Challenge Old School stuff

[Bendarr]

Inspired by a post I made in another thread I decide to make it official.

Here are my thoughts, the Orbitnaut uses a lot of MFDs in their typical flight. Let's go back in time (aka 1950's Robert Heinlein for example) and see if people can do without.

The conditions:
1) A DGIV parked on KSC (feel free to use one of the scenarios)
2) Huge atmosphere and fuel reserves.
3) Unlimited Fuel.
4) You may use the following MFDs:
a) Either OrbitMFD or FreeOrbitMFD.
b) Your choice of entertainment MFD (Radio/MP3 or Tetris or what have you)
5) No other MFDs whatsoever!
6) You are not allowed to use ANY autopilots whatsoever except the following. Kill Rot, Prograde, and Retrograde, +Normal, - Normal. That's it.
7) Feel free to use any HUDs that you may have. Just no MFD that would go with it.


Your goal:
1) Take off, achieve Earth orbit.
2) Leave Earth Orbit and go to the Moon.
3) Once at the Moon feel Circularize your Orbit.
4) Orbit the Moon for at least 3 Orbits.
5) Leave the Moon and return to a Orbit around the Earth.
6) Once in Earth Orbit Circularize your Orbit.

I've very sure that our advanced pilots will be able to do this. Heck, I'm a beginning pilot and this is how I do it.

Bonus if you can dock with the ISS using Orbit MFD only.

Have fun!

Hail !

 

[Jarvitä]

The information provided by orbit MFD and huds alone would, in real life, require constant communication with ground tracking stations and several arrays of astronomic observatories. Not all that 50's style.

 

[Izack]

This is pretty much what I do every time I play Orbiter, but without unlimited fuel.

Only thing I haven't tried is rendezvous without SyncOrbitMFD. Docking without an MFD is time-consuming, but not impossible. Actually, I learned to dock without it before I knew how to use it! :lol:

I have a challenge for you now:
Start at Brighton Beach in Shuttle-A, with limited fuel. Using only Attitude MFD and OrbitMFD, dock with Mir. :thumbup:

 

[Bendarr]

This is pretty much what I do every time I play Orbiter, but without unlimited fuel.

Only thing I haven't tried is rendezvous without SyncOrbitMFD. Docking without an MFD is time-consuming, but not impossible. Actually, I learned to dock without it before I knew how to use it! :lol:

I have a challenge for you now:
Start at Brighton Beach in Shuttle-A, with limited fuel. Using only Attitude MFD and OrbitMFD, dock with Mir. :thumbup:

I'll need to pass on your challenge since I haven't figured out how to dock yet using the MFDs yet so yes I admit that it's automatically beyond my skill level.

 

[Lucy]

'course, you can do it the other way around and dock to ISS using only dock MFD - nothing else, not even a visual contact...

(part two, curse you YouTube)

It's about 15 minutes long and the aspect got a bit squished, but I did it in such a low resolution deliberately, to make the panel cover off enough of the screen so I couldn't see ISS.

 

[Dambuster]

Want a real challenge (at least for me )?

Dock an Arrow freighter to the DGIV (or XR2, etc), but from the perspective of the Arrow. External view not allowed, so Docking MFD only.

Not exactly 'old school', but definitely a real challenge!

 

[Izack]

Docking an Arrow to a DGIV...Ouch. Not only is it off-center, it's backwards! :blink:

 

[Bendarr]

Well, decided to play my own challenge. It took me two "flips" to get in the neighborhood of the moon and then a third to achieve orbit. I am a little proud of myself though, it took only one flip to get from the moon to a orbit around the earth. All in one shot.

 

[Bloodworth]

Only thing I haven't tried is rendezvous without SyncOrbitMFD. Docking without an MFD is time-consuming, but not impossible. Actually, I learned to dock without it before I knew how to use it! :lol:
:thumbup:

The only mfd's you need for an orbital rendezvous are map, orbit and surface. They're the only ones I've ever used and I get there pretty handily.

 

[Izack]

I can see using Map for plane-alignment, but how do you calculate your ideal apogee altitude without the DTmin display in SyncOrbit?
Just eyeball it?

 

[Jarvitä]

I can see using Map for plane-alignment, but how do you calculate your ideal apogee altitude without the DTmin display in SyncOrbit?
Just eyeball it?

OrbitMFD has provides inclination and a good-enough visual representation of ascending and descending nodes to align your orbital plane.

As for syncing with orbitMFD alone, you basically have three options:

1.)Do all the math yourself
2.)As you approach your target, slowly adjust your altitude by a couple km per orbit, keeping it circular, until you're there
3.)Do 1. or 2. Enough times so you get a feeling for it and just go straight for the target

Of course, this is only precise enough for spacecraft like the DGIV and XR-2. Attempting it with a realistic spacecraft would likely result in failure.

 

[Andy44]

You could do like the Gemini crews did:

1. Place yourself in an orbit about 40 km below your docking target. You want to be behind it, so that your lower orbit will have you overtaking it from behind and below.

2. Look out your windshield and watch the target as you approach it. When it is about 45 deg above and ahead of you, thrust towards it.

Eventually you will arrive right on its doorstep. You need to practice adjusting your throttle to see how much thrust it takes to do this smoothly; I suspect the DG has quite a bit more acceleration than Gemini's orbital maneuver thrusters provided.

This works best if the sun is behind you, so that the target is nice and bright in the sky in front of you.

I did this a few years ago and it worked, maybe I'll try it again right now.

 

[Bloodworth]

I can see using Map for plane-alignment, but how do you calculate your ideal apogee altitude without the DTmin display in SyncOrbit?
Just eyeball it?

I get my alignment done first. Then use the map mfd to set my ap to the same as the target. When I reach ap, i then match pe to target, then its a simple matter of either catching up or letting the target catch up. If the target is ahead, lower your ap for an orbit or 3, if the target is behind, raise it. When the target comes within 50-60km burn toward it then match orbit with it, and your done.

 

[Goth]

Yeah this way you have a sort of connection to the target orbit, so you cannot mess up too much the entire thing.