@Deiaa The plane seems like a competitor of Hellkeska and I think that it could win it in a dogfight between two human pilots.
There are few things I don't like about it though. First of all, the front landing gear sticks to the fuselage quite unrealistically. Second, I am not sure about the stability with little fuel and no rockets. And the last, (and certainly THE least) the part count is high, so my device is struggling with handling this build :)
Speaking about the good things, I haven't seen a plane which would be so agile even at low speeds in a long time. The amount payload it carries is also VERY impressive to say the least. Overall, it's a near perfect heavy fighter, which could be even closer to perfection with annoying small issues (landing gear, for example) ironed out. Also, I think it is possible to reduce drag a little bit by experimenting with air intakes.
@Deiaa I have tested this plane in different situations and so far I'm really enjoying it. It is more agile than Seagull yet stable even with less than 5 percent fuel left. Max speed wise, it is as well better than the Seagull, which surprised me, given the disadvantage in drag. That means that your air intake system is much more efficient than mine. Autopilot wobble is still present but normally you can observe it only when trim lever is not in the neutral position (strange, isn't it?). Overall, I have to admit that this plane is better than the Mk. II and as well Seagull V1, which can be considered a great success :)
The only minor (doesn't bother me at all) issue I encountered is the front suspension being too stiff - you have to adjust the damper and suspension strength.
@Deiaa Thanks! :)
I tried to strike the balance between agility and stability; in the end, I didn't quite manage to hit the sweet spot with the plane being slightly less agile than I would like it to be, as you pointed out. I will continue to refine the construction to make it even better and when (or if) I feel like there has been enough improvement, I will post it as a Seagull V2.
While experimenting with custom air intakes, I figured out several things:
1) The optimal count of air intakes for this plane is 5
2) Count of air intakes matters MUCH MORE than the size
3) Inlet angle doesn't seem to reduce air flow dramatically, but it does reduce drag
Hope that helps you improve DMJ-14!
@Deiaa Thanks for letting me use your design. I will try to resolve the problems and will let you know when my version is ready, but I think I will end up heavily modifying your plane. Just keep in mind that I 'm not a fast builder, cause I like to tweak all the little details. I think I will get the plane ready in a few days.
Hope my rocket box will help you design something cool :)
So, to clarify about that 'nudging' part: I actually managed to reduce drag while completely getting rid of parts overriding in the front and not changing your design drastically. If you want, I can publish that version of your plane on my profile, so you can compare them and further improve it.
As of the plane itself: I LOVE the fuel economy of this thing, speed is also pretty good for such engines (fastest plane with these engines I have ever encountered).
In fact, there is only 1 minor issue I have encountered: when flying on autopilot on high speeds, the plane wobbles A LOT. In my designs, I combat this issue by making pitch control surface as small as possible, achieving agility by good mass distribution, not by big control surfaces.
This plane is sure cool even now as it is, but I think you can do better. Less nudging for more realistic construction, even more aero improvement. Will update my review after I fly it for a little longer. Anyways, this plane is interesting enough for me to write my first comment on SP in a YEAR, so you can be proud :) Also, you are the first person I will follow.
@Raiyan It is my custom controllable rocket. The final version will probably have two of them. The final version of this vehicle will be completely different, what you see now is just a testing "mule".
So, did I understand correctly, if your plane finishes all 34 rings, but game lags and doesn't count it, you may lose to much more slow opponent? I have a quite reliable 1400 mph plane, but the game rarely counts the finish, and 1200 mph (1:01min) one, which game counts all the time, which one should I put on the tournament?
@Deiaa The plane seems like a competitor of Hellkeska and I think that it could win it in a dogfight between two human pilots.
