[Stock Helicopters & Turboprops] Non DLC Will Always Be More Fun!

[Gman_builder]

4 hours ago, The Optimist said:

I like the way they look, despite the obvious shortcomings. 

Alrighty then.

[Gman_builder]

Yall should check this out

 

[Azimech]

Updated to version 3!

 

 

https://kerbalx.com/Azimech/77I-Azi12-Curious-Chakora-v3

 

[Gman_builder]

39 minutes ago, Azimech said:

Updated to version 3!

 

 

https://kerbalx.com/Azimech/77I-Azi12-Curious-Chakora-v3

 

Very nice! Great functionality as well as performance! I am genuinely impressed!

When did you make that engine? I would have remembered you posting it here.

[Azimech]

5 hours ago, Gman_builder said:

Very nice! Great functionality as well as performance! I am genuinely impressed!

When did you make that engine? I would have remembered you posting it here.

It's just an evolution of the v2, first time I'm really showing it. I don't keep a personal changelog (too many projects and revisions, my SPH folder usually has 100+ craft, per save folder, per KSP install) so can't really tell you when.

[The Optimist]

I realized that the future of practical propeller planes lies within the power of the almighty reaction wheel motor. They're better than turboprops in almost every way.

[Azimech]

5 minutes ago, The Optimist said:

I realized that the future of practical propeller planes lies within the power of the almighty reaction wheel motor. They're better than turboprops in almost every way.

Could be ... the deafening sound of boredom will kill ya though.

[The Optimist]

5 minutes ago, Azimech said:

Could be ... the deafening sound of boredom will kill ya though.

They aren't that slow, right?

[Gman_builder]

11 minutes ago, The Optimist said:

I realized that the future of practical propeller planes lies within the power of the almighty reaction wheel motor. They're better than turboprops in almost every way.

Uh how exactly? Less torque, less speed, not as mature.

[The Optimist]

2 minutes ago, Gman_builder said:

Uh how exactly? Less torque, less speed, not as mature.

More efficient part-wise, smaller, easier to manage, less likely to crash my computer, etc.

[Azimech]

5 minutes ago, The Optimist said:

They aren't that slow, right?

No, but not as challenging as turboprops from an engineering point of view.

But my personal preference is there as well ... I love piston engines the most, then come jet engines/turboshafts ... can't find anything remotely exciting about electric motors. I'm a fossil :-P

[The Optimist]

1 hour ago, Azimech said:

No, but not as challenging as turboprops from an engineering point of view.

But my personal preference is there as well ... I love piston engines the most, then come jet engines/turboshafts ... can't find anything remotely exciting about electric motors. I'm a fossil :-P

Electric engines are the way of the future, I tell you. Just look at Elon Musk and those weird Solar Impulse guys

[Gman_builder]

1 hour ago, The Optimist said:

Electric engines are the way of the future, I tell you. Just look at Elon Musk and those weird Solar Impulse guys

YA Solar Impulse 2 flew around the world but it took 18 different stops, had a max speed of 56 mph, could only fly 1000 miles,(dunno why, cause it's solar powered) and had a max altitude of only 27,000 feet.

Now compare that to a jet powered aircraft  with the same wingspan.

I.E. a Boeing 747-400ER      O_O

Max speed: 608 mph

Max range: 7,670 miles

Max altitude: 41,000 feet

Plus it would probably only take somewhere around 5 stops to circumnavigate the world.

1st generation jets still had better performance of these 2nd or whatever generation electric planes. Another downside of electric aircraft is that electric motors are very heavy, SUPER inefficient, and don't produce nearly as much thrust as a jet engine of comparable weight and size.

A electric aircraft would require solar panels covering the wings and fuselage to achieve any sort of range that could be useful. But then all those solar panels mean you need massive wings and a fuselage which increases drag and decreases speed. Which essentially cancels out all benefits of electric travel.

Solar Impulse 1 & 2 are a experiment and wont lead to any development that could make electric air travel feasible. After all it took Impulse 2 72 HOURS to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

You can say similar things about electric cars. They have lower range and speed. But obviously those two things don't matter as much in land based travel.

Emissions are also hardly relevant.

 

 

 

 

[Azimech]

I've got an idea ... I'll build a turboprop with an ISRU and drill and try to fly around Kerbin. Optimist does the same, we'll see who gets back at KSC first :-)

[Gman_builder]

3 minutes ago, Azimech said:

I've got an idea ... I'll build a turboprop with an ISRU and drill and try to fly around Kerbin. Optimist does the same, we'll see who gets back at KSC first :-)

Based on the reliability of current turboprops, be it electric or LF powered. I think that is impossible. It's hard to land a turboprop once let alone 20 times.

