HyperDart - A new spaceplane

[CigDriver]

I'd love to have a flight computer too, but way beyond my C++ abilities at this time.

I've never done anything with a 2D panel before, I jumped strait to the VC. I'll look into it and see how much work it will be.

I'll do my best to keep everything legible and in view, but there will always be limitations on where stuff can be stuck. I did move the engine, rcs and airfoil controls front and center. With a 50 FOV you should be able to see everything except the lower panel, and all of that isn't checked as much. Another option is something like free track. I built one, it is amazing to be able to just look around the VC All together, LEDs, webcam, and some wire it cost me about $30 USD and 45 minutes to get it together. Of course there is always TrackIR, but it is expensive! now that i have it I just can't fly without it, especially in FSX, I love leaning out the window to land a cub, or just check out the sites

I'll definitely build out the mission specialist area based on the resoundingly positive feedback that idea gets! If you hit ctrl-down arrow in the current hyperDart you actually pop back there, I just never finished it.

 

[CigDriver]

Work is slowly progressing on the HD. I'm finishing up the VC model and getting ready to jump back into the code to make it all work. It is a scary thought, the VC code is probably 75% of the overall code!

The cockpit is 90% modeled, and I've been sprucing up the cabin area. I detailed the airlock door, desk areas and floor with storage doors and hatches for the stowable crew seats. No textures yet. At the work station you can see two large displays that will be UMMU and UCGO interfaces and 3 smaller screens that will most likely be MFDs, but I may use one as thruster controls.

While I was poking through the HD code I added a drooping function to the control surfaces when you are landed and the aero surfaces are off.

I also mixed in a speedbrake animation to the control surfaces. It is proportional to the amount of speedbraked used. Both Rudders turn out/down and the elevons turn up. A little hard to see in this picture, but you get the idea.

the final bit of new code is in the XL. I added the Darts wings to the XL for the added lift. Currently they are hard coded, but they do get deleted when the XL is released. It lowers the takeoff speed of the stack a bit, and makes it fly better overall. I'm going to look through the SDK and see if i can come up with a more elegant solution than hard coding the wings so it can work with anything that is attached to the XL-70, I know someone did a scenario with XR2 on the XL-70

more later.

 

[Andy44]

Looks beautiful, CD. I love the linear aerospike engine especially.

 

[garyw]

While I was poking through the HD code I added a drooping function to the control surfaces when you are landed and the aero surfaces are off.

I love that idea, I've been able to sort of simulate it on the XR series but having in code in cool!

It's looking awesome!

 

[CigDriver]

I'm updating the Dart package for 2010. So far everything works except the heating code due to the new atmosphere model. The Dart cooks itself in orbit I've got a quick fix that I'm testing now. I also need to download and test URMS and see if it works in 2010. Then I'll release a new version with the 1.5 VC as I call it. This isn't the one in the latest pictures posted, but the slightly revamped VC that I never released. The Dart will feature the new animated elements like the speedbrake and drooping surfaces.

 

[IronRain]

I've tested URMS for you in orbiter 2010, and I can confirm it's working

 

[CigDriver]

I've been playing with the script autopilot for the DG in 2010, trying to get it to work with the XL-70. The speed hold worked great from the beginning, I've tweaked the altitude hold to work better and I'm fussing with the heading hold now. that one is giving me fits so far It overshoots the desired heading then rips the wings off the XL trying to get back to the desired heading. One big problem is the XL needs rudder to be coordinated in turns where the DG doesn't seem to need it. I may have to try and program some rudder into the AP.

Overall the package works great in 2010 compiled against 2006. Well, it works great after i tweaked the heating code, but that has no effect in 2006. I was going to compile it against 2010 but may leave it as is so it works for people hanging onto 2006 for now.

 

[Eccentrus]

so CigDriver, when will your next beta release be? I'm drooling

 

[Urwumpe]

The Dart cooks itself in orbit

Do you have the heat balance wrong? I have the formulas for such things here, if you are interested:

Heat balance for a volume cell of a spacecraft:

Qconv is heat by convection (eg, by coolant flow).
Qcond is heat by conduction (eg, by friction with the air).
Qrad,in is heat by incoming radiation (glowing plasma, Earth, sun)
Qrad,out is heat removed by thermal radiation.

This here is the formula for how much heat flux you get at a surface of the spacecraft by aerodynamic friction:

Tw is wall temperature of the spacecraft surface, the result is a heatflux in W/m²

All variables with infinity in the subscript are parameters of the incoming air.

 

[CigDriver]

I've been working on it

The new atmosphere model in 2010 was wreaking havoc with the XL-70's engines so I had to adjust them. I still need to tweak them a bit, they are a bit too powerful over mach 2, but work for now. When I first brought the XL into 2010 it couldn't get over Mach 1 at 10Km While I was in the code I added UMMU to the XL and Hielor's nosewheel steering code to both the Dart and the XL. They are much nicer to drive on the ground now It is cool to taxi the full stack from one of the hangars at Wideawake to the runway.

