Auto Credit Based on SledDriver's Level Flight Challenge [closed]
My second, and perhaps final entry for the Level Flying Challenge by SledDriver.
The Flare X-2 is the successor of the Flare X-1, with better weight distribution for a more 'even' flight, and a few visual upgrades, complete with a more visible cockpit view.
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Predecessor Level Flight Challenge [closed]
- Created On Windows
- Wingspan 57.8ft (17.6m)
- Length 99.4ft (30.3m)
- Height 16.1ft (4.9m)
- Empty Weight 43,866lbs (19,897kg)
- Loaded Weight 43,866lbs (19,897kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 2.305
- Wing Loading 43.9lbs/ft2 (214.2kg/m2)
- Wing Area 999.8ft2 (92.9m2)
- Drag Points 8803
Parts
- Number of Parts 185
- Control Surfaces 5
- Performance Cost 649
@Jetpackturtle Thanks a bunch! Means a lot :)
Dang! What a level flyer!
@SledDriver Ahhh yes that makes much more sense. I'm honoured to hold first (for now) though! I've spent hours fine tuning dead weight and I even had to add a tiny .25 fuselage block inside the aircraft just in front of the front elevators!
Looks like it all paid off! But yes, with the last one (silly me), I misread the challenge description and I was testing at 2,000 feet! Surprising how much of a difference the altitude makes to the way the aircraft flies.
I'll use this as my final entry then please, and good luck to everyone else! Some of these entries are very nice. Hopefully we get many more!
Wow, this is quite an improvement over the last one. Informal test results:
First run: 193 - 186, 7 feet
Second run: 206 - 258, 52 feet
Third run: 200 - 200, 0 feet
Fourth run: 198 - 195, 2 feet
Outstanding. I believe you have secured the first place in this competition, unless on the final, formal test, this plane somehow doesn't do as well and someone else's plane does.
I think the variation comes from the fact that the autopilot doesn't fly exactly level, but is always performing slight adjustments, so that when the autopilot is disengaged, the angle of attack of the plane is slightly different each time.
Nicely done.
@SledDriver This version should get a better result. I have done many tests although the results do vary, by quite a bit at times. It is difficult to work with this design how it is now - I find it gets the best result when the nose dips slightly and then comes back up half way to Krakabloa. I'm not too sure what causes it to dip and then rise again, but I have tuned it to, I believe, the best it can be, in its current form.