Project G42-200 StarLiner

[datubaman]

Wait a minute...how would those cupholders work? There's no gravity!

 

[Moach]

Wait a minute...how would those cupholders work? There's no gravity!

the proper NASA-style name for those is MGFCSR (Micro Gravity Fluid Container Stowage Ring)... but between friends, i guess we could just as well refer to them as "cupholders" :shifty:

i guess they would have one of those spring loaded thingies that press against the inserted cup :hmm:



another option is to keep pulling some G's... but that might prove inconvenient for a stable flight :lol:

 

[Izack]

the proper NASA-style name for those is MGFCSR (Micro Gravity Fluid Container Stowage Ring)... but between friends, i guess we could just as well refer to them as "cupholders" :shifty:

i guess they would have one of those spring loaded thingies that press against the inserted cup :hmm:

Well, the cupholders in my Civic have spring-loaded sections that keep the cup firmly in place as I tear over the seasonal pot holes, so it's no stretch to believe NASA could come up with similar technology... :lol:

 

[Moach]

Well, the cupholders in my Civic have spring-loaded sections that keep the cup firmly in place as I tear over the seasonal pot holes, so it's no stretch to believe NASA could come up with similar technology... :lol:

yes! exactly! i was trying to remember where i had seen that before - my brother (HarvesteR) used to drive a Civic too - and it had those :lol:

 

[T.Neo]

those would be a little more elaborate (less disposable-looking) than those in airliners... but the concept is similar... although airliner masks don't have to deal with as critical toxic cabin air situations, so these should be somewhat more space-worthy

Well, in STS the pilots (along with everyone else) wear pressure suits, so that's the problem solved right there... presumably this is qualified for launches and landings with more-or-less plainclothes, as having everyone wear pressure suits all the time would be impractical (and you also have on-orbit operations, where you'll be spending most of your time anyway). Maybe it would be better for the masks/respirators/etc to be independant, detachable units- that could be used within the whole pressurised cabin and not only at the pilot/commander seats.

I like your cockpit- reminded me of the Valkyrie shuttle from Avatar:

the proper NASA-style name for those is MGFCSR (Micro Gravity Fluid Container Stowage Ring)... but between friends, i guess we could just as well refer to them as "cupholders"

But wait... in microgravity, you can't drink out of a cup very efficiently (liquid doesn't accumulate at the bottom of the container like it does on Earth, rather it floats around in little hard-to-get-at globules).

You can have some sort of cup that uses capillary action to get the fluid to your mouth or to a straw (a similar system is used to get propellant to feed lines for microgravity engine starts), but this could have other impracticalities (it could become disrupted or could splash when manouvering).

The other alternative is to use a conventional drink-bag within a solid container that can be held in the spring-loaded cupholder- having the flexible bag within a solid container also means that there is no worry accidently squeezing the bag and emptying the contents all over the instrumentation...

You could even use the cupholder to hold other things- such as meals- provided they fit. Nevertheless, it'd still be advantageous to have microgravity item straps, as well as velcro pads and suchlike around the cabin to hold various items.

 

[jangofett287]

Nevertheless, it'd still be advantageous to have microgravity item straps, as well as velcro pads and suchlike around the cabin to hold various items.

Now, that's common sense, why would moach do any of that?:rofl:

 

[zerofay32]

I think you're taking the cupholder thing a litte too seriously. The "joke" about including cupholders goes back to the development of the XR-2, along with "fuzzy dice".

 

[Manichean]

I think you're taking the cupholder thing a litte too seriously. The "joke" about including cupholders goes back to the development of the XR-2, along with "fuzzy dice".

