Captain Jebediah pilots the Civvie Production model on its maiden voyage to see how the aircraft handles & performs during basic flight operations
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Kerbal Space Agency
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today ground crews will be patching up the runway, which has fallen slightly into disrepair thx to weather since the last flights occurred
Kerbal Space Agency
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C7 engineers and Lead Engineer Simon are all pleased with the Civvie Production's performance last week, have cleared flight trials for tmrw
Kerbal Space Agency
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Wx is looking good for the maiden flight of the Civvie Production model after 2nd sunrise, Umbarg & Kravass report mostly clear, little wind
Kerbal Space Agency
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Civvie Production model has been rolled out of the HAB and Jeb is finishing up his briefing over in flight control (AKA launch control)
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is aboard the Civvie working through his pre-flight checklist, Val is in flight control while Bill & Bob are spotting from the runway
Kerbal Space Agency
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we have engine start - contact! Still a number of checklist items to complete before Jeb will request taxi clearance out to turf Rwy27
Kerbal Space Agency
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taxi clearance has been granted, Jeb will taxi at around 12m/s down onto the firm grass for a smooth roll with less resistance on the tires
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb got his takeoff clearance as he was taxiing, winds mostly calm w/ 0-2kts from the NW so he'll line up & immediately depart @ full thrust
Kerbal Space Agency
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positive climb rate confirmed, Jeb is up & away! He's cleaned up the wings, reports neutral stick w/vertical speed of +7-9m/s @ ~60m/s
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is already climbing thru 2km for 4.5km & Flight has vectored him from 270 to 225 to stay clear of the mtns & potentially turbulent air
Kerbal Space Agency
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passing thru 4km Jeb is still stick neutral @ full power letting the Civvie climb on her own, engine readings nominal & wings holding level
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is approaching 4.5km & turning back to hdg 270. He will now cruise at 4.5km while testing out the new trim tabs to maintain level flight
Kerbal Space Agency
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over the Western Desert, approaching the sea Flight has told Jeb to go trim neutral & he is using the stick to turn about for a heading home
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb discovered a problem w/ the new trim system & was flying using trim only, but w/o problems. Civvie hit 110m/s @ lvl flight w/ full power
Kerbal Space Agency
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Civvie is trimmed out lvl again hdg 090 after descending to 2.5km so Jeb could warm up. 72km from KSC. No additional issues reported so far
Kerbal Space Agency
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after a bit of traveling hdg 045 Flight has returned Jeb to hdg 090 25km out & cleared him to begin his descent to land left pattern Rwy27
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb is abeam KSC 12km to the south descending thru 1km for 500m where he will turn base & setup for his final approach. All is looking good
Kerbal Space Agency
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roughly 10km out, Jeb is lining up well for his final approach. Flaps at full, ~500m ASL @ ~60m/s, reducing speed to ~40m/s for touchdown
Kerbal Space Agency
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Bob says that Jeb is looking right on the money, Jeb is now <2km out on short final @ 52m/s using his throttle to control his descent
Kerbal Space Agency
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Jeb has rolled to a stop on the runway after a slow but still rough landing as he was barely able to hold his nose up to put 3 wheels down
Kerbal Space Agency
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Civvie is parked & shut down in front of the HAB. Jeb will be debriefed shortly, but Bill says we already have an official "two thumbs up!"
Kerbal Space Agency
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you can review the full flight of the Civvie via the Flight Tracker (hover over line for detailed data): kerbalspace.agency/Tracker/body.a…
Kerbal Space Agency
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here's the full report from Jeb's flight test earlier 2day, which went very well overall but did uncover some issues bit.ly/Genesis-PR3
Kerbal Space Agency
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C7 says they will be working on the control cabling today and tomorrow with the hopes of sending the Civvie out for another test on Thursday