I also tweaked the heat tolerances for the Dart a bit so you could bring her in a bit harder, but not much. I need some good pilots to test out reentry and landing with the Dart so i can get some good feedback, I've been having problems getting her down and where I want her I can get her down, just not exactly where I want, I always seem to be too high and fast or a crispy critter

The final component I want to finish is a UCGO micro-sat system. I've built a little imagery satellite that fits in a standard UCGO container. That one is modeled but not textured yet. I'd like to eventually have 3-4 different sats for different missions, but they may have to wait. I'm also planning on building a little booster that can kick the micro-sats into HEO so you can get a nice long dwell time over your target. I'm going to code both with invisible docking ports so you can join them in orbit then control the assembled stack from the booster. A micro-sat mission would run something like this:

1. Launch the Dart with a mix of sats and boosters (up to 6 total UCGO containers)
2. EVA to unpack a micro-sat
3. Unpack booster and assemble with micro-sat(if needed)
4. launch the stack into the desired orbit(if needed)
5. prepare for next micro-sat launch by orbit adjustments such as:
   1. change orbit height
   2. change inc with an aerobrake plane adjustment (this can be done with the dart and oms engines and is pretty cool... a lot less fuel than a standard plane change)
6. repeat microsat launch/assembly as needed
7. return to base

The micro-sats will be dll based. At first they will have no VC but at some point I'd like to build a VC that looks like a ground based control room

So, to answer your question...I'll try to get a beta up this weekend or early next week. It may or may not have the micro-sat/booster though.

 

[Coolhand]

great that you're still working on this, its an awesome project. I really like the work you've put into the interior model since i saw it last too.

 

[CigDriver]

Do you have the heat balance wrong? I have the formulas for such things here, if you are interested:

Heat balance for a volume cell of a spacecraft:

Qconv is heat by convection (eg, by coolant flow).
Qcond is heat by conduction (eg, by friction with the air).
Qrad,in is heat by incoming radiation (glowing plasma, Earth, sun)
Qrad,out is heat removed by thermal radiation.

This here is the formula for how much heat flux you get at a surface of the spacecraft by aerodynamic friction:

Tw is wall temperature of the spacecraft surface, the result is a heatflux in W/m²

All variables with infinity in the subscript are parameters of the incoming air.

Thanks U. I'll have to digest all that In the mean time I put a bandage on it by forcing the outside air temp above a certain altitude. Works for now, but a true solution would be much better.

 

[Andy44]

The micro-sats will be dll based. At first they will have no VC but at some point I'd like to build a VC that looks like a ground based control room

That's a very neat idea, wonder why noone's thought of that, before!

 

[donatelo200]

This is my new favoret spaceplane! Nice work!:thumbup: I love soring through the sky at mach 4.

 

[krashkart]

I need some good pilots to test out reentry and landing with the Dart so i can get some good feedback, I've been having problems getting her down and where I want her I can get her down, just not exactly where I want, I always seem to be too high and fast or a crispy critter

I'm in. Will there be bacon? :hello:

 

[CigDriver]

MMMM bacon...I guess most of my UMMUs turned to bacon

Work has kept me from doing another release early this week like I wanted, but it will be soon.

Anyway, I coded the micro imagery satellite and the associated UCGO files needed for it. It works nice but there is one unforeseen problem...UMMU can't grapple dll ships Oh well so much for assembling the microsat/booster stack with a UMMU, I guess you can do it with the URMS that is in most of the scenario files, but you still have to EVA to unpack the microsat. I might make it auto unpack, not sure yet.

I rediscovered a another bug that I had forgotten about. The first cargo released goes really fast for some reason. Any after that work as intended. I'll have to find that one so you don't have to chase down the first container with a ummu

 

[Eccentrus]

MMMM bacon...I guess most of my UMMUs turned to bacon

I think whenever any manned orbiter vehicle addon is made, there should be the "a lot of UMMUs were hurt in the making of this addon, and especially, in the use of it" line in the docs

Can't wait until you finally released it anyway, *drooling for the next beta*

 

[CigDriver]

Very close to the next beta

Assembling the Micro Satellite and Booster in the Bay of the HyperDart.

The Stack is assembled and just waiting for the Dart to move away before it can burn for higher orbit.

The S3 Micro Satellite - Imagery deployed and in orbit. (textures on the sat and booster are draft, I'll spruce them up some more)

Of course doing this I realized that the booster really needs translational thruster not just rotation. I think it will be much nicer to move the stack away from the HyperDart than moving the HyperDart I'll get those rigged up, the model has the thrusters I just have to activate them. All that is left is removing some redundant thrusters from the little sat and package everything up. Shall we shoot for...Tuesday

 

[mc_]

If the stack supposed to be moved away from the HyperDart, then, maybe, UMMU can do it? Its simple, and assembling the stack means you need to go EVA anyway.

 

[CigDriver]

I haven't been able to get the UMMU to grab it. I think it is due to the vessels being dlls and not simple UCGO static objects. If you know a way to grab them that would be great!