You can't take cupholders too seriously. It's a law of nature. Having good cupholders is, like, the most important thing on a spacecraft, yaknow? :lol:
(and cupholders)

 

[Grover]

just think, just over a minute to re-entry interface, the pilot realisez he needs a drink. if he leaves it to landing, he has to go on for nearly half an hour. normally he wouldnt be able to make it back to the water in time, but now his favourite beverage is within arms reach

 

[Moach]

the gave us cupholders for a reason! - one could even risk a hot reentry or a shallow approach, but a dehidrated pilot is not an acceptable situation

---------- Post added at 11:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:27 AM ----------

ok, DVC news!

i got the consoles and overhead installed... plus a nice section of the glareshield panel as well :thumbup:

it's coming along... bit by bit

 

[Grover]

it must be a pain to texture (as in align it to the plan) as you go along, that would really kill me

 

[Moach]

it must be a pain to texture (as in align it to the plan) as you go along, that would really kill me

it's actually easier than doing it later on... at least you know how things should fit before you have a lot of complexity to deal with

 

[Moach]

got more!

it's shaping up! starting to look like a cockpit now :lol:

it wasn't very easy to get those side panels lined up... everything is angled around that area... quite a mess, the gizmos aren't straight, it was quite a challenge to get all the panels flat without messing up everything around ...


but there it is :thumbup:

 

[edsupagood]

Starting to look very awesome! Good job Moach :thumbup:
Keep up the good work!

 

[Arrowstar]

Looking good! Can't wait to get behind the proverbial wheel of this sweet little machine.

 

[jangofett287]

yes, YES and YES!!! Its looking great Moach, keep it up. If you need someone to test what happens if someone does something stupid, I'm your man!

 

[Moach]

might not look at all very different... but i did get some progress done on it today... not much, but progress nonetheless

anyways, i almost got a full canopy around the DVC now.... the back side of it i don't plan to model much, since you can't really turn your head that far...
so for a first release, that'll be enough... later on, if i decide it's worth it, i'll model a more walkthrough-worthy cabin, but that's not a high priority ATM

more important is to get this thing flying :lol:

the bay-facing console, as the '100 featured is on the to-do list :hmm: - at first it might just be a gimmick, but later on i even might rig it with a couple of MFD's so you can do docking from there

later folks!

 

[Moach]

landing gears, anyone?

i've figured out a way to rotate the main trucks so they are packed most compactly into the underwing pods
of course, i'm not quite done modelling them, as you can see, the rear doors and wells are missing, as well as some more details and whatnot


other than that, if you would notice just beside the main engine exhausts, there's a little secondary nozzle - those are the OMS thrusters, the slowly-but-surely jets that get you around once you're in orbit :thumbup:
like on the '100, they are powered by the same monopropellant fuel used by the APU and RCS jets...

under the wing, those pods extend forward, shaping into a canoe-like fairing that covers the wing hinge as it bends upwards...
the other pivoting section, closer to the tip, is designed to pivot DOWN, and thus shall have a (yet-not-modelled) canoe of it's own on the top surface...

looking closer, although subtle, you might see how the seam across the wing chord is not a straight line, it is slightly curved, matching the curvature of the upper wing - so when it rotates up, the inner edge can slide under the inboard upper surface, minimizing the gap between the panels


you might also notice that the leading edges are straighter now... the ogival contour wasn't looking right when the wings were folded, so i had them reshaped a bit...
it looks like it want's to go faster now, i think :lol:


well, for now, that's that.... back to work

 

[theflyingfish]

I was wondering... Does anyone know how the almost perfectly cylindrical nose section will act during reentry? Using my crude knowledge of aerodynamics, it seems as if a better choice would be a nose with an obtuse-triangle cross-section, or more of like an SR-71-style nose, with a flatter bottom. I only thought of this because I have never seen a re-entry capable spaceplane with a cylindrically shaped fuselage before, and it is probably for a reason. Also, with a triangle nose it would be easier to blend the fuselage with the main wing/engine area.

Feel free to disregard my idea if you wish. I have no desire to have you revise and remodel the whole ship and delay the release another month, and possibky spark a forum-wide flame war, just to change the nose shape.

As always, good luck with the project. If I had any idea how to model I would give you an example, but I don't. The VC looks great!

 

[Moach]

(...)I have never seen a re-entry capable spaceplane with a cylindrically shaped fuselage before (...)

...and now you have :thumbup::lol:


anyways, the bottom of the G42 nose is slightly flattened... it's quite subtle, so you wouldn't notice it in those crude renders...

also, the G42 is in great part based on the Skylon... so i guess if it works for them, should work for us :tiphat: