fuel tank? Or does that only stabilizes the rocket more, preventing it from tilting towards the horizon? Or both?

[Alshain]

Not in stock, no. They actually make it worse. Stock aero in it's current form basically takes count of all the parts, multiplies them by 0.2 and that is drag factor, regardless of where they are or what they are hidden behind. So more parts = more drag.

If you want better, use the Ferram Aerospace Research (FAR) mod. It uses the shape of the craft to determine aerodynamics like the real world. So if something is behind a nose cone or in a cargo bay or fairing, you get a better result.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Alshain

[Red Iron Crown]

Stock aero in it's current form basically takes count of all the parts, multiplies them by 0.2 and that is drag factor, regardless of where they are or what they are hidden behind.

That's not exactly correct. Drag is calculated and applied on a per-part basis, with the drag area being calculated as 0.008*m*Cd using mass in tons as m and the part's drag value as Cd. Not all parts have a Cd of 0.2, quite notably nosecones have a lower Cd and thus create less drag per unit mass. That means that placing nosecones ahead of the CoM increases the directional stability of a craft, while placing them behind decreases stability. Location matters, but orientation (for non-wing parts) and occlusion do not.

That said, the very minor stabilizing effect of well placed nosecones is generally a poor tradeoff for the increased mass and drag. Hopefully the new aero model that is coming will take shape into account in a way similar to FAR and make nosecones more useful.

[7499275]

Point is, don't need it in stock. I suggest using FAR (more difficult) but more realistic and imo fun.

However I saw it announced somewhere after beta release that the next update will work on stock aerodynamics.

[SaturnV]

Dev are working on the new aerodynamic system. Wait for it or use FAR

[wibou]

They are quite useful in early career, although indirectly : RT-10 Solid Fuel booster will quickly overeat if place side by side with another booster. Adding the nosecone usually make it possible for it to finish its fuel without exploding.

Granted, it is a side effect, any part added on top of it would have the same effect. But unlike parachute or girder, nosecone does not make your early rocket ugly

[tater]

Point is, don't need it in stock. I suggest using FAR (more difficult) but more realistic and imo fun.

I've used FAR for a while, and I honestly didn't really notice it was installed since I made rockets that looked like rockets I guess.

[numerobis]

They are quite useful in early career, although indirectly : RT-10 Solid Fuel booster will quickly overeat if place side by side with another booster. Adding the nosecone usually make it possible for it to finish its fuel without exploding.

Granted, it is a side effect, any part added on top of it would have the same effect. But unlike parachute or girder, nosecone does not make your early rocket ugly

You can also tweak the thrust to avoid overheating. But indeed, nosecones are pretty.

[OhioBob]

This topic was discussed in detail in the following thread:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/102850-Particularly-minute-minutiae-of-nosecones-in-stock-aerodynamics

[Lexyvil]

Thanks for all the info everyone. Not sure how to change a thread to "Answered" from "Unanswered" though~

Edited January 9, 2015 by Lexyvil

[Master Tao]

With "Edit Post" on the first post > Go Advanced. Then change the Prefix in the dropdown menu. Like this.

[Voculus]

Before I began using FAR, all of my rockets still had nosecones, because they look like a pile thoughtlessly thrown-together crap, otherwise. Of course, your mileage may vary.