[Azimech]

40 minutes ago, Gman_builder said:

Based on the reliability of current turboprops, be it electric or LF powered. I think that is impossible. It's hard to land a turboprop once let alone 20 times.

I don't think I'll need 20 times ... Chakora v3 almost reached the south pole on it's internal tanks the first time I tried.

Here's a first test flight. It's running the ISRU while flying converting ore to fuel. Stupid thing is: I've lost control due to electricity consumption being higher than the Juno's are delivering at the moment ... so while I was browsing the batteries went flat and I've lost control.

And then suddenly I got control back because the ISRU started to overheat and shut down. Funny.

 

Edited August 4, 2016 by Azimech

[Gman_builder]

huh. cool. You could just cover the wings in PV cells so it has infinite EC pretty much.

There's also a mod out there that adds a part that scoops ore from the atmosphere(dunno how that works) but I forgot what it's called.  

 

[Azimech]

7 minutes ago, Gman_builder said:

huh. cool. You could just cover the wings in PV cells so it has infinite EC pretty much.

There's also a mod out there that adds a part that scoops ore from the atmosphere(dunno how that works) but I forgot what it's called.  

 

Yeah but both cases would be cheating ;-)

Anyway, I've discovered the whole ISRU/drill thing to be too cumbersome, so I'm just gonna fly and drop off some tank trucks at a few spots around kerbin.

Test flying a cargo plane & tank truck right now.

 

 

[Gman_builder]

@AzimechHow is having PV to power the ISRU cheating? Its not adding any mod parts.

[Azimech]

1 minute ago, Gman_builder said:

@AzimechHow is having PV to power the ISRU cheating? Its not adding any mod parts.

True, but the whole thing is about electricity vs fossil fuel. Alas, using blowers or the APU to generate electricity would do it barely, both the drill and ISRU consume huge amounts of electricity, even with an engineer on board. And it just takes a lot of time ... drilling takes days, too much when racing.

[Gman_builder]

10 minutes ago, Azimech said:

True, but the whole thing is about electricity vs fossil fuel. Alas, using blowers or the APU to generate electricity would do it barely, both the drill and ISRU consume huge amounts of electricity, even with an engineer on board. And it just takes a lot of time ... drilling takes days, too much when racing.

Ya, that makes sense.

You know, instead of setting up a bunch of refueling points you could just make a plane that can fly around the world.

That may be a challenge but you know whatevs. I'm sure it can be done.

[Azimech]

43 minutes ago, Gman_builder said:

Ya, that makes sense.

You know, instead of setting up a bunch of refueling points you could just make a plane that can fly around the world.

That may be a challenge but you know whatevs. I'm sure it can be done.

Should be possible but as it is now, the plane has only 260 parts and that means it can fly at real time instead of the simulation slowing down. We can't use time acceleration with turboprops. Adding more fuel means I need more power, means more Juno's running ... and they heavily tax the CPU. I use 40 Juno's for liftoff, only 20 in economy mode --> green time display.

[Gman_builder]

17 minutes ago, Azimech said:

Should be possible but as it is now, the plane has only 260 parts and that means it can fly at real time instead of the simulation slowing down. We can't use time acceleration with turboprops. Adding more fuel means I need more power, means more Juno's running ... and they heavily tax the CPU. I use 40 Juno's for liftoff, only 20 in economy mode --> green time display.

Hmm. I like this economy mode. Seems quite efficient.

I modified my Gremlin Mk3 by adding some more fuel tanks, and for whatever reason the engine cannot get over 33 rad/s. No clue why. I tried again after I restarted my computer but nothing. This crap seems to happen to me a lot.

[Azimech]

10 minutes ago, Gman_builder said:

Hmm. I like this economy mode. Seems quite efficient.

I modified my Gremlin Mk3 by adding some more fuel tanks, and for whatever reason the engine cannot get over 33 rad/s. No clue why. I tried again after I restarted my computer but nothing. This crap seems to happen to me a lot.

I hope you'll figure it out, would be nice to have some more planes in the air doing long distance runs.

[Gman_builder]

7 minutes ago, Azimech said:

I hope you'll figure it out, would be nice to have some more planes in the air doing long distance runs.

Absolutely. Wish I could participate.