+1There are few things I don't like about it though. First of all, the front landing gear sticks to the fuselage quite unrealistically. Second, I am not sure about the stability with little fuel and no rockets. And the last, (and certainly THE least) the part count is high, so my device is struggling with handling this build :)
Speaking about the good things, I haven't seen a plane which would be so agile even at low speeds in a long time. The amount payload it carries is also VERY impressive to say the least. Overall, it's a near perfect heavy fighter, which could be even closer to perfection with annoying small issues (landing gear, for example) ironed out. Also, I think it is possible to reduce drag a little bit by experimenting with air intakes.
@Deiaa I have tested this plane in different situations and so far I'm really enjoying it. It is more agile than Seagull yet stable even with less than 5 percent fuel left. Max speed wise, it is as well better than the Seagull, which surprised me, given the disadvantage in drag. That means that your air intake system is much more efficient than mine. Autopilot wobble is still present but normally you can observe it only when trim lever is not in the neutral position (strange, isn't it?). Overall, I have to admit that this plane is better than the Mk. II and as well Seagull V1, which can be considered a great success :)
+1The only minor (doesn't bother me at all) issue I encountered is the front suspension being too stiff - you have to adjust the damper and suspension strength.
@Deiaa Glad to hear that! :) It would be interesting to see your implementation of rocket box in some build in the future.
@Deiaa Thanks! :)
+1I tried to strike the balance between agility and stability; in the end, I didn't quite manage to hit the sweet spot with the plane being slightly less agile than I would like it to be, as you pointed out. I will continue to refine the construction to make it even better and when (or if) I feel like there has been enough improvement, I will post it as a Seagull V2.
While experimenting with custom air intakes, I figured out several things:
1) The optimal count of air intakes for this plane is 5
2) Count of air intakes matters MUCH MORE than the size
3) Inlet angle doesn't seem to reduce air flow dramatically, but it does reduce drag
Hope that helps you improve DMJ-14!
@Deiaa Let me hear what you think about this thingie :)
@Deiaa Thanks for letting me use your design. I will try to resolve the problems and will let you know when my version is ready, but I think I will end up heavily modifying your plane. Just keep in mind that I 'm not a fast builder, cause I like to tweak all the little details. I think I will get the plane ready in a few days.
+1Hope my rocket box will help you design something cool :)
So, to clarify about that 'nudging' part: I actually managed to reduce drag while completely getting rid of parts overriding in the front and not changing your design drastically. If you want, I can publish that version of your plane on my profile, so you can compare them and further improve it.
As of the plane itself: I LOVE the fuel economy of this thing, speed is also pretty good for such engines (fastest plane with these engines I have ever encountered).
In fact, there is only 1 minor issue I have encountered: when flying on autopilot on high speeds, the plane wobbles A LOT. In my designs, I combat this issue by making pitch control surface as small as possible, achieving agility by good mass distribution, not by big control surfaces.
Overall, the design is really cool, love it!
This plane is sure cool even now as it is, but I think you can do better. Less nudging for more realistic construction, even more aero improvement. Will update my review after I fly it for a little longer. Anyways, this plane is interesting enough for me to write my first comment on SP in a YEAR, so you can be proud :) Also, you are the first person I will follow.
@Raiyan It is my custom controllable rocket. The final version will probably have two of them. The final version of this vehicle will be completely different, what you see now is just a testing "mule".
Thank you for all the upvotes and comments. It is a big honour for me that even dev upvoted this :D. It was made in 20 minutes, if honestly XD
So, did I understand correctly, if your plane finishes all 34 rings, but game lags and doesn't count it, you may lose to much more slow opponent? I have a quite reliable 1400 mph plane, but the game rarely counts the finish, and 1200 mph (1:01min) one, which game counts all the time, which one should I put on the tournament?
Man, my aerowarrior will compete with this, and my car is not-so-reliable 38sec car, so I guess our race will be entertaining to watch XD
Love the song and this thing, too! ZZ Top forevaa...
Thank you very much for this mod! That's really what I needed. I feel so sorry because i can not upvote coz i don't have 30 points. Thank you!