career mode first plane

[The Faceless Man]

how do i make a plane so i can get these observational surveys done? i need science, and they seem to be the best source for early tech.

using kb/mouse, hard to control, i go left and right and left on the runway, then somewhat off the ground, then a wing gets torn off, then poor jebediah goes spiraling into the side of the aircraft hangar.

[RoofCat]

google "KSP planes" and the first link will give you nicely written tutorial

also you are mistaken. Space science will give you much more than any of those Kerbin contracts. Get off it asap. Go space, moons and beyond. Thousands of science there.

Planes are actually slightly harder than rockets. It's a lot about balancing.

[Pembroke]

Yes, in KSP rockets are easy and planes are hard. If you just want the science just go to space as said above.

However, planes can be fun to build. Just have the Center-of-Lift (CoL, blue ball) and Center-of-Mass (CoM, yellow ball) indicators visible when you build your planes. Without that information you can't really build a functioning plane.

The basic rule-of-thumb that might help you is that if you move the CoL towards rear your plane gets more stable whereas if you move it towards the front it gets more maneuverable. This effect is always relative to the CoM and indeed the CoM is the "tipping point" where things change rapidly.

Note that you can have "too much" of either stability or maneuverability, and that's the difficulty in building planes. A too stable plane is unsteerable. You'll crash it for sure. A too maneuvarable plane will flip uncontrallably and you'll crash it for sure, too.

You need to find the "sweet spot" and it's usually when you have CoL slightly behind CoM. If you put it at exactly the CoM the steering's usually too sensitive so move it backwards to get more stability depending on your plane particulars and your preferences but don't go too far. Experiment.

[Manwith Noname]

Don't forget caps lock too. Toggles "fine control".

Personally, if you want to enjoy flying planes, I would buy a Xbox controller or cheapish stick.

There are also mods which you may find helpful...like Atmosphere Autopilot. Don't think of it so much as an autopilot though, even if it does have that functionality, it also allows for mouse controlled flight (I think) and has an improved stability controller.

[The Faceless Man]

but there's so much untapped science in all the regions of kerbin, isn't there?

[Trixi]

my first career plane look somehwat like this

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1287138698

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1287139077


notes: if you dont need to fly above 10km you can remove the LV-T45 and replace the tanks with a fuel tank.

you should be double wheels in the back, as they are quite weak

the science collect things or batteries arent neccessary. you also could put your instrument on the main body, to save the cargo bay part

the jet engines are 3 sided and moved a bit inwards, so they dont touch the ground =)

[RoofCat]

Originally posted by Lonerwurld:

but there's so much untapped science in all the regions of kerbin, isn't there?

Kerbin science has very low value compared to Mun. Even less compared to Minmus. Even less compared to Duna... you got the idea. The further you go, the more valuable the science. Eeloo has highest values, Jool system most amount.

[Newgunden]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1287429275
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1287429307
A classic Twin wing plane.
Easy take off.
Remember add controlable paddle on wing

[lPaladinl]

Planes are a lot harder to build than rockets, but that doesn't mean they're very difficult.

The most important thing to remember is balancing your CoM (Center of Mass) with your Lift. You should consider your CoM with Rockets as well, but it's much less important to being successful.

If your lift is too far ahead or behind your CoM, you start doing flips and crash into the ground.

Also helps a lot if you check your CoM between Empty and Full fuel tanks. It's very easy to shift your CoM when burning fuel, which can cause your plane to become unstable as it empties out.

Keeping all of that in mind, just make sure you have enough air surfaces to generate lift. The more the better usually to take off quickly and smoothly. It's also easier to take off with lighter planes. Make sure you have air control surfaces (elevons). If you're not aware of how real airplanes work, those usually go towards the back side of your wings. The more you have the better control you have.

If you crash a lot on take off you should try to widen your wheel base (if you have to, attaching them to the wings for small planes can help a lot). Also getting the first runway upgrade is well worth it, since the starting runway is pretty bumpy and dangerous.

However, the unfortunate truth is that Airplanes are kind of an afterthought in KSP. It's better to get use to using rockets to setup sub-orbital or orbital re-entries onto your target locations for most contracts. Airplanes just take much longer to do the same task. Airplanes also are pretty restricted to where they can be used, as you can only really use them on Kerbin and Eve. You can sort-of build a glider/plane for Duna, but the atmosphere is too thin to really take advantage of most air breathing engines. (You can however make an airplane using rocket engines and generate lift and some air control on Duna.)

The flipside of Aircraft is that they can often be cheaper and you can salvage 100% of their construction if you land safely. Rockets tend to require staging to do much, which means dumping parts that will explode on the surface. Aircraft also have much better fuel efficiency.

[The Faceless Man]

if you go into the Research & Development center and click Archives, you can see a list of all the collected science for each planet. you can only collect a finite amount of science from each device for each biome.

shouldn't i be collecting all the science on kerbin before i go further? if i go further out into space, i'll be missing all that uncollected science closer to home? if i come back later, that science will be so minor it won't be worth collecting.

i just like doing things in order, you know. this seems like a collectible, and video games have taught me that you should collect everything to achieve 100% completion status.

[Chibbity]

Originally posted by Lonerwurld:

if you go into the Research & Development center and click Archives, you can see a list of all the collected science for each planet. you can only collect a finite amount of science from each device for each biome.

shouldn't i be collecting all the science on kerbin before i go further? if i go further out into space, i'll be missing all that uncollected science closer to home? if i come back later, that science will be so minor it won't be worth collecting.

i just like doing things in order, you know. this seems like a collectible, and video games have taught me that you should collect everything to achieve 100% completion status.

There is enough science on Kerbins two moons alone to unlock the entire tech tree, no reason to scounge for low end stuff on Kerbin unless you are bored or really close to a tech you want.

Furthermore, collecting it for completionists sake will be easier once you have better tech.

This is Kerbal SPACE Program, get out into space and explore!

[Pembroke]

Yes, there's really no need to collect every science point other than being a perfectionist. You could unlock the entire tree multiple times with the available science. This changes the science strategy to collect it from where you can get it more efficiently. A space mission can give you hundreds of points. Also, similar to Kerbin the planets and moons have their different biomes, too, so why not do your "biome hopping" there?

Though, there is "easy science" on Kerbin, too: The KSC and its surroundings. Every building and every plot outside a building is it's own biome plus there's the nearby grassland, shores, and ocean. That totals up quite nicely and it's comfortably concentrated. In the early game I usually build a "science car" and drive around the entire thing with a scientist. That gives a lot of initial science to unlock the various early techs needed to get decent rockets and then it's off to deep space.

[The Faceless Man]

how do you build a "science-mobile" with early career tech? (i renamed it because i think it sounds cooler this way)

[Pembroke]

Unlock the aviation tech. All you need is the landing gear for wheels. If you like, you can go fancy and build a "plane without wings" for extended power time.

Just keep the speed slow or a bump will make you go boom.