Das Shrapnelspittenbangenpoppenflugmascheinen

AJW

AJW

Member
#1
#1
My latest creation: Das Shrapnelspittenbangenpoppenflugmascheinen.

[video=youtube;dSdYhR8lZww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSdYhR8lZww&feature=youtu.be[/video]

My take on the infinite-ammo shrapnel-cannon and flamethrower aircraft concept that has come along with Besiege V 0.2. Not a bad start for a day's work, though it still has issues - mostly due to abysmal roll control, even with barn-door-size ailerons. Otherwise, the controls seem to work well - 3 axis self-centring, plus separate elevator trim. You should be able to figure out how it all works from the video, though I'm not claiming to have invented anything much new - I've reused concepts seen elsewhere, and would thank all those responsible if I could remember who they were...

I'll upload a bsg when I've sorted out the roll problems, or when I decide that they can't be fixed.
 
FBSoldier

FBSoldier

Member
#2
#2
That title is too simple, it almost doesn't call any attention on the front page.
Get a more unique title, honestly FBSoldier.

Also, you've just made the coolest engine ever! :)
 
AJW

AJW

Member
#3
#3
I had to shorten the title - the full version would probably have broken the internet. ;)

As for the engines, not my idea - I think I saw it first in a Reddit thread or something.

Playing around with it further, I have come to the conclusion that at least part of the control issue is adverse yaw - an effect where the down-moving aileron creates more drag than the up-moving one. There are several fixes for this in real aircraft, but the simplest solution is to apply a bootfull of rudder at the start of the turn. I've added a couple more braces (and replaced one that got lost somewhere :rolleyes: ) because I suspect that aeroelasticity may be an issue too - the ailerons apply a force to the wing, twisting them in the wrong direction when you least need it. It says something for Besiege that I'm getting 'real' aircraft issues with the design, and fixing them via the 'real' solutions.
 
ITR

ITR

l̺̤͈̘̰̺͉̳͉̖̝̱̻̠̦͈ͅ֍̫̜̥̭͖̱̟̟͉͙̜̰ͅl̺̤͈̘̰̺͉̳͉̖̝̱̻̠̦͈ͅ
Staff member
#5
#5
Wouldn't it be "Die (...)maschine"?
 
AJW

AJW

Member
#7
#7
Shade said:
How do you create the self-centering control? It looks so simple
Click to expand...
See this mockup I made to test the control layout (bsg below):






Each actuator is two pistons linked by a brace, two ballast blocks (one fixed, one moving), and depending on the geometry, a hinge or ball joint to connect the pushrod.

I've used an actuator for each aileron, since I couldn't find a simple way to connect them both to one that was lighter than an extra actuator and was sufficiently rigid. I also found that I had to mount the aileron actuators facing forwards, with the pushrods connected at the front - connected at the back, the short pushrod moved in too much of an angle vertically, and the inevitable flexing resulted in problems. The actuators work best when pushing/pulling something directly aligned on their axis.

Given their weight, it makes sense to install the actuators in the nose of the aircraft, since a forward centre of gravity is necessary for stability.

Attached Files
Servo05.bsg
 
AJW

AJW

Member
#8
#8
I seem to be running into the fundamental problem with aircraft this big - the sandbox is simply too small. You can fly outside it, but once you lose sight of the ground, there is nothing to orientate the plane to, no sensation of speed, and no means to navigate. I thought I'd try a biplane, since a lower wing loading should at least make it more manoeuvrable - it helped a little, but I'm still limited to flying in tight circles if I want to keep the sandbox in sight. I think that unless the developers can provide a much bigger sandbox (vertically as well as horizontally - I'm hitting the freezing zone far too easily)), the concept isn't really going anywhere.



 
ITR

ITR

l̺̤͈̘̰̺͉̳͉̖̝̱̻̠̦͈ͅ֍̫̜̥̭͖̱̟̟͉͙̜̰ͅl̺̤͈̘̰̺͉̳͉̖̝̱̻̠̦͈ͅ
Staff member
#9
#9
AJW said:
I seem to be running into the fundamental problem with aircraft this big - the sandbox is simply too small. You can fly outside it, but once you lose sight of the ground, there is nothing to orientate the plane to, no sensation of speed, and no means to navigate. I thought I'd try a biplane, since a lower wing loading should at least make it more manoeuvrable - it helped a little, but I'm still limited to flying in tight circles if I want to keep the sandbox in sight. I think that unless the developers can provide a much bigger sandbox (vertically as well as horizontally - I'm hitting the freezing zone far too easily)), the concept isn't really going anywhere.



Click to expand...
Hmm, I had a mod-idea I once worked on that might help you, I guess I could finish that.
 
AJW

AJW

Member
#10
#10
Mods are always welcome, ITR.

Sadly my brain doesn't work like it used to (probably needs fluff removed from the fan, and a RAM upgrade), otherwise I'd have a go at writing a mod myself. I keep having ideas, but have no clue how practical they are..
 
ITR

ITR

l̺̤͈̘̰̺͉̳͉̖̝̱̻̠̦͈ͅ֍̫̜̥̭͖̱̟̟͉͙̜̰ͅl̺̤͈̘̰̺͉̳͉̖̝̱̻̠̦͈ͅ
Staff member
#11
#11
Almost anything is possible when it comes to programming, just some stuff is illegal, or takes immense amount of knowledge and/or time to do.
 
AJW

AJW

Member
#15
#15
Regarding my earlier comments about the sandbox being too small for my design, I had a brainwave - if I can't make the sandbox larger, what happens if I make the machine smaller? I installed MMaxTCC's Machine Resizing mod (http://forum.spiderlinggames.co.uk/...ding/26647-machine-resizing-spaar-s-modloader) and tried it out. Which worked up to a point, but the physics seems to get wonky as the plane gets smaller (it gets progressively floppier) and the shrapnel doesn't scale with the aircraft - which is unfortunate as I'd always had issues with the tail getting hit, and though it doesn't break (in invincible mode), it knocks the whole thing around rather. Probably worth experimenting with a bit more though - I may find a compromise scale which works.

Of course, if someone could come up with a Sandbox Embiggenizer mod that scaled the whole thing up without changing the physics for the machine, that would be even better. I'm not sure if that could be done though - does Unity 5 have a limit on how big the environment can be?
 
Mumon

Mumon

Member
#16
#16
I would really love a bigger sandbox as my machines tend to be a little...bigger
you start and cannot really take of because if you doy
, you hit the freezing field. and you cannot fully accelerate since you lose sight of the map..
 
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