Aircraft Design Help (Full Version)

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Dukie -> Aircraft Design Help (1/3/2021 3:36:14 PM)

I give up! I can't seem to design any viable aircraft, helicopters or thopters. The best operational range I've achieved is two! For example, trying to design my first aircraft (or helicopter) I had a choice of ~eight engines and 4 wings. I selected a "Recon" aircraft designation and then tried a variety of prototypes. Smallest engine/smallest wing/medium fuel tank, Largest engine/medium wing/medium fuel tank, medium engine/wing/tank and so on. You get the picture. I tried some dozen different options. What does it take to get viable airframes?



Sieppo -> RE: Aircraft Design Help (1/3/2021 4:16:49 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Dukie

I give up! I can't seem to design any viable aircraft, helicopters or thopters. The best operational range I've achieved is two! For example, trying to design my first aircraft (or helicopter) I had a choice of ~eight engines and 4 wings. I selected a "Recon" aircraft designation and then tried a variety of prototypes. Smallest engine/smallest wing/medium fuel tank, Largest engine/medium wing/medium fuel tank, medium engine/wing/tank and so on. You get the picture. I tried some dozen different options. What does it take to get viable airframes?


Envious :'D? It's possible. Just awesome to get a heavy sized killer that can land anywhere. Must be a planet gravity and air pressure issue?

[image]local://upfiles/43604/CF8FFF589281448B87E8D97830E4E8B5.jpg[/image]



Soar_Slitherine -> RE: Aircraft Design Help (1/3/2021 5:02:20 PM)

Is the air pressure on your world very low? You can check it under Reports -> Help -> Planet Statistics overview. Low air pressure can severely restrict the range of aircraft using air-breathing engines, especially if gravity is also high compared to air pressure. If that's the issue, you can try and see if you can get better range from rocket engines. You can check this document for some points of reference for how aircraft should perform under different kinds of atmospheric conditions.



jimwinsor -> RE: Aircraft Design Help (1/3/2021 9:12:25 PM)

The biggest factor I've found in creating decent planes is the "Air" applied science linear techs. Make sure you research aerodynamics, basic aircraft design, etc to at least over 50% or so. You'd be amazed how much this helps!



Dukie -> RE: Aircraft Design Help (1/3/2021 9:59:11 PM)

Thanks, all, for the tips! I do believe it had something to do gravity and atmospheric pressure. Soar, that document is great.



zgrssd -> RE: Aircraft Design Help (1/4/2021 9:08:49 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dukie

Thanks, all, for the tips! I do believe it had something to do gravity and atmospheric pressure. Soar, that document is great.

Mars is a abysmal place to fly. Or Aerobreak. The air density is just too low.
Indeed it is lower then what gravity can maintain - thanks to the lack of magnetic field, the solar wind managed to strip a lot of the atmosphere. So it has a very lopsided gravity/pressure ratio.

As a general advice for range:
Biggest wings. Only reduce it if you are way above takeoff speed with the minimal engine and fuel
Smalest engine that can still lift it off
Small fuel tank. Unless you got a serious bomb/cargo space, the weight of Fuel can become a large factor of the overall weight. Wich means you need a bigger engine, wich means the same fuel lasts less shorter.

Note that Aircraft ranges only come in very discrete steps. You will rarely just get a increase of 1 Hex